Sabs K. Quereshi

Prof. Sabs K. Quereshi is a senior-level leader with 17+ years of experience in global health, gender equality, health policy and equity, national security, foreign policy, humanitarian response, and government & multilateral affairