Alumni

2026 Margaret Bailey Speer Award Presented to Raffi Gregorian ’81, PhD

The Shipley School is honored to present the 2026 Margaret Bailey Speer Award to Raffi Gregorian ’81, PhD — the first male recipient in the history of this award.
 
A former diplomat and Navy veteran, Raffi serves on the board of directors of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, an organization that supports those who step forward in times of crisis to risk their lives to save others. He is currently leading a project to transform the post-war economy of Bosnia while working on a book tracing the influence of intergenerational trauma on his career.
 
Raffi served nearly 30 years in a variety of senior positions for the U.S. State Department, NATO, and the UN dealing with conflict and post-conflict challenges. He spent more than 14 years working to bring Balkan war criminals to justice while helping survivors to identify and bury their loved ones in dignity. As a NATO official, he negotiated the previously unthinkable creation of a single army from Bosnia's three former warring factions.
 
He helped reform UN peacekeeping operations, negotiated key UN Security Council counterterrorism resolutions, and was the driving force in the creation of the UN's counterterrorism office. In 2019, Dr. Gregorian became its first director as well as a Deputy Under-Secretary-General serving on the Secretary-General's Deputies Committee.
 
Raffi served 13 years as a reserve defense intelligence officer, including active duty in Bosnia, Kosovo, and the Joint Staff. He started his government service as an historian for the U.S. Army, then worked as a senior analyst for a defense contractor before returning to government.
 
Dr. Gregorian holds numerous government and military decorations and earned his Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, an M.A. from King's College London, and a B.A. with Honors from the University of Pennsylvania.
 
We are proud to recognize Raffi Gregorian for his extraordinary career in service of justice, peace, and human dignity — and to celebrate him with the 2026 Margaret Bailey Speer Award.
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814 Yarrow Street
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010

Phone: 610-525-4300
Fax: 610-525-5082
The Shipley School is a private, coeducational day school for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students, located in Bryn Mawr, PA. Through our commitment to educational excellence, we develop within each student a love of learning and a desire for compassionate participation in the world.