Ayesha A. Chowdhry is currently the Special Assistant to the Assistant to the Administrator and Director of the Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs at the U.S. Agency for International Development.  She previously worked as a Research Analyst and Publications Manager for the Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.  During her time at Brookings, she was the primary editor and research analyst for Bruce Riedel’s most recent book, Deadly Embrace: Pakistan, America and the Future of the Global Jihad.  Aysha worked as the Lead Researcher on the South Asia Foreign Policy Team during President Obama’s Presidential campaign.  Prior to this, she worked at the World Bank's Human Development Network.  Chowdhry received a B.A. with honors from Northwestern University and an M.A. in Near and Middle Eastern Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.