Maria Balinska (born 1960) is an American journalist and author who is the Executive Director of the US-UK Fulbright Commission.
[2] Born in New Jersey, US, Balinska joined the Fulbright Commission after serving as part of the launch team for The Conversation, later the Managing Editor and subsequently Editor-in-Chief.
According to her, she became interested in journalism after the fall of Communism, reporting on the transformation of Poland as a freelance journalist.
[4] She spent a decade as a radio producer and then Editor World Current Affairs at BBC.
[1][8] In 2008 she published The Bagel, which presents a history of the bagel, tracing its roots from ancient Rome to Poland to its flourishing in America.