Dafna H. Rand

The Honorable Dafna H. Rand (LinkedIn) is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and a non-resident Senior Fellow at MIT’s Center for International Studies.  She served as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and as the Director of the U.S. State Department’s Office of Foreign Assistance from 2021-23, overseeing $70 billion in annual U.S. foreign aid. Dr. Rand has held multiple positions in the U.S. government, including Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, member of the Secretary’s Policy Planning staff, and National Security Council official. Additionally, she served as a professional staff member of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI). Outside of government, Dr. Rand’s research and publications have focused on international security and democratic reform, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, with two books on the subject. She has also held leadership roles at Mercy Corps and the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).