Eli Sugarman is Senior Director at Gryphon Partners LLC, an advisory and investment firm that counsels leading international businesses and non-profit organizations on market entry, investment opportunities, dispute avoidance, and strategic communications in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the broader Middle East. He previously served as a Foreign Affairs Officer in the Bureaus of Political Military Affairs and International Security and Nonproliferation at the Department of State, where his portfolios covered regional security matters in the Middle East and Western Hemisphere. Eli was formerly a Visiting Fellow at the Foundation for International Relations and Foreign Dialogue (FRIDE) in Madrid and a Fellow at the Stanford Center for International Conflict and Negotiation. Mr. Sugarman is the co-author of multiple texts on law and business dealings in Afghanistan and Co-Founder of the Afghanistan Legal Education Project (ALEP). He sits on the Boards of several non-profit organizations, including the Alliance for the Restoration of Cultural Heritage (ARCH) and Volunteers in Africa. Eli earned his B.A. from Middlebury College and his J.D. from Stanford Law School.