Shamila N. Chaudhary

Who is Shamila N. Chaudhary?

Shamila N. Chaudhary is a Senior South Asia Fellow at the New America Foundation and an analyst at the Eurasia Group. She specializes in U.S.-Pakistan relations, Pakistan internal politics, and regional issues in South Asia. From April 2010 until July 2011, she served as Pakistan Director at the National Security Council. Prior to that she served as a member of the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff and as a senior adviser to Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke, beginning in February 2009. Chaudhary rose through the ranks at the State Department after impressing Secretary Hillary Clinton with her knowledge and outspoken nature during a briefing.

Chaudhary earned an M.A. in International Affairs from the American University’s School of International Service and a B.A. in English Literature and Women’s Studies from the University of Toledo. She was a 1999 David L. Boren National Security Education Program Fellow and studied Urdu in Lahore, Pakistan as part of her fellowship. Her writings on Pakistan cover such diverse topics as energy policy and feminism & national identity. Chaudhary and her husband have also established the Chaudhary-Steinitz Research grant at University of Toledo to support undergraduate students studying issues related to Pakistan.