Farah Pandith

Farah Pandith is a renowned foreign policy expert, global strategist and diplomatic entrepreneur who has traveled to 80 countries. As a speaker and thought leader, she advises governments, companies and NGOs on a wide range of matters, including risk management, reputation management and strategic planning.

Farah has served as an advisor in the administrations of three US presidents. In 2009, she was appointed as the first Special Representative to Muslim Communities in the history of the US. Prior, she was a Senior Advisor to the Asst. Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs in the State Department after her time as Director for Middle East Regional Initiatives for the National Security Council.

Farah is currently an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Future of Diplomacy Project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School. In both roles she focuses on US foreign policy and is an advisor and author on counterterrorism strategies and initiatives. She is also a Strategic Advisor at the London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a leading global think tank, and serves on its US Board. Prior, Farah was Chief of Staff for USAID’s Asia Near East Bureau and VP of International Business for ML Strategies, a government relations consultancy.

She is on the Board of Advisors of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, her alma mater. She also served on the Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council and was a key architect of the Women in Public Service Project launched at the State Department by Hillary Clinton.

Farah has received many accolades and is often invited to share her expertise in interviews, conferences and speaking engagements. In 2019 she published her acclaimed book “How We Win: How Cutting-Edge Entrepreneurs, Political Visionaries, Enlightened Business Leaders, and Social Media Mavens Can Defeat the Extremist Threat".