Elizabeth Dent, Former Pentagon Official, Joins Institute as Senior Fellow
Washington, DC – Former Pentagon official Elizabeth Dent has joined the Washington Institute for Near East Policy as a Senior Fellow specializing in U.S. foreign and defense policy toward the Gulf States, Iraq, and Syria, the research organization announced today.
"We are delighted to have Liz join the Institute at a critical time in Washington’s relationship with the Gulf States and neighboring countries. Her hands-on experience with critical defense and security relationships across the Middle East will enhance our ability to respond to the demands of the government with timely, actionable ideas and recommendations,” said Segal Executive Director Robert Satloff, the Institute’s Howard P. Berkowitz Chair in U.S. Middle East Policy.
Dent was previously the director for the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East policy office of the secretary of defense, managing the day-to-day U.S. defense relationship with the nations of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Her other Pentagon roles included serving as the special advisor to the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, where she primarily worked on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and as the Pentagon lead for the Defeat ISIS Coalition.
Before joining the Pentagon, she was a non-resident scholar with the Middle East Institute’s Countering Terrorism and Extremism program and a consultant with NTT Data. She also served as the special assistant to the special presidential envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, where she supported diplomatic engagements with coalition countries and worked with local partners on the ground in Iraq and Syria to accelerate the campaign against ISIS. Dent began her work on ISIS and extremist organizations at the Department of State in 2014, where she helped coordinate and implement the counter-ISIS messaging strategy. She later covered ISIS in North Africa for the Coalition office.
She began her career at the State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, providing policy guidance and support to bureau leadership regarding best security, strategic, and operational practices. Dent received her MA in international affairs from American University in Washington, D.C., and holds a BA from Miami University.
Media Contact: Shelby Weiss, 202-230-9550, press@washingtoninstitute.org.
About The Washington Institute: The Institute is an independent, nonpartisan research institution funded exclusively by U.S. citizens that seeks to advance a balanced and realistic understanding of American interests in the Middle East and to promote the policies that secure them. Drawing on the research of its fellows and the experience of its policy practitioners, the Institute promotes informed debate and scholarly research on U.S. policy in the region.