Speaker Bios

Blinken was nominated by President Biden on November 23, 2020; confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 26, 2021; and sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris the following day.
Over three decades and three presidential administrations, Mr. Blinken has helped shape U.S. foreign policy to ensure it protects U.S. interests and delivers results for the American people. He served as deputy secretary of state for President Barack Obama from 2015 to 2017, and before that, as President Obama’s principal deputy national security advisor. In that role, Mr. Blinken chaired the interagency deputies committee, the main forum for hammering out the administration’s foreign policy.
During the first term of the Obama Administration, Mr. Blinken was national security advisor to then-Vice President Joe Biden. This was the continuation of a long professional relationship that stretched back to 2002, when Mr. Blinken began his six-year stint as Democratic staff director for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Then-Senator Biden was the chair of that committee from 2001 to 2003 and 2007 to 2009.
During the Clinton Administration, Mr. Blinken served as a member of the National Security Council staff, including two years as the senior director for European affairs, the president’s principal advisor on the countries of Europe, the European Union, and NATO. He also spent four years as President Clinton’s chief foreign policy speechwriter, and he led the NSC’s strategic planning team.
Mr. Blinken’s public service began at the State Department. From 1993 to 1994, he was a special assistant in what was then called the Bureau of European and Canadian Affairs. Now he is proud to lead the department where he got his start in government nearly 30 years ago.
Outside of government, Mr. Blinken has worked in the private sector, civil society, and journalism. He was a founder of WestExec Advisors, an international strategic consulting firm focused on geopolitics and national security. He was a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies from 2001 and 2002. Before joining government, Mr. Blinken practiced law in New York and Paris. He was also a reporter for The New Republic magazine and is the author of Ally Versus Ally: America, Europe and the Siberian Pipeline Crisis (Praeger, 1987).
Mr. Blinken attended grade school and high school in Paris, where he received a French Baccalaureat degree with high honors. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Columbia Law School. He and his wife Evan Ryan have two children.

Donald Lu became Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs on September 15, 2021. Prior to this assignment, Assistant Secretary Lu served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic from 2018 to 2021 and the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Albania from 2015-2018. Before his posting in Albania, Assistant Secretary Lu worked on the Ebola crisis in West Africa as the Deputy Coordinator for Ebola Response in the Department of State. Lu is a Foreign Service Officer with more than 30 years of U.S. government service. He served as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) in India (2010-2013), Chargé d’Affaires (2009-2010) and DCM (2007-2009) in Azerbaijan, and as DCM in Kyrgyzstan (2003-2006). Earlier in his career he was assigned as Deputy Director in the Office of Central Asian and South Caucasus Affairs, Bureau of European Affairs (2001-2003), Special Assistant to the Ambassador for the Newly Independent States in the Office of the Secretary of State (2000-2001), Political Officer in New Delhi, India (1997-2000), Special Assistant to the Ambassador in New Delhi, India (1996-1997), Consular Officer in Tbilisi, Georgia (1994-1996), and Political Officer in Peshawar, Pakistan (1992-1994). As a Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone, West Africa from 1988-1990, he helped to restore hand-dug water wells and to teach health education and latrine construction. Assistant Secretary Lu is from Huntington Beach, California. He graduated from Princeton University with both master’s and bachelor’s degrees in international relations. He speaks Albanian, Russian, Georgian, Azerbaijani, Urdu, Hindi, and West African Krio. He enjoys biking, watching movies, traveling, and spending time with his family.

Ambassador Geeta Rao Gupta is the fourth Ambassador-at-Large for the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues at the U.S. Department of State and the first woman of color to hold the position. She previously served as Senior Fellow at the United Nations Foundation and Senior Advisor to Co-impact, a global collaborative philanthropy for systems change. From 2012 to 2016, Ambassador Rao Gupta served as Deputy Executive Director, Programmes at UNICEF and prior to that as a Senior Fellow at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Earlier, Gupta served as President of the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) for more than a decade. Ambassador Rao Gupta has also chaired numerous boards including the Global Advisory Board of Women Lift Health, an initiative to promote women’s leadership in global health and served as a member of WHO’s Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee for Health Emergencies, the Board of UBS Optimus Foundation and the Advisory Board of Merck for Mothers. She also served as a Commissioner for the Lancet-SIGHT Commission on Health, Gender Equality and Peace. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including InterAction’s Julia Taft Award for Outstanding Leadership, Harvard University’s Anne Roe Award and Washington Business Journal’s “Women Who Mean Business” Award. Ambassador Rao Gupta holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from Bangalore University and an M.Phil. and M.A. from the University of Delhi in India.

