American diplomat
Marie Royce, (born Marie Thérèse Porter), is an American businesswoman, diplomat, and educator. She was the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs from 2018-2021. She was nominated by President Donald Trump and was unanimously confirmed by the US Senate. Royce was succeeded by Lee Satterfield on November 23, 2021.
Education.
Royce graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, with a bachelor of science degree in marketing management and management human resources. She went on to earn an MBA in international business from Georgetown University in 1996. Royce is a lifetime member of the international honor society Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS), which honors academic achievement.
Career.
Royce was a faculty member at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. While working in the private sector for over 30 years, Royce held senior management positions at Marriott International, Choice Hotels International, Procter &amp; Gamble, and Alcatel-Lucent.
Royce served as a private sector appointee on the Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy (ACICIP) at the U.S. Department of State.
While serving as Assistant Secretary of State, Royce was named by President Donald J. Trump to the official Presidential Delegation to attend the final match of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in Lyon, France, on July 7, 2019.
In August 2024, Governor Glenn Youngkin and the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Kelly Gee, appointed The Honorable Marie Royce to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts(VMFA), for a term of five years. The VMFA is a state-supported, privately endowed institution created for the benefit of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Awards.
Royce was selected as an American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) delegate to Hungary and Poland and received the ACYPL Honors Award in 2018. The American Women for International Understanding (AWIU) recognized her with their Internationalism Award in 2013. In 1994, Royce was Cal Poly Pomona's Distinguished Alumna for the College of Business and their Commencement Speaker. Royce was named "Legend of International Business and Marketing", awarded by Cal Poly Pomona  in 2012. The award honors significant, sustained contributions by an alumnus in the field of international business or marketing.
In 2019, Royce was decorated with the “Order of Civil Merit, Commander by Number,” by Felipe VI. In October 2020, Royce was recognized with an Honorary Doctor Causa from the University of Tirana in Albania. Royce was recently honored by her high school alma mater, Pomona Catholic, with their Pillar of Scholarship Distinguished Alumna Award.
In April 2021, Royce joined the USC Center of Public Diplomacy as a member of their Board of Advisors. Royce was also honored by the Congressional Families Cancer Prevention Program part of the Prevent Cancer Foundation, with the Congressional Families Leadership Award, as a longstanding member of the Congressional Families Executive Council and supporter of both program and Foundation-wide events.
In September 2021, Royce was honored with the Career Achievement Award at the 2021 Professional Fraternity Association Conference in Irving, Texas for her service as the former Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs. The Career Achievement Award is the highest level of recognition given by the Professional Fraternity Association, which represents over 100,000 undergraduate and graduate students on over 1,000 college campuses across the nation. Royce has been active with the co-ed professional fraternity Pi Sigma Epsilon, one of the 30 fraternal member groups represented by PFA that has collectively initiated 2.5 million members in professional fields. Royce was selected for her career achievements in the private sector, her philanthropic work at the US Department of State, and her continued involvement over the past 40 years.
In January 2025, Royce was honored with the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award for "Leadership in Global Education" for working to keep the Dream Alive... Commitment - Leadership - Service... at the 33rd Anniversary of the International Salute to the Life &amp; Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, hosted and presented by the Institute for the Advancement of Multi-cultural and Minority Medicine (IAMMM). The celebration was held at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC.  Royce was recognized for her accomplishments and contributions over the years.
Dr. King once said, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.
Personal life.
Royce is married to Ed Royce, a former member of the United States House of Representatives.