The Israel Policy Forum announced its new hire for the inaugural role of Washington managing director and senior fellow, who began in the role today.
Rachel Brandenburg brings almost two decades of experience working on issues impacting United States national security and U.S. policy in the Middle East through various departments.
In this newly created role, Brandenburg will serve as a senior member of IPF’s policy and government relations teams, promoting strategies to maximize the impact of the organization’s policy research and analysis and fostering the development of IPF’s growing operations in Washington, D.C., David Halperin, the CEO of IPF, said in a press release.
“We’re thrilled to have Rachel join our growing team,” Halperin said. “She will enhance the [IPF]’s policy analysis and government relations strategy and strengthen our impact and reach at a time when our work has never been more critical and in demand.”
Previously, Brandenburg has served in the U.S. House of Representatives as the senior policy advisor to Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and completed legislative and policy work related to the House Armed Services Committee, national security and defense, foreign policy and election security.
From 2014 to 2018, she served in the Department of Defense Office of the Secretary of Defense for Middle East policy, where she first focused on Iraq and the counter-ISIS campaign as the director of the Iraq team, then on bilateral defense relationships with Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan as the director of the Levant team.
Brandenburg worked at the U.S. Institute of Peace as a senior program officer in the Middle East and Africa Center and at the State Department in the Middle East Partnership Initiative office and the Office of Middle East Transitions.
She served as the vice president of The Cohen Group from 2021 to May 2024, and is currently an adjunct senior fellow in the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, a role she’s held since June 2021.
Brandenburg was the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship in Israel and a “critical language scholarship” in Jordan. She earned her master’s degree in foreign policy and international service with a focus in the Middle East from Georgetown University and her bachelor’s degree in international relations and Middle Eastern studies from Tufts University.
“Rachel is a great addition to our team in Washington,” Michael Koplow, Israel Policy Forum’s chief policy officer, said in the press release. “Her policy expertise and her deep experience across so much of the government will bring our work to an even higher level.”
Congratulations she´ll do a great work