Dina A. Umar

Hi there, I'm Dina Abdalla-Umar. I work in legislative & public policy and international affairs in Washington D.C. I'm currently exploring opportunities in AI policy. I care about AI safety and governance because I strongly believe that mitigating its risks and driving its progress could raise the standard of living for billions of people, if done right.

I previously covered foreign policy, trade, emerging technology, transportation, industrial policy, and digital assets on Capitol Hill for several Committees and Members of Congress. I was privileged to work on the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (BIL) and implementation of the CHIPs Act.

Aside from Capitol Hill, I was a Boren Scholar to Oman (2017-2018) where I studied Arabic and Farsi, and researched nation-state building in the GCC. I was also a Fulbright Scholar to Algeria (2019-2020).

I've worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Cairo, Egypt, interned at the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, freelanced for the New York Times, served as a student researcher at CPOST at the University of Chicago, researched political developments in Egypt for Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni, and implemented grant programs on export controls and bio/chemical security for the U.S. State Department.

I'm an alumni of the Partnership for a Secure America's congressional program, the National Committee on US-China Relations and the African Union's Young Women's Mentorship Initiative. I'm also a proud member of Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security, and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS) and The Middle East Next Generation of Arms Control Specialists Network.