Zeenat Rahman serves as Secretary Clinton’s Special Adviser on Global Youth Issues and Director of the Office of Global Youth Issues (J/GYI) as of June 26, 2012. In that capacity, she works to coordinate and enhance the Secretary of State's efforts to empower, engage, and elevate global youth issues. She previously served as Deputy Director of the Center for Faith Based and Neighborhood Initiatives at USAID.
Prior to her government service, Zeenat was Director of Policy at the Interfaith Youth Core, where she worked closely with the White House and various federal agencies in order to advance programs related to youth, religious identity, interreligious engagement and interfaith service. During her career, Zeenat has built and managed international youth programs in over a dozen countries, traveling abroad frequently to speak about the importance of youth leadership in promoting civic engagement and harmony between diverse communities.
She is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Fellow with the American Muslim Civic Leaders Institute at the University of Southern California, and a member of the British Council’s Transatlantic Network 2020. Zeenat received a BA in psychology from the University of Illinois, and an MA in Middle East studies from the University of Chicago.
