Born and raised in the New York area, Robert Blau studied undergrad at Brandeis University, did a two-year stint in the Peace Corps in West Africa, then went to grad school at Ohio University.  Soon after obtaining a Master’s degree in International Affairs, he joined the U.S. Department of State as a Foreign Service Officer, serving for over 30 years until his retirement in 2014.  Overseas tours included Santo Domingo, Conakry (Guinea), Brasilia, Panama, Lisbon, Havana and San Salvador, where he was Chargé d’Affaires for twenty months.  He had domestic assignments at the State Department in Washington DC dealing with Bosnia reconstruction, International Narcotics and Crime, Cuban Affairs, and Human Resources.  He also was assigned for two years as a faculty member of the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base.

After retirement he worked as a teacher at Torah Academy of Jacksonville, dabbled in resume writing, and then returned to Washington to be Vice President for Operations at the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

He returned to Florida in 2018, moving to Saint Augustine, and joining First Congregation Sons of Israel, where his father, of blessed memory, had been a congregant.  Fully absorbed in the Oldest City’s history, Robert has served as a volunteer at Castillo San Marcos, dressing up as a 1740 Spanish soldier and greeting the visitors.  He published a short e-book in the summer of 2023 about his experiences battling throat and neck cancer entitled “Cancer World.”