Elly Rostoum

Elly Rostoum is a political scientist and public policy practitioner, with more than a decade of experience in both the private and governmental sectors. She is a former U.S. intelligence officer who has served bipartisan administrations and advised policymakers and decision-makers at the White House, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Defense, and at the United Nations. Elly recently served on the National Security Council staff, covering the Middle East portfolio. She specializes in public diplomacy, foreign policy, and national security issues, with a geographic specialization on the Arab world and China. Elly particularly enjoys working on issues of dignity, and fragility in at-risk or post-conflict contexts, and is the author of the upcoming book, Al-Hogra: Class, Elites and the Politics of Dehumanization.

Elly began her career in the private sector, forecasting oil prices, and has consulted with C-suite executives in the energy sector worldwide. Elly’s research has been published and featured in industry and policymaking circles, including with IHS CERA, the Harvard Kennedy School Review, the Wall Street Journal, the Middle East Economic Survey, and the Foreign Policy Association. Elly speaks Arabic, French, German, and Spanish. She has conducted field research in Austria, Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Academically, Elly is completing her PhD in Global Governance and Human Security. She holds a Master’s degree in liberal arts in Government from Harvard University, a Master’s in Conflict Resolution from the University of Massachusetts, a Certificate in Decision Analysis and Risk Management from Stanford University, a Certificate in Energy Modeling from the International Energy Agency, and a Bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Bates College. You can learn more about her work here: www.EllyRostoum.com