The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics,public service,entertainment,and business. In 1884,35 years after the family's arrival from County Wexford,Ireland,Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy became the first Kennedy elected to public office,serving in the Massachusetts state legislature until 1895. At least one Kennedy family member served in federal elective office from 1947,when P. J. Kennedy's grandson John F. Kennedy became a member of Congress from Massachusetts,until 2011,when Patrick J. Kennedy II retired as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Rhode Island.
Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad is an American diplomat and foreign policy expert. Khalilzad was U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation from September 2018 to October 2021. Khailzad was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as United States ambassador to the United Nations,serving in the role from 2007 to 2009. Khalilzad was the highest ranking Muslim-American in government at the time he left the position. Prior to this,Khalilzad served in the Bush administration as ambassador to Afghanistan from 2004 to 2005 and Ambassador to Iraq from 2005 to 2007.
Edward Spencer Abraham is an American attorney,author,and politician who served as the 10th United States Secretary of Energy from 2001 to 2005,under President George W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party,he previously served as a United States Senator from Michigan from 1995 to 2001. Abraham is one of the founders of the Federalist Society,and a co-founder of the Harvard Journal of Law &Public Policy. As of 2024,he is the last Republican to have served as a U.S. senator from Michigan.
John David Podesta Jr. is an American political consultant who served as Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy from 2024 to 2025,having previously served as the Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation from 2022 to 2024. Podesta previously served as White House chief of staff to President Bill Clinton from 1998 to 2001 and counselor to President Barack Obama from 2014 to 2015. Before that,he served in the Clinton administration as White House staff secretary from 1993 to 1995 and White House deputy chief of staff for operations from 1997 to 1998.
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington,D.C.,with operations in Europe,South Asia,East Asia,and the Middle East,as well as the United States. Founded in 1910 by Andrew Carnegie,the organization describes itself as being dedicated to advancing cooperation between countries,reducing global conflict,and promoting active international engagement between the United States and countries around the world. It engages leaders from multiple sectors and across the political spectrum.
Edward Peter Djerejian is a former United States diplomat who served in eight administrations from John F. Kennedy to Bill Clinton (1962–94.) He served as the United States Ambassador to Syria (1988–91) and Israel (1993–94),Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan and Deputy Press Secretary of Foreign Affairs (1985–1986),and was Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (1991–1993.) He was the founding director of Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy (1994-2022) He is a senior fellow at the Middle East Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs,a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is on the board of trustees of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. He is a Proprietor of the Boston Athenaeum. Djerejian was elected chairman of Occidental Petroleum Corporation's board of directors (2013–2015). Djerejian is the author of the book Danger and Opportunity:An American Ambassador's Journey Through the Middle East
Robert Nicholas Burns is an American diplomat and international relations scholar who served as the United States ambassador to China from 2022 to 2025.
Victoria Anne Kennedy is an American diplomat,attorney,and activist who served as the United States Ambassador to Austria from 2022 to 2025. She is the widow and the second wife of longtime U.S. senator Ted Kennedy.
David Michael Satterfield is an American diplomat and ambassador,who has served extensively in the Middle East,including the Persian Gulf area,Lebanon,and Iraq. He later served as a senior advisor on Iraq for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and was director general of the Multinational Force and Observers,the peacekeeping force for the Sinai Peninsula from June 2009 until August 2017. He was chargéd'affaires to Egypt from August 2013 to January 2014 and was subsequently Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for Libya. From September 2017 to June 2019 he served as the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs,and was confirmed as U.S. ambassador to Turkey on June 27,2019.
The School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) is the international affairs and public policy school of Columbia University,a private Ivy League university located in Morningside Heights,Manhattan,New York City. SIPA offers Master of International Affairs (MIA) and Master of Public Administration (MPA) degrees in a range of fields,as well as the Executive MPA and PhD program in Sustainable Development.
The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) is a council,chartered in each administration with a broad mandate to advise the president of the United States on science and technology. The current PCAST was established by Executive Order 13226 on September 30,2001,by George W. Bush,was re-chartered by Barack Obama's April 21,2010,Executive Order 13539,by Donald Trump's October 22,2019,Executive Order 13895,by Joe Biden's February 1,2021,Executive Order 14007 and by Donald Trump again on January 23,2025 with Executive Order XXXXX.
Claire D. Cronin is an American attorney,politician,and diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Ireland from 2022 to 2025. She previously served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 11th Plymouth district from 2013 to 2022. Cronin was the first woman to serve as House Majority Leader.
Bernadette M. Meehan is an American diplomat who served as the United States ambassador to Chile from 2022 to 2025. She previously worked as chief international officer for the Obama Foundation. She also served as a spokesperson for the United States National Security Council in the Obama Administration.
Amos J. Hochstein is an American businessman,diplomat,and former lobbyist. He was a top national and economic security official in the Biden administration. Hochstein has worked in the U.S. Congress,has testified before congressional panels and has served in the Barack Obama administration under Secretaries of State Clinton and Kerry. He was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in 2011 and as Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs in 2013. In 2015,President Barack Obama nominated Hochstein to be the Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources but the Senate did not act on the nomination. While at the State Department,Hochstein worked as a close advisor to Vice President Biden. He served in the administration from 2011 to 2017.
John Peter Pham is an American academic and author specializing in international relations with a focus on African affairs. Pham was the United States Special Envoy for the Sahel Region of Africa,from March 2020 until the end of President Donald Trump's administration in January 2021. Prior to this,he served as the Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa from November 2018. Prior to these appointments,Pham was also Vice President of the Atlantic Council and Director of its Africa Center. In September 2020,Pham was accorded the personal rank of ambassador,becoming the first Vietnamese American to achieve that rank. After leaving the Trump administration,Pham rejoined the Atlantic Council as a Distinguished Fellow.
Puneet Talwar is an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Morocco from November 2022 to 2025. He previously served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs from 2014 to November 2015. Talwar served as a top Middle East advisor to Barack Obama and played a central role in the backchannel diplomacy that produced the Iran nuclear deal. Prior to working in the White House,he was a top advisor to then-Senator Joe Biden on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for twelve years.
David T. Fischer is an American business executive,civic leader,and philanthropist. He was confirmed in 2019 as the United States Ambassador to Morocco and served in this role until 2021.
Matthew Rojansky is an American academic,lawyer,and national security policy scholar. As of January 2022,he is President &CEO of the U.S. Russia Foundation for Economic Advancement and the Rule of Law (USRF),an American non-profit organization founded in 2008 that aims to strengthen relations between the United States and Russia and to promote the development of the private sector in the Russian Federation. He is an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He served as a director of the U.S.-Russia Foundation and founded the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Ukraine Program. From July 2013 to January 2022,Rojansky was the director of the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars,which focuses on Russia and Ukraine issues.
Nathalie Rayes is an American diplomat who had served the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia. Most recently,she was president and CEO of Latino Victory. She chaired the Hispanic Federation and the Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) Binational Advisory Group and was a board member of the Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program. In 2022,Rayes was appointed by President Joe Biden to serve as a board member of the United States Institute of Peace. In 2023,she was nominated by the United States President Joe Biden as US ambassador to Croatia. She was confirmed by the Senate on December 6,2023,by a 53–47 vote. She presented her credentials to Croatian President Zoran Milanovićon January 25,2024.
