Farah Pandith assumed her duties as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs in February 2007. She is focused on Muslim communities in Europe and is responsible for policy oversight for integration, democracy and Islam in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. She also works on issues relating to countering violent Islamic extremism.

Prior to joining the U.S. Department of State, Ms. Pandith served as Director for Middle East Regional Initiatives for the National Security Council. She was responsible for coordinating U.S. policy on Muslim World Outreach and the Broader Middle East North Africa initiative. Ms. Pandith reported directly to the Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Global Democracy Strategy. She served on the staff of the National Security Council from December 2004 to February 2007.

From 2003 to 2004, Ms Pandith was Chief of Staff for the Bureau for Asia and the Near East for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) where she worked directly for the Assistant Administrator for the bureau responsible for more than $4 billion in programs throughout the Middle East, South Asia, and Asia -- including Iraq, Afghanistan and Gaza/West Bank. Ms Pandith spent two months in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2004.

Ms. Pandith was Vice President of International Business for ML Strategies, LLC from 1997 to 2003. Ms. Pandith served at the U.S. Agency for International Development from 1990 to 1993, first as the Confidential Assistant to the Administrator of the Agency, and then as Special Assistant to the Director of Policy.

Ms. Pandith has been a consultant in both the public and non-profit sectors. She was a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has served on several boards with a focus on international affairs including the World Affairs Council of Boston, the Council for Emerging National Security Affairs, and the British-American Project. She has served as a Trustee of Smith College and Milton Academy. In June 2007, Ms. Pandith was appointed as a Member of the Board of Overseers for the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Ms. Pandith received a Master's degree from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where she specialized in International Security Studies, International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, and Islamic Civilizations and Southwest Asia. She concentrated on the insurgency in Kashmir. Ms. Pandith received an A.B. in Government and Psychology from Smith College. She was born in Srinagar, Kashmir, India.

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