CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Global Affairs

Jawaad Ali

BA Global Affairs '14

Jawaad Ali is a U.S. diplomat serving as a foreign service officer with the U.S. Department of State.  Prior to joining the foreign service, Ali was awarded the prestigious Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship, in which he served as a diplomatic fellow in the political/economic section at the U.S. Embassy Suva, Fiji. 

Driven by his longstanding passion for public service and advocacy for diversity, he gained invaluable experience as a consultant at various federal government entities to include the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Foreign Service Institute, Department of Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.  Ali’s interdisciplinary professional experience is focused on the intersection between policy, capacity-building, and implementation of innovative technologies in an ever-evolving global stage.

A first generation American of Afghan and Pakistani descent, Ali was born in Portland, Maine and grew up in Northern Virginia.  He earned a bachelor’s degree in global affairs from George Mason University in 2014 and a master’s degree in security studies concentrating on emerging technology and cybersecurity policy from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service in 2022.