Department of State

Bio, via National Journal:

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Bio, via U.S. Department of State:

Ambassador Nagy, a retired career Foreign Service Officer, spent 32 years in government service, including over 20 years in assignments across Africa. He served as the United States Ambassador to Ethiopia (1999-2002), United States Ambassador to Guinea (1996-1999) as well as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Nigeria (1993-1995), Cameroon (1990-1993), and Togo (1987-1990). Previous assignments include Zambia, the Seychelles, Ethiopia, and Washington, DC. Ambassador Nagy has received numerous awards from the U.S. Department of State in recognition of his service, including commendations for helping prevent famine in Ethiopia; supporting the evacuation of Americans from Sierra Leone during a violent insurrection; supporting efforts to end the Ethiopian-Eritrean War; and managing the United States Embassy in Lagos, Nigeria during political and economic crises. Following his retirement from the Foreign Service, Ambassador Nagy served as Vice Provost for International Affairs at Texas Tech University from 2003 - 2018. During that time he lectured nationally on Africa, foreign policy, international development, and U.S. diplomacy, in addition to serving as a regular op-ed contributor to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal newspaper on global events. He co-authored “Kiss Your Latte Goodbye: Managing Overseas Operations,” nonfiction winner of the 2014 Paris Book Festival. Ambassador Nagy arrived in the United States in 1957 as a political refugee from Hungary; he received his B.A. from Texas Tech University and M.S.A. from George Washington University.

Bio, via U.S. Department of State:

Mr. Peyman joined the State Department from BlackRock, Inc., where he was Global Head of Sanctions and led the sanctions compliance framework for over $6 trillion in assets under management and offices in 30 countries. Prior to joining BlackRock, Mr. Peyman was a Special Assistant United States Attorney and Deputy Attorney General of California. During his service as a prosecutor, Mr. Peyman was also an adjunct law professor at Southwestern Law School, where he taught a course on Government Investigations and Prosecutions. Mr. Peyman began his law career at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP and was the senior sanctions advisor to United Against Nuclear Iran. Mr. Peyman served as Jewish Affairs and Outreach Director for the Trump-Pence campaign and on the Presidential Transition Team. Mr. Peyman obtained his law degree from Harvard Law School and his undergraduate degree from UCLA, where he graduated summa cum laude, received the Chancellor’s Service Award and was the class commencement speaker. He speaks fluent Persian.

Bio, via Politico:

Another important—if lesser-known—adviser to Pompeo is Toni Porter, who served as his chief of protocol at the CIA and also was an aide to Pompeo during most of his six years as a Republican Congressman from Kansas. Porter’s title now is senior adviser to the secretary of state, a somewhat fuzzy role in which she handles whatever tasks Pompeo asks her to do, including serving as a liaison to others in the department. Porter served as Pompeo’s district director in Kansas when he served in Congress. The Kansas State graduate’s resume also includes a stint as director of government relations for the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Bio, via U.S. Department of State:

oel Rayburn began serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Levant Affairs and Special Envoy for Syria on July 23, 2018. He previously served in the Administration as Senior Director for Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon at the National Security Council from January 2017 to July 2018. Rayburn is a retired U.S. Army officer who served in a variety of assignments in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States from 1992 to 2018. He also taught history at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and is the author of several books and articles on the Iraq War. He was commissioned into the Army after graduating from West Point in 1992 and holds a master’s degree in History from Texas A&M University and in National Security Studies from the National War College. He is originally from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.