Rina Amiri is currently the U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights. Under the Obama Administration, she served as a senior advisor to the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Ms. Amiri brings over two decades of political expertise, advising and working with governments in various conflict settings in West and the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, Central and South Asia, and Europe. Her areas of focus are peace and security, with a specialization in inclusion in mediation processes. Ms. Amiri has served in the United Nations in several capacities including as a Senior Mediation Expert and as a member of the United Nation’s Special Representative of the Secretary General’s political team in Afghanistan during the implementation of the Bonn Agreement. She has held senior and leadership positions in a variety of universities and think tanks, including the Women in Public Policy Program at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy’s School of Government; Princeton University’s Innovations for Successful Societies; and New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and The Center on International Cooperation where, as a Senior Fellow, she led the Afghanistan and Regional Policy Initiative. She has championed the rights of Afghan women and girls for decades and is a founding member of Inclusive Security, a global women’s initiative advocating for the inclusion of women in peace processes.

Thomas West serves as the State Department’s Special Representative and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Afghanistan. In prior roles in government, he served as Special Advisor to the Vice President for South Asia and Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the National Security Council from 2012-2015. From 2011-2012, Tom was the State Department’s senior diplomat in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, where he embedded with U.S. military colleagues and managed the civilian staff of a Provincial Reconstruction Team. From 2008-10, Tom served as Special Assistant for South and Central Asia to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, focusing on growing the U.S.-India strategic partnership. Early in his career, Tom was a political officer at U.S. Embassy Islamabad and Pakistan desk officer in Washington. Before rejoining government in January 2021, Tom was a Vice President at The Cohen Group, a global strategic advisory firm, and a non-resident scholar at The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. A native of State College, Pennsylvania, Tom earned an M.A. in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a B.A. in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University.

Zala Ahmad has over 15 years of experience working in Afghanistan in international development, with a focus on education, human rights, and economic development. In her role as a research associate at the University of Colorado-Boulder, Zala has conducted comprehensive research on Afghan women’s economic and political empowerment, as well as on the role of civil society in peacebuilding and the factors affecting Afghan women’s participation in various spheres.
From 2010 to 2017, Zala served as founding director of HOLD Afghanistan and designed and implemented programs on education, conflict resolution and peace building, and women’s economic empowerment in partnership with agencies including USAID, UNESCO, DFID, and Open Society Foundation. In 2020, she co-founded Safe Path Prosperity Social Enterprise, dedicated to investing in education, employment, and reproductive health and rights of Afghan women and girls.
Zala holds a M.A. in International Economics and Finance from Brandeis University as a Fulbright scholar, and a B.A. in Social Development Studies. In recognition of her efforts, Ms. Ahmad was awarded the Amel Zenoune-Zouani Rights & Leadership Award by iANGEL in 2023.

Fahad joined EAA in December 2012 as the director of administration and finance, where he successfully set up the foundation’s management system and was involved in developing its first strategy plan and three- to five-year business plan. Fahad is active in the foundation’s resource mobilisation plan and leads the establishment of EAA’s international entity in the United Kingdom. In January 2015, Fahad was promoted to Deputy CEO and then CEO in January 2016, reflecting the valuable role he plays at EAA.
Prior to joining EAA, Fahad worked at Qatar Foundation (QF), where he was responsible for the finance and administration of a QF-sponsored mega project focused on the aviation and aerospace industry and involving the construction of a ‘city’ on nearly 2,000 hectares of land. As acting managing director for the holding company established to plan and operate this city, Fahad was responsible for the management of the entire project.
Before QF, Fahad spent approximately 10 years in the retail, international, and corporate banking areas of Qatar National Bank (QNB). His last few years at the bank found Fahad controlling the international branch initiatives of QNB, including the OPEX and CAPEX control of some of QNB’s largest overseas operations.
Fahad has a BSc degree in business administration with concentrations in accounting and economics, and an EMBA from HEC. Fahad is an active sportsman, having played professional tennis for Qatar.

Leah is Chief Revenue Officer at Coursera. Prior to Coursera, Leah was SVP at Kaltura, an Intel Capital funded video technology company, where she oversaw enterprise growth, operations, services, and international expansion. Leah began her career at the World Bank and National Institutes of Health, served on President Obama’s Technology Policy Committee, and was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She also sits on the Board of Engine Advocacy, a leading technology and startup policy organization that promotes freedom of expression, innovation, and access to knowledge. Leah is a graduate of Yale Law School and received her undergraduate degree from Brown University. In 2020, she was listed in Fortune Magazine’s 40 under 40.

