Kirsten Fontenrose

Kirsten Fontenrose was the Senior Director for Gulf Affairs at the White House National Security Council from February 2018 to December 2018, a role in which she served as Pres. Trump’s principal advisor on Gulf Affairs, led efforts to mobilize Middle Eastern allies, and coordinated a regional response to Iranian proxy warfare. Fontenrose spearheaded the development of US policy towards the Gulf Cooperation Council, Yemen, Egypt, and Jordan, as well as sanctions efforts against Saudi Arabia in the wake of the Khashoggi assassination. She has twenty years of experience working with the national security apparatuses of nations in the Middle East and Africa from positions within the US Department of Defense, Department of State, White House, private industry, and non-profit sector.