NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY ANNOUNCES NEW BOARD MEMBERS

Washington, D.C.—The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) announced today three new members of its Board of Directors: Alyssa Ayres, dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University; Elizabeth Economy, former senior advisor for China at the Department of Commerce and senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution; and Juan Zarate, former deputy national security advisor for combatting terrorism and current global co-managing partner and chief strategy officer at financial advisory firm K2 Integrity.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are pleased to welcome these three distinguished scholars and former public servants to the NED Board,” said NED Chairman Kenneth Wollack. “Their knowledge and experience, and their deep commitment to democracy will make a significant contribution to NED’s mission.”

NED’s independent Board of Directors includes leading scholars and practitioners in democracy and foreign policy, and representatives from labor, business, and political affairs. (See the full Board of Directors here.)

“As we redouble our efforts to champion democratic renewal, it is more important than ever to ensure that NED and our Board are ready to respond to emerging challenges from global networks of autocrats,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Damon Wilson. “Our new Board members’ diverse expertise in South Asia, China’s global reach, and kleptocracy will bolster the Endowment’s efforts to support democracy advocates around the world.”

Chairman Kenneth Wollack, Co-Vice Chairs David Skaggs and Peter Roskam, and Treasurer Marlene Colucci, were all re-elected as officers. Jendayi Frazer was elected as co-Vice Chair, in addition to her current position as Board Secretary.

ABOUT THE NEW BOARD MEMBERS

Alyssa Ayres was appointed dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs and professor of history and international affairs at the George Washington University in February 2021. Ayres is a foreign policy practitioner and award-winning author with senior experience in the government, nonprofit, and private sectors. From 2013 to 2021, she was senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), where she remains an adjunct senior fellow. Her work focuses primarily on India’s role in the world and on U.S. relations with South Asia in the larger Indo-Pacific. From 2010 to 2013 Ayres served as deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia.

Elizabeth Economy is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. From 2021–2023, she served as Senior Advisor (for China) to the Secretary of Commerce. Economy was previously at the Council on Foreign Relations, where she served as the C.V. Starr senior fellow and director for Asia Studies for over a decade. Her most recent book is The World According to China. She is also the author of The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State, By All Means Necessary: How China’s Resource Quest is Changing the World with Michael Levi, and The River Runs Black: The Environmental Challenge to China’s Future.

Juan Zarate is the global co-managing partner and chief strategy officer for the consulting firm, K2 Integrity. He is also the co-founder and Chair of the Board of Consilient, an innovative new fintech company. Zarate is the chairman and co-founder of the Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP) at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies; senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); and the Class of 1971 Senior Fellow at West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center. He is an advisor to the National Security Institute, the Harvard National Security Journal, FDD’s Center on Cyber & Technology Innovation, and a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

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