Ambassador Susan L. Ziadeh is a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. She enjoyed a 23-year career with the U.S. Department of State where she most recently served as the acting principal deputy assistant secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, and the deputy assistant secretary of state for Arabian Peninsula Affairs (2014-16). She served as the U.S. ambassador to the State of Qatar from 2011-14. She held senior leadership positions in Riyadh, Baghdad, and Bahrain as well as postings in Kuwait, Amman, and Jerusalem. Currently a Middle East strategic advisor based in Washington, Ziadeh is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. A recipient of the Department of State’s Distinguished Honor Award, she also received the Department of State’s 2007 Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Public Diplomacy and the 2014 Arnold L. Raphel Memorial Award for Leadership. In 2015, she was awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Defense Department’s highest civilian award. A Fulbright scholar in Egypt and Lebanon, Ziadeh earned a PhD in history from the University of Michigan, an MA from the American University of Beirut, an MS from the National War College, National Defense University, and a BA from the University of Washington.