Nazanin Ash is the CEO of Welcome.US. She most recently was the vice president of Global Policy and Advocacy at the International Rescue Committee, which serves people in crisis in over 40 countries and resettles refugees in 25 U.S. cities.
Previously, Ms. Ash served as deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the Department of State, leading the Middle East Partnership Initiative and working to advance political and economic reform in the Middle East. From June 2007 to April 2012, she served on the secretary of state’s policy planning staff, designing initiatives to strengthen U.S. government aid effectiveness and approaches to political and economic development.
Ms. Ash also served as principal advisor and chief of staff to the first director of U.S. foreign assistance and administrator at USAID, designing strategies for U.S. foreign assistance reform and policies for allocating foreign assistance. Prior to this, Ms. Ash worked for ActionAid–Kenya, one of the largest rights-based NGOs in Kenya and a leading advocacy and local capacity-building institution.
She holds an MPP from Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a BA in political science from Bryn Mawr College. Follow Nazanin on X at @NazaninSAsh.
Explore some of Ms. Ash’s recent commentary:
- Podcast: UNGA Decoded #6 – Nazanin Ash on grassroots refugee resettlement — Devex, 9/25/22
- Building A Nation of Welcomers — Democracy Journal, Fall 2022
- America is rallying to support Ukrainians — The Hill, 3/30/22
- Opinion: Americans Bridge the Divide to Supporrt Refugees – Newsweek, 3/1/21
- The Global Problems Biden Can’t Avoid — CNN, 2/12/21
- Standing Up for Welcome — Berkley Center, 3/2/20
- Opinion: How to Make the Global Refugee Forum a Success – Devex, 6/19/19
- Using the Compact Model to Support Host States and Refugee Self-Reliance – Center for International Governance Innovation, 12/17/18
- The Trump Administration Is Tearing Apart U.S. Refugee Policy – Medium, 9/25/18
- The Rohingya Crisis: Bangladesh Deserves a Win-Win Solidarity Compact — Policy Insights, 6/1/18
- Jordan, Lebanon Compacts Should Be Improved, Not Abandoned – News Deeply, 2/5/18
- Designing Refugee Compacts: Lessons from Jordan – Forced Migration Review, February 2018
- The U.S. Must Take a Lead in the Rohingya Crisis – CNN, 11/20/17