Chaz Martin, a former US diplomat with 20 years of government, private-sector, nonprofit, and development experience, became Spirit of America’s Director of International Communications in 2023.

As a Foreign Service Officer, Chaz was named the Department of State’s Linguist of the Year in 2016 for his work combatting disinformation. He served as the US government’s first Russian language spokesperson at the UN General Assembly. 

As a Public Affairs Officer in Kazakhstan, Chaz founded the Go Viral Network which continues to connect leading digital communicators across five countries in Central Asia. In Tajikistan, Chaz partnered with Spirit of America to assist thousands of Afghan refugees and save the country’s lone refugee school from closure. In Kabul, Chaz co-drafted the US Embassy’s first Countering Violent Extremism strategy to directly engage Afghans advocating peace. 

In the private sector, Chaz produced strategic communications campaigns to combat disinformation and violent extremism in Europe, South Asia, and Africa.  

At a nonprofit resettlement agency, Chaz assisted refugees to build a new life in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. He began his international career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan, where he taught English and theater in a remote village. 

He earned a master’s degree in diplomacy and international commerce at the University of Kentucky, and a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Louisville.