Amanda Catanzano focuses on the International Rescue Committee’s country-level operational barriers. She joined the IRC from a career in the U.S. government, most recently as the director for strategic planning at the National Security Council. Prior to the National Security Council, Catanzano was a member of the secretary of state’s policy planning staff and special assistant to the deputy secretary of state, covering South and Central Asia with a focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan. She holds an MA in U.S. foreign policy from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.