Rachel Brulé is an Assistant Professor of Global Development Policy at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and is Associate Director of the Human Capital Initiative at the BU Global Development Policy Center. She is also BU’s lead representative to the Alliance for Afghan Women’s Economic Resilience, a public-private partnership between the U.S. Department of State and BU.
Dr. Brulé has a PhD in Political Science from Stanford University, Masters degrees in Development Management from the London School of Economics and Forced Migration from the Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford University, and a BA in International Relations and African Studies from Mount Holyoke College. Her research identifies the conditions under which political, economic, and social systems rebalance gendered power, with over three years of field research in South Asia.
Her book, Women, Power, and Property: The Paradox of Gender Equality Laws in India, was awarded the American Political Science Association’s 2021 Luebbert Prize for the Best Book in Comparative Politics. Her articles are published in the Journal of Politics, the Journal of Development Economics, and the Annual Review of Political Science, among others, and have been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Ideas for India, India Development Review, and Ms. Magazine. She will also be the recipient of a 2024 National Science Foundation CAREER Award and will be a Fellow at Stanford University’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences for the 2024-25 Academic Year.

Deputy Administrator Coleman is responsible for USAID’s policy and programming, overseeing the Agency’s Regional and Pillar Bureaus. As Deputy Administrator, she guides USAID’s crisis response, including representing USAID on the Deputies Committee of the National Security Council, and oversees Agency efforts to promote food security, global health, democracy, and economic growth, and address the root causes of conflict.
Ambassador Coleman previously served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations for Management, Reform and Special Political Affairs. She was formerly a partner with McKinsey, the Chief Operating Officer of GiveDirectly, and spent more than a decade as a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. She is a graduate of Princeton University and received her MPhil and DPhil degrees from Oxford University, which she attended on a Marshall Scholarship.

Scarlet is the Vice-President for the Americas and Global Strategy at the Tent Partnership for Refugees. In this role, she oversees Tent’s work in North America and Latin America to mobilize major companies to hire, train, and mentor refugees and she oversees several global initiatives for Tent. Prior to Tent, Scarlet worked at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), part of the Clinton Foundation, for eight years, where she was the Associate Director of the Commitments Department. She led CGI’s efforts to respond to natural disasters and humanitarian crises, advising corporate, philanthropic, government and non-profit leaders on how to effectively coordinate resources, including in Haiti, the Philippines, and Jordan. Before that, Scarlet worked at the Elie Wiesel Foundation, founded by Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, where she organized international conferences with world leaders. She has a BA from Trinity College Dublin

Sofia Jelanizada DeBlanc is a Senior Manager at Deloitte with focus in financial assurance, risk, and regulatory compliance. With a rich background in both federal and commercial sectors, Sofia is a seasoned professional in navigating complex financial regulations, business process improvements and strategic program support. She holds a BS in Business Administration and is a certified CPA.
Originally from Afghanistan, Sofia arrived in the U.S. in 2006 on a merit scholarship from the Initiative to Educate Afghan Women (IEAW). Beyond her corporate success, she is a proud wife to an American veteran and mother of two, residing in Northern Virginia.

Dr. Kenneth Lutchen was named interim provost in July 2023 and is the University’s second ranking officer. He provides leadership in BU’s overall academic, budgetary and planning processes, and oversees its academic programs, research enterprise, global programs, and student recruitment and success.
Dr. Lutchen leads a host of offices and initiatives designed to enhance BU’s academic integrity and global competitiveness, including its divisions in undergraduate, graduate, and online education, faculty affairs, digital learning and innovation, and community and inclusion; efforts to incorporate general education for all undergraduates and promote student wellbeing; and implementation of BU’s latest 10-year strategic plan.
Prior to his appointment as University provost ad interim, Dr. Lutchen was dean of BU’s College of Engineering from 2006-2023.
Among the world’s leading scholars in the field of respiratory mechanics, Dr. Lutchen is a professor of biomedical engineering and has been a member of the BU faculty since 1984. He is past president of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and is an elected fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society and the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering.

