Nayyera is an American culture and policy commentator who spent years in the trenches of the nation’s most competitive campaigns and in the halls of government working to resolve global challenges.  A seasoned communications strategist who has advised global leaders, Nayyera is the rare politico with a nuanced understanding of both domestic and international current affairs.

Nayyera served as a Senior Director in the White House helping implement the President’s agenda on national security and economic policy. She served in the State Department as a spokesperson explaining U.S. foreign policy to audiences around the world. Nayyera’s global experience is based on a foundation of understanding U.S. politics and culture, having spent several years helping Members of Congress connect with their local communities. Overall, Nayyera has led communications campaigns and public relations efforts in nearly all 50 states and 30 countries.

As immigrants from Pakistan who settled in Staten Island, New York, Nayyera’s parents – a physician and a public school teacher – instilled in her a commitment to public service. From an early age, Nayyera has sought to understand how the American Dream worked for her while others around the world still struggle. A globe trotter first by nature and then by profession, Nayyera’s explorations have taken her from debates in the U.S. Congress and the Israeli Knesset, to hiking in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, to roaming the streets of London and Lahore.

Nayyera received a Masters from Georgetown University Law Center and studied history at the University of Michigan. She lives in Maryland with her veterinarian husband, toddler, and dog. Nayyera finds zen while scuba diving, which is not as often as she would like.

• Senior Director, White House: Engaged President’s Cabinet to implement national security and economic policy.

• Senior Advisor and Spokesperson, State Department: Advanced U.S. national interests in crisis areas, including Afghanistan, South Asia, Middle East, the Korean Peninsula and the Ukraine. Explained US policy perspectives to foreign language media.

• Spokesperson, US Treasury Department: Explained tax, budget, and economic policy to media and American public during height of the 2008 economic crisis.

• Advisor, U.S. Congress: Provided communications expertise to Democratic Leader Pelosi and multiple Members of Congress.

• Communications Director, Presidential and House Campaigns: Managed communications in Presidential primary states and numerous House races, including CA, CO, MT, NV, and NY.