Katherine Bauer Named Blumenstein-Katz Family Fellow

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Katherine Bauer, a former Treasury Department official who specializes in counterterrorist financing and sanctions, has been named the Blumenstein-Katz Family Fellow, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy announced today.

Made possible by the generosity of the Blumenstein Family Foundation of Detroit and Palm Beach, and Trustees Marilyn and Stanley Katz of Palm Beach and New York, this multiyear grant supports Ms. Bauer’s research on the use of financial measures to combat terrorism and other national security threats within the Institute’s Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.

"We are honored to receive this gift from the Blumensteins and Katzes," said Dr. Robert Satloff, Institute Executive Director and the Howard P. Berkowitz Chair in US Middle East Policy. "Financial sanctions have become an indispensable tool in the war on terror. By supporting Kate's work, this gift ensures that the Institute will be able to provide the US government with the analysis it needs to enforce existing sanctions against Iran and other hostile actors, and to impose new sanctions as needed."

"I am proud to receive this named fellowship," Bauer said. "These two families understand the importance of US engagement with the Middle East and the role that financial sanctions can play to support American values and interests."

Bauer joined the Washington Institute in early 2016 after a decade with the Treasury Department. During her tenure at Treasury, she served twice as the Department's Financial Attaché in Abu Dhabi and Jerusalem, senior policy advisor for Iran and assistant director in the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, and senior analyst focused on illicit financial networks. Prior to working at the Treasury Department, Bauer was a nonproliferation graduate fellow at the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.

A graduate of Macalester College, Bauer received her master's degree in Middle East studies and international economics from The Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. In between, she served for a year as a research assistant at The Washington Institute.

Institute Trustees Penny, Harold and Richard Blumenstein have been active in many local and global nonprofit organizations, including the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, the Detroit Regional Chamber, and the Community Foundation of Southeastern Michigan.

"This is just one of many areas where the Washington Institute makes a meaningful contribution to US national security," said Richard Blumenstein. "Providing policymakers with informed and nuanced views allows for more strategic decision-making and better outcomes for our country and the world. We are delighted to partner with the Katz family to support Kate's work."

"We are pleased to join with one great family, the Blumensteins, to broaden and deepen the legacy of another, Louise and Mike Stein, whose visionary support for the Institute has made it a leader in the field of counterterrorism and intelligence," explained Marilyn and Stanley Katz. The Katzes have been active supporters of the Morse Geriatric Center, the Kramer Senior Services Agency, the Albert Einstein School of Medicine at Yeshiva University, Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County, and State of Israel Bonds.

About the Washington Institute: The Washington 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.

Media Contact: Ian Byrne, 202-452-0650, email.