Alys Spensley began her tenure as the Cultural Affairs Officer in the Public Diplomacy Section of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in July 2014. Ms. Spensley concurrently serves as Director of AIT’s American Center, responsible for strengthening educational and cultural ties between the United States and Taiwan.
Ms. Spensley joined the Foreign Service in 2004. Most recently, she served in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs as a Staff Assistant and as the Policy and Coordination Officer in the Office of Public Diplomacy (2011-2013). Her first posting was at the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal (2005-2007) and she also served as the Cultural Affairs Officer and the 2010 Expo Liaison Officer in Shanghai (2008-2011). Prior to becoming a Foreign Service Officer, Ms. Spensley worked as a financial analyst in New York City and, before that, conducted field research as a Fulbright grantee in Yunnan Province.
Ms. Spensley was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies from Kenyon College and speaks Nepali and Mandarin Chinese. Her husband, Andrew Lebkuecher, is also a Foreign Service Officer. They have two daughters.
