Alaina B. Teplitz

Alaina B. Teplitz (born 1969) is an American diplomat who served as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Administration from 2021 to 2025. She also served as the U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives from 2018 to 2021 and the U.S. Ambassador to Nepal from 2015 to 2018. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister, she joined the State Department in 1991 and is the recipient of numerous Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards.

Education Teplitz holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Walsh School of Foreign Service and a Master's in Public Administration from Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs. From 2012 to 2015, Teplitz held the Assistant-Secretary ranked position of Director of the Under Secretary for Management's Office of Policy, Rightsizing, and Innovation (M/PRI) at the Department of State. Under her leadership, M/PRI found innovative ways to reform our bureaucracy and improve the way that our diplomatic service operates. Teplitz championed efforts to improve knowledge management, data use, and risk management.

Previous assignments include Management Counselor in Dhaka, Bangladesh and deputy director of the Joint Administrative Services supporting three U.S. Missions – the U.S. Mission to NATO, the U.S. Mission to the European Union, and the Embassy to the Kingdom of Belgium – in Brussels, Belgium. Her previous posts also include: Ulaanbaatar, Tirana, and Sydney. On August 5, 2015, she was confirmed in the United States Senate by voice vote. She presented her credentials on October 7, 2015.

United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives On May 25, 2018, President Donald Trump announced Teplitz to serve as the United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. On September 6, 2018, she was confirmed in the Senate by voice vote. She was sworn into office on October 22, 2018. She presented her credentials in Sri Lanka on November 1, 2018

Personal life Teplitz is married and has two sons.