Nazanin Ash

Nazanin Ash is the CEO of Welcome.US, a new national initiative built to unite, inspire, and empower Americans to welcome newcomers seeking safety in the US. Most recently, Nazanin was 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, Nazanin held senior positions in the U.S. Department of State and USAID, where she helped drive transformational changes in policy, strategy, and programs related to the protection of vulnerable populations, the advancement of human rights, and promoting economic opportunity as the deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department, a member of the Policy Planning staff for Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and Condoleeza Rice, and chief of staff to the Administrator of USAID and first Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance. As a White House Fellow, she helped launch the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), an initiative that has saved more than 20 million lives. She received her MPP from Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where she was a Sheldon Fellow, a Public Service Fellow, and received a Rising Star Award; and a BA from Bryn Mawr College. She is married to Timothy Ash, and is the proud mom of five children.