WASHINGTON, DC, January 4, 2002 — The Center for International Policy announced today that Nancy Okail will be the organization’s new President and Chief Executive Officer effective January 10, 2022. As the first woman to head CIP in its nearly 50-year history, Dr. Okail brings decades of experience as a scholar, advocate, and leader in achieving security through human rights, justice, and transparency.
“Our board finds Nancy to be exactly the person we need to lead CIP into a new era,” said Diana Ohlbaum, chair of the CIP Board. “Her direct experience shedding light on corrupt and abusive regimes in the Middle East shows her courage and grace under pressure and her profound commitment to justice. She brings a bold vision against racism and militarism in U.S. foreign policy and against the unchecked flow of weapons from the United States to the rest of the world.”
Dr. Okail previously served for six years as Executive Director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP) in Washington, DC, which she built from the ground up into an internationally renowned policy research organization. Okail was appointed in 2020 as a visiting scholar at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) at Stanford University, where she focused on technology and human rights. Before coming to the United States in 2012, Okail directed Freedom House’s program in Egypt, where she was among the 43 nongovernmental organization workers convicted and sentenced to prison in a widely publicized case for allegedly using foreign funds to foment unrest in Egypt. She was exonerated by a court ruling in December of 2018.
“I am truly honored to have the opportunity to lead CIP. I aspire to advance CIP’s mission by building on its established credibility while introducing new approaches and utilizing new technologies to influence policy,” said Okail. “I am so thankful to the CIP board and staff for putting their faith in me. I look forward to working with them to build CIP into an even more powerful and influential voice in Washington to advance human security and address the shared global threats of climate change, corruption, racism, and war.”
Okail holds a Ph.D. from the University of Sussex in the UK. Her policy analysis and political commentary have been featured in top outlets such as the Washington Post, New York Times, Foreign Affairs, and Lawfare. She has been interviewed or quoted by The Guardian, BBC World News, MSNBC, and AlJazeera, and she regularly speaks on current affairs panels at world fora and academic institutions.
Okail succeeds Salih Booker, who served as CIP’s Executive Director and then President and CEO from 2017 until October 2021.
The Center for International Policy (CIP) works to make a peaceful, just and sustainable world the central pursuit of U.S. foreign policy through greater international cooperation, policy transparency, and government accountability.