Mideast Expert Dana Stroul, Senior Capitol Hill Aide, Joins the Washington Institute

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Dana Stroul, who most recently served five years as a senior professional staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has joined the Washington Institute for Near East Policy as a senior fellow in the Beth and David Geduld Program on Arab Politics, the research institution announced today.

At the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Stroul covered the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey. In that capacity, she played a central role in the oversight of the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, which included overseeing U.S. foreign assistance and weapons sales, as well as crafting relevant legislation.

"I am delighted to welcome Dana Stroul to The Washington Institute," Washington Institute Executive Director Dr. Robert Satloff said. "Her extensive experience as a practitioner of U.S. Middle East policy means her policy recommendations will be actionable and her insights indispensable."

Before working on Capitol Hill, Stroul served in the Middle East policy office of the Secretary of Defense. From 2008 to 2013, she focused on a range of topics including U.S.-Egypt relations, the U.S. military drawdown in Iraq,  and a review of  U.S. government  policies and programs in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. In addition, Stroul also worked at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo on economic-political affairs, at the U.S. Institute of Peace on civilian-military relations in Iraq, and at the National Democratic Institute on Gulf Affairs. 

Stroul holds a bachelor's degree in religious and Middle East studies from the University of Virginia and a master of science in foreign service from Georgetown University. She also studied at the American University in Cairo and at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

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: Erika Naegeli, 202-452-0650, email.