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 Farah Pandith '90 was appointed Special
Representative to Muslim Communities in June 2009. Her office is responsible for
executing Secretary Clinton’s vision for engagement with Muslims around the
world on a people-to-people and organizational level. She reports directly to the
Secretary of State.
Prior to this appointment, she was Senior Advisor to
the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, focusing on Muslim
communities in Europe. She also worked on issues relating to countering violent Islamic
extremism.
Before joining the Department of State, she served as
the Director for Middle East Regional Initiatives for the National Security Council,
and before that as the Chief of Staff for the Bureau for Asia and the Near East for
the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Special Representative Pandith received an A.B. in Government
and Psychology from Smith College, where she was president of the student body. She
has served as a Trustee of alma maters Smith College and Milton Academy. She is currently
a member of the Board of Overseers of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
She was born in Srinagar, Kashmir, India.
 Stephanie Cutter '90 is currently a
fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics. Most recently, Cutter served
as Adviser to the President, overseeing the political and communications strategy
for the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor. From January to
May 2009, Cutter served as Counselor to the Secretary of the Department of Treasury,
handling the strategy behind the development and implementation of the Obama Administration’s
Financial Stability Plan.
Prior to the Obama Administration, Cutter was the Chief
Spokesperson for the Obama-Biden Transition, developing message and communications
strategies for the roll-out of the new Administration’s policies and cabinet. She
was Michelle Obama’s Chief of Staff on the Obama for America Campaign, and
also held the title of senior adviser charged with developing and managing a nationwide
surrogates program.
Before joining the campaign, Stephanie Cutter ran The
Cutter Media Group, LLC, a strategic communications firm. A nationally recognized
strategist, Cutter has been a featured speaker at John F. Kennedy School of Government,
Smith College, American University, the University of Pennsylvania and dozens of
political, corporate and media conferences. Cutter was recently named by the Boston
Globe as one of the “Top 25 New Englanders to Watch,” and
currently serves as one of National Journal magazine’ s 100 “political
insiders” surveyed weekly on newsworthy political and public policy issues. She
frequently appears as a Democratic strategist discussing the issues of the day on
CNN, MSNBC, Bloomberg TV and Fox News Channel.
Cutter is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law
Center.
 Julianna Smoot ’89 joined the
Office of the United States Trade Representative in February 2009 as the Chief of
Staff. Prior to joining the USTR, Ms. Smoot served as Senior Advisor to President
Obama and served as Co-Chair of the Presidential Inaugural Committee. In
January 2007, Ms. Smoot joined President Obama’s Presidential Campaign
as the National Finance Director. Prior to working for President Obama, Ms.
Smoot served as National Finance Director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee, chaired by Senator Charles Schumer.
Previously, Ms. Smoot served as Senior Advisor to former
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and as Finance Director for Senator John Edwards’ race
for U.S. Senate. Ms. Smoot has also held positions with Senator Richard Durbin
and Senator Chris Dodd.
Julianna Smoot, a North Carolina native, received her
Bachelor’s Degree in Government from Smith College in Northampton, MA. |
