Steven Labensky is a retired U.S. diplomat, attorney, and educator with more than three decades of experience in law, public diplomacy, and international engagement. As a Rishta Fellow, he served as a visiting professor at Tashkent State University of Law in the spring of 2023, teaching a semester-long writing course for law students.

Before joining the program, he spent nearly 20 years as a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State, where he led public communications and outreach across multiple U.S. embassies and missions, including in India, Poland, Uzbekistan, Austria, Belgium, Moldova, Russia, and Italy. Earlier in his career, he practiced civil litigation for over 15 years and promoted the rule of law in Belarus through the American Bar Association.

Steve holds a J.D. from Vanderbilt University, an M.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, and a B.A. from Duke University.