Diana Ohlbaum

Guest Author

Diana Ohlbaum (@dohlbaum) is senior strategist and legislative director for foreign policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, leading a team of 10 lobbyists seeking a more ethical and effective U.S. approach to national and global security.  She also chairs the board of the Center for International Policy.

Dr. Ohlbaum has nearly two decades of experience on Capitol Hill, where she served as a senior professional staff member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and earlier as an aide to Senator Paul S. Sarbanes (D-MD). During her time as a congressional staff member, she coordinated efforts to overhaul the outdated Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, improve oversight of arms sales and security assistance, and promote diplomacy and multilateralism.

Dr. Ohlbaum also has worked in the executive branch and the private and nonprofit sectors, including as deputy director of USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives, proprietor of an independent consulting firm, and director of public policy for InterAction. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in Russian studies from Amherst College.