Kirsten Fontenrose is a nonresident senior fellow at the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative in the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs. Previously, Fontenrose was director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative in the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs until December 2021. Fontenrose spent 2018 as senior director for the Gulf at the National Security Council, leading the development of US policy toward nations of the GCC, Yemen, Egypt, and Jordan. Prior to this service at the White House, Fontenrose spent a year in the private sector consulting on specialized projects in the national security space. Her interagency experience includes five years at the Department of State leading the Middle East and Africa team in the interagency Global Engagement Center. Prior to this, Fontenrose worked with a field team studying foreign populations for US Department of Defense Theater Special Operations Commands.  

She holds a BA in Middle East Studies from the College of William and Mary, an MA in Middle East Studies from Indiana University, funded by a US government grant, and an MBA from Harvard Business School’s General Management Program. She has appeared on CNN, Fox News, CNBC, Al Arabiya, BBC, Al Jazeera, and other international news media outlets.