Laurel Rapp is a foreign policy leader and practitioner with nearly two decades of experience at the State Department, National Security Council, Senate, and non-profit space. Until January 2025, Laurel served as a member and then Deputy Director of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff.  Previously, Laurel worked on Middle East issues for the Deputy Secretary of State, the National Security Council, and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.  She has covered UN issues at the State Department and the U.S. Mission to the UN. Laurel was also a fellow on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; directed a program at the OneVoice Movement, a Middle East-focused youth organization; and conducted research on youth political participation in Morocco as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.  Laurel holds a B.A from Brown University and a master’s in public policy from Harvard University.  She speaks some Arabic, French, and Italian.