Julie Egan is an economic advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Economic, Energy and Business Affairs (EEB) at the State Department covering economic policy and bilateral trade in the Middle East and North Africa.  In this capacity she works closely with the National Security Council, the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff, the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and the United States Trade Representative's Office on formulating U.S. foreign economic policy and economic initiatives towards the Middle East and North Africa.  Prior to joining the State Department, Ms. Egan worked for the European Commission (External Relations Direcorate General) in Brussels, UNESCO in Paris, Booz Allen Hamilton, and for several micro-finance and micro-enterprise agencies in Benin, South Africa, Ecuador, and Morocco.  Ms. Egan holds a graduate degree from Columbia University in International Affairs with a regional certificate in Middle Eastern Studies, and a degree in Political Science from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris where she was a Government of France Chateaubriand Fellow. She holds a double Honors BA in International Relations and Political Economy from James Madison College at Michigan State University.  Ms. Egan conducted doctoral research in Morocco as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar focusing on U.S. foreign economic policy-making towards the North Africa region during the Clinton administration.