Robyn McCutcheon
Robyn Alice McCutcheon | |
|---|---|
| Education | University of Virginia Georgetown University |
| Occupations | American diplomat, astronomical engineer, and historian of science |
| Employer(s) | United States Department of State; NASA |
| Known for | Being the first transgender US Foreign Services Officer to transition overseas; LGBTQIA+ activism |
| Notable work | Queer Diplomacy: A Transgender Journey in the Foreign Service |
Robyn Alice McCutcheon is an American diplomat, engineer and historian of science. She served as a United States Foreign Service Officer from 2004-2019 in the countries of Kazakhstan, Russia, Romania, and Uzbekistan. She was the first openly transgender woman to transition overseas during her term with the US Department of State.
Biography and career
Robyn McCutcheon was born on August 15, 1954 to mother Margaret Cecelia (née Geoghegan) and father Allen McCutcheon.
After receiving an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia, McCutcheon received a master's degree in astronomy from Yale University and a master's degree in Russian studies from Georgetown University. She was previously an astronomer and historian. She is known for her work on the history of Soviet astronomy. She also has several publications to her credit on the history of Soviet and Russian science during the Stalin period. She became a member of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in 1983 and was a member of the Historical Astronomy Division (HAD) of the AAS and chair of the AAS International Relations Committee. She formerly worked at the Space Telescope Science Institute and the Computer Sciences Corporation. She also worked as an engineer on NASA missions, primarily Hubble Space Telescope.
She joined the US Department of State in 2004 and became a Foreign Service Officer in several countries, including Russia, Romania, Kazakhstan. She served at the Nuclear Risk Reduction Center in 2013–14. McCutcheon is a trans woman and is the first Foreign Service Officer to transition while posted overseas. She transitioned in 2011 in Romania. She also served as president of glifaa, LGBTQIA+ pride in foreign affairs agencies. McCutcheon retired from the Foreign Service in 2019.
In 2024, McCutcheon published a memoir with Westphalia Press called Queer Diplomacy: A Transgender Journey in the Foreign Service.
Publications
- McCutcheon, Robyn., & Ambartsumian, V. A. (October 2, 1987). "V. A. Ambartsumian" American Institute of Physics.
- McCutcheon, Robyn A. "The 1936-1937 purge of Soviet astronomers." Slavic Review 50, no. 1 (1991): 100-117. JSTOR 2500602
- Bronshten, Vitalii A., and Robyn A. McCutcheon. "VT Ter-Oganezov, ideologist of Soviet astronomy." Journal for the History of Astronomy 26, no. 4 (1995): 325-348.
- Doel, Ronald. E., and Robyn A. McCutcheon, eds. "Astronomy and the State: CIS Perspectives," a special issue of Journal for the History of Astronomy, no. 4 (1995).
- McCutcheon, Robyn. (August 19, 2003). "Russia’s Astronomy Icon Nears Rebirth". Sky & Telescope.
- McCutcheon, Robyn A. (November 14, 2017). "Why Is The U.S. Denying This Young Trans Woman A Student Visa?". HuffPost.
- McCutcheon, Robyn A. (March 7, 2018). "U.S. Consuls Already Have The Tools To Discriminate In Visa Decisions". HuffPost.
- McCutcheon, Robyn A. (November 10, 2018). "A Transgender American Diplomat Who Does Not Exist." HuffPost.
- McCutcheon, Robyn. (July 20, 2020). "Postoiev’s great comet journey: Tashkent to São Paulo" OCA MAGAZINE.
- McCutcheon, Robyn. (2024). "Queer Diplomacy: A Transgender Journey in the Foreign Service" Westphalia Press.
- This publication is a part of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST) Memoirs and Occasional Papers Series.
- ADST’s mission is to capture, preserve, and share the experiences of America’s diplomats. ADST has the world’s largest collection of U.S. diplomatic oral histories, as well as podcasts, videos, books, publications, and a “Moments in U.S. Diplomatic History” online series.
- This publication is a part of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST) Memoirs and Occasional Papers Series.
- McCutcheon, Robyn. (May 12, 2025). "Lessons from Uzbekistan on surviving tariffs". Bangor Daily News.
References
- 1 2 "Gender Transition in the Department of State: Yes You Can!". glifaa.org. November 30, 2011. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019.
- ↑ McCutcheon, Robyn Alice. "Robyn Alice McCutcheon" (PDF). ProZ.com. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
- ↑ McCutcheon, Robyn (2024). Queer Diplomacy: A Transgender Journey in the Foreign Service. Washington, D.C.: Westphalia Press. pp. 2–8. ISBN 9781637236390.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - 1 2 3 "2012 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month: Robyn McCutcheon". 2009-2017.state.gov. June 1, 2012. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019.
- ↑ Graham, Loren R. (1993). Science in Russia and the Soviet Union: A Short History. Cambridge University Press. p. 221. ISBN 9780521287890.
- ↑ "Russian & Soviet Science and Technology". hssonline.org. History of Science Society. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019.
- ↑ Tinch, Crystal. "AAS Member Anniversaries in 2018". aas.org. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019.
35 Years (Joined the AAS in 1983): McCutcheon, Robyn
- ↑ Bracher, Katherine. "The Historical Astronomy Division". had.aas.org. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019.
- ↑ Dick, Steven J. (February 1995). "From the Retiring Chair" (PDF). had.aas.org. Newsletter of the Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 21, 2019.
And I am very pleased with the ongoing work of the International Relations Committee (Bob McCutcheon, chair)...
- ↑ "Participant List". adass.org. Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems. 2003. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019.
Robert McCutcheon, Space Telescope Science Institute/Computer Sciences Corp., 1054 West St., Laurel, MD 20910, USA (rmccutch@csc.com)
- 1 2 3 Tannehill, Brynn (January 12, 2017). "The top 50 successful transgender Americans you should know". LGBTQ Nation. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019.
- ↑ Londoño, Ernesto (November 18, 2025). "As Rights Are Taken Away, a Transgender Trailblazer Seeks Refuge Abroad". The New York Times.
- ↑ McCutcheon, Robyn (2015). "Transgender Lives: Your Stories". The New York Times.
I became the first U.S. foreign service officer to openly and publicly transition while serving at a U.S. mission overseas.
- ↑ Lavers, Michael K. (June 20, 2014). "Kerry: LGBT rights are human rights". Washington Blade.
Kerry praised GLIFAA President Robyn McCutcheon, who is the first foreign service officer to come out as transgender....
- ↑ "Robyn Alice McCutcheon". Surviving Transphobia. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
- ↑ Mccutcheon, Robyn Ann Jane Alice (March 17, 2024). "Transgender In and Out of State: Queer Diplomacy: A Transgender Journey in the Foreign Service". Transgender In and Out of State. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
- ↑ "Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training – Capturing, Preserving, and Sharing the experiences of America's Diplomats". adst.org. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
