Maggie Mitchell Salem

Resident Senior Director, National Democratic Institute (NDI)


United States of America

Maggie is Resident Senior Director at National Democratic Institute (NDI). Previously, Maggie was Executive Director of QFI (Qatar Foundation Intl) where she and a talented team led student-centered K-12 education programs in three areas: Arabic Language, Arab Societies & Culture, and Connected Communities. Before, she was Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), a leading democracy and governance NGO. She was Director of Communications and External Relations at the Middle East Institute and started her career as a Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. State Department. There she served as a Special Assistant to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and as a Special Assistant to Ambassador Martin S. Indyk at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel. Maggie completed coursework for a master’s degree in contemporary Arab studies at Georgetown University and was a Fulbright scholar in Syria. She holds bachelor’s degrees from The Johns Hopkins University in political science and psychology.