Diana Ohlbaum

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT DIANA OHLBAUM

Diana Ohlbaum has retired after a 38-year career on and around Capitol Hill. She most recently led the foreign policy lobbying team at the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL). Earlier she served as a senior professional staff member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and before that as an aide to Senator Paul S. Sarbanes (D-MD). During her time as a congressional staff member, Diana coordinated efforts to overhaul the outdated Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, improve oversight of arms sales and security assistance, and promote diplomacy and multilateralism.Diana also has experience as an independent consultant, running her own firms from 20••••04 and 20••••17, and working in the executive branch and in the nonprofit sector. From she served as deputy director of USAID\'s Office of Transition Initiatives, a cutting-edge unit designed to advance peace and democracy in priority conflict-prone countries. She also worked as director of public policy for InterAction, an alliance of NGOs engaged in humanitarian relief and international development. Diana currently chairs the board of the Center for International Policy and serves on the Advisory Council of the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in Russian studies from Amherst College.Specialties: Peacebuilding, conflict prevention and resolution, Congress, advocacy, foreign assistance, international development, human rights