Dan Spokojny

Dan Spokojny is the founder and CEO of fp21, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank dedicated to transforming the processes and institutions of U.S. foreign policy and introducing a culture of evidence-based decision-making. fp21 has an official partnership with the Department of State, supports Congressional reform efforts, and build bridges between Washington and Silicon Valley.

Dan has served in government for over a decade as a diplomat and a legislative staffer in Congress. In his assignment with the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, he created a Mediation Support Capacity for the Department of State, building a hub of expertise to support Ambassadors and Special Envoys engaged in negotiations to end conflict in places such as Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, and Burundi. Dan also served in the office of the Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Office of Pakistan Affairs, and in our diplomatic missions to Pakistan, Lithuania, and Belarus. He was previously elected as a member of the Governing Board of the American Foreign Service Association, and currently serves on the editorial board of the Foreign Service Journal.

Prior to joining the Department of State, Dan worked in the U.S. House of Representatives, specializing in foreign affairs, budget, and appropriations issues, specializing on issues pertaining to the Iraq War.

Dan is Ph.D. candidate in political science at the University of California at Berkeley, specializing in international relations and methods. His dissertation focuses on the nature and role of expertise in foreign policy.