Roya Mahboob is Afghanistan’s first female tech CEO and an entrepreneur making a significant impact beyond the business world. She uses her success and expertise in technology to educate and empower Afghan women and girls while advocating for their rights. Mahboob founded the Digital Citizen Fund (DCF) to improve the technological and financial literacy of Afghan women. She also co-founded the Afghan Girls Robotics Team and provides support to them. Mahboob is actively involved in promoting robotic education through the Inoura platform and is planning to launch an online platform called Zalla, which aims to amplify the voices of Afghan women and journalists. She consistently emphasizes the importance of STEAM education and economic opportunities for women and girls, particularly in relation to human rights. Mahboob’s contributions have been widely recognized. She was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in 2013 and has received prestigious awards, including the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award in 2014, the Advancement of Gender Equality through Education Award, and the Young Leader of World Economic Forum in 2015. She was recognized as an Asia Game Changer in 2019 and received the Doha Forum Award in 2022. Additionally, Mahboob has been honored with the Lantos Human Rights Awards and the Presidential Leadership Scholarship. She also received an honorary Doctorate of Science from McMaster University.

Ambassador Rahmani is Chair of Delphos International, where she plays a pivotal role in expanding the firm’s business networks, enhancing its global reach, and amplifying its impact. She also serves as a Senior Advisor with the South Asia practice at Atlantic Council, and a Senior Fellow for International Security at the New America Foundation.

Amb. Rahmani is a former diplomat with nearly two decades of experience working with governments, nongovernmental organizations, and multilateral institutions. She holds the distinction of being the first woman to serve as the Afghan Ambassador to the United States and to Indonesia. She also held the position of the first Director General for Regional Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan. Her outstanding leadership has earned international recognition, with features in esteemed media outlets. In 2017, Indonesia Tatler honored her with the title of “People’s Ambassador,” and in 2019, she was recognized on Time Magazine’s “100 Next List” for her exceptional leadership skills.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in software engineering from McGill University and a master’s degree in public administration and international law from Columbia University.

As general manager for digital inclusion and U.S. community engagement at Microsoft Philanthropies, Naria leads Microsoft’s global philanthropic strategy, grant investments and partnerships in digital skills, computer science education, and career pathways. With the goal of increasing digital, computing and AI skills for traditionally underrepresented and under-resourced communities, Naria’s team works in partnership with nonprofit organizations around the world to help millions of people thrive in the digital economy.
Prior to joining Microsoft Philanthropies, Naria served as Executive Director of the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship (WSOS), a unique public-private partnership helping to build the next generation of scientists, engineers, technology specialists, mathematicians, and health care professionals in Washington state through scholarships and support services for low- and middle-income college students. Naria has also served as the Executive Director of the James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy, a juvenile and education law and social work organization in Illinois and the Director of LAW Fund and the Endowment for Equal Justice at the Legal Foundation of Washington.
Naria is a graduate of the Law School and the College at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Taylor’s research and teaching interests lie in the areas of African politics and political economy, with an emphasis on business-state relations, private sector development, governance, and political and economic reform. He is the author of Politics in Southern Africa: Transition and Transformation (with Gretchen Bauer); Culture and Customs of Zambia; Business and the State in Southern Africa: The Politics of Economic Reform; and Globalization and the Cultures of Business in Africa: From Patrimonialism to Profit, as well as of articles in numerous political science and area studies journals.
Dr. Taylor has consulted widely in the field of international development, including for USAID, DfID, the African Development Bank, the World Bank, and the Carter Center, as well as for private companies. He has held positions as visiting researcher at the University of Zambia, the University of Zimbabwe, and the Christian Michelsen Institute in Norway. Dr. Taylor previously taught at Smith College and most recently at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where he was also Vice Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the International Advisory Board for the Southern African Institute for Policy and Research, a member of the Board of Trustees of Franklin and Marshall College, and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Endowment for Democracy.

Muqaddesa Yourish, formerly a deputy minister for commerce and industry in Afghanistan, is now a Visiting Professor of International Affairs at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs since January 2022. With extensive experience in various high-level roles in the former government of Afghanistan and the country’s private sector, she offers valuable insights into international trade, governance, economic development, human capital, and private sector growth.
Ms. Yourish earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Pune in India and a master’s degree in business management from the University of Akron in the United States as a Fulbright scholar. A passionate advocate for women, girls, and the youth of Afghanistan, she is a frequent commentator on Afghanistan’s political landscape, and her writing has been featured in the New York Times. In recognition of her leadership, she was honored as a “Vital Voices of 2021” leader and received the Diane Von Furstenberg Leadership Award in 2022. In August 2021, shortly after she arrived in the United States, she sat down with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss the recent Taliban takeover in Afghanistan and its implications for women and girls in the country.