About Matt Armstrong
Email: blog@mountainrunner.us
Mr. Matt Armstrong was, until December 2011, the Executive Director of the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, the U.S. Government’s only body tasked with overseeing and promoting U.S. Government activities intended to understand, inform, and influence foreign publics. This Congressionally authorized Presidential commission reported on these activities and policies to the President, the Secretary of State, and the Congress. Inquiries for the Commission during 2011 included trips to Afghanistan, Qatar, Germany, Belgium, and Ireland.
Mr. Armstrong is an advisor, lecturer, and author on the systems, doctrine, and concepts that shape, empower, and limit U.S. public diplomacy and strategic communication. Through the MountainRunner blog (the premier blog on the subject read by senior leaders, planners, practitioners, and legislators), symposiums, and other activities, he works to improve U.S. global engagement.
Mr. Armstrong obtained a Master in Public Diplomacy and a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California. He studied European security and the Middle East at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
Mr. Armstrong is a member of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, The Public Diplomacy Council, and the National Press Club. He taught graduate courses on public diplomacy at the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, lectured at the Naval Postgraduate School, National Defense University, National Intelligence University, the U.S. Army War College, through the Joint Special Operations University, and is a frequent speaker at conferences.
