John Grondelski
John M. Grondelski is a 26-year career Department of State Foreign Service Officer, consular-coned with primary focus on European affairs. He is currently a Pearson Fellow on the National Security Team of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. Previously, he served as Senior Fellow in the Center for Applied Strategic Learning at the National Defense University; Analyst for Russian Affairs in Europe in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research; Deputy Director of the Office of Central European Affairs (EUR/CE); Senior Poland Desk Officer; and Desk Officer for Russian Relations with Third States (EUR/RUS). His overseas assignments have included: Chief of the Visa Section, Consulate General Shanghai (PRC); Deputy Chief of the Consular Section, U.S. Embassy Bern (Switzerland); Chief of American Citizen Services, U.S. Embassy Warsaw (Poland); and Vice Consul, U.S. Embassy London (UK). He also served in Taiwan as part of language training.
He holds a BA in philosophy and theology from St. Mary’s College (Orchard Lake, Michigan), and an MA and PhD in theology from Fordham University (Bronx, New York). Prior to his State Department career, he worked in higher education: at St. John’s University, New York and as associate dean of the School of Theology, Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey. He was also Kościuszko Foundation Fellow at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski) in Poland. He has strong interests and background in Central and Eastern Europe as well as Catholic theology and ethics and their interface with public policy. A New Jersey native, he is married with three children.