Born in Taiwan and raised in California, Joshua Shen is a first generation Chinese American who grew up rooting for the Dodgers and skateboarding to the sounds of punk and rap from Southern California and the East Bay. He joined the Foreign Service in 2008 and most recently served as the Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Surabaya, Indonesia. During his most recent tenure he focused on incorporating new technology tools to advance public diplomacy, including VR/AR software, artificial intelligence, and esports.

From 2019-2021, Joshua created a position as the Strategic Designer for Interactive Media and Games for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), where he led a new portfolio to integrate video games with existing State Department policy needs, key audiences, and programs. Before that he was the Cultural Affairs Officer in ECA’s Sports Diplomacy division as the liaison with other U.S. government agencies, professional leagues, sports agents, and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. He has also worked in Public Affairs and Consular Sections in Malaysia, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka/Maldives, where his responsibilities included refugee assistance, educational outreach, and interagency collaboration with the Department of Defense.

Joshua studied at East Los Angeles Community College and holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University (BS in Journalism and English Literature) and a master’s degree in Foreign Policy from Georgetown University. He speaks fluent Mandarin, working level Indonesian, and basic Vietnamese and Tamil. He currently resides with his wife and two children in the San Gabriel Valley.