Mr. Ziff began his career at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, Australia, and subsequently served tours in Tel Aviv, Panama, Jerusalem, and Lima before spending a year attending the National War College at Ft. McNair and graduating with distinction. After a tour in the Department of State working on Central America, Mr. Ziff moved to the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela where he was awarded the Department of State’s Murrow Award for Excellence in Public Diplomacy for his work during the Hugo Chavez regime. He then transferred to Rome, Italy where he served for three years as counselor for public affairs.
A native of California, Mr. Ziff received his B.A. in political science from the California State University at Long Beach, an M.A. in law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School, and an M.S. in national security studies from the National War College. Mr. Ziff speaks Spanish, Hebrew, and Italian.