Raffi Gregorian ’81, PhD

Dr. Raffi Gregorian spent nearly 30 years at the highest levels of U.S. foreign policy, serving in senior roles across the State Department, NATO, and the United Nations. Working on behalf of NATO in Bosnia, he negotiated the agreement that unified the country's three former warring armies into a single national force — and spent more than 14 years bringing Balkan war criminals to justice. He helped reform UN peacekeeping operations worldwide and was the driving force behind the creation of the UN's counterterrorism office, becoming its first director in 2019 as a Deputy Under-Secretary-General. The 2026 recipient of Shipley's Margaret Bailey Speer Award, Raffi credits the School with reinforcing his lifelong commitment to making a positive impact on the world.