Farah Pandith
Encyclopedia
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
) is the first ever Special Representative to Muslim Communities for the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
. She was appointed to this position on June 23, 2009 by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
, and sworn in by Secretary Clinton at a ceremony at the State Department on September 15, 2009.
Pandith is an American Muslim born in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
who immigrated with her mother to Massachusetts on July 4, 1969. Prior to her current appointment, she was Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. This role was created for the first time in U.S. history. Pandith was responsible for engaging with Muslim communities in Europe.
From 2004 to 2007 Pandith worked at the National Security Council
United States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
under Elliott Abrams
Elliott Abrams
Elliott Abrams is an American attorney and neoconservative policy analyst who served in foreign policy positions for two Republican U.S. Presidents, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. While serving for Reagan and in the State Department, Abrams, Paul Wolfowitz, and retired U.S. Marine Corps officer...
covering a portfolio that included "Muslim engagement," countering violent extremism, and The Broader Middle East North Africa Initiative. She worked at the United States Agency for International Development
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
(USAID) from 2003 to 2004. She lived in Kabul, Afghanistan in the Spring of 2004. Before coming to government, Pandith was Vice President of International Business for ML Strategies, LLC, in Boston, Massachusetts. Prior to graduate school, she worked at USAID from 1990 to 1993.
Education
Farah Pandith received her Master's in Law & Diplomacy (M.A.L.D.) in 1995 from The Fletcher School of Law and DiplomacyThe Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University is the oldest school in the United States dedicated solely to graduate studies in international affairs. It is regarded as one of the world's foremost schools of international affairs. Every Fall, the school enrolls approximately 265...
at Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
. Her areas of concentration were International Security Studies, Islamic Civilizations & Southwest Asia, and International Negotiation & Conflict Resolution. There, professors Leila Fawaz, Andrew Hess, Richard Shultz, and Sugata Bose
Sugata Bose
Sugata Bose is the Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs at Harvard University.-Early life:Sugata Bose was born in Calcutta, India. He studied at the Presidency College, Kolkata. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge under Eric Stokes...
played pivotal roles in the way she thought about issues, such as the role of militants killing civilians in Kashmir. For her thesis, she wrote on the insurgency in Kashmir, India, interviewing militants and high-level members of the Indian government.
In 1990 she was awarded an A.B. in both Government and Psychology from Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
in Northampton, Massachusetts. She was the President of the student body from 1989 to 1990. In 1986, Pandith graduated from Milton Academy
Milton Academy
Milton Academy is a coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered starting in 9th grade...
, in Milton, Massachusetts, where she attended from K-12.
Community Work
Pandith is currently on the Board of Overseers for The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. She was a Trustee of Smith College and Milton Academy. Governor Paul CellucciPaul Cellucci
Argeo Paul Cellucci is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 69th Governor of Massachusetts and US Ambassador to Canada.-Early life and career:...
of Massachusetts appointed Pandith to the bipartisan Governor's Asian Advisory Commission. Pandith served on the Board of The World Affairs Council of Boston, The American Cancer Society of Boston's Asian Advisory Committee and The Steering Committee of The Silk Road Gala (working to stop domestic violence). Pandith was President of the Fletcher Club of Boston. She was a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
. She was Vice-Chair of the British American Project. She served on the Board of The Council for Emerging National Security Affairs.
A bio was done of her journey from Smith College to The White House in The Boston Globe in May, 2008. Her work on the "War of Ideas" was featured in the Inaugural Edition of the Washingtonian Magazine in January, 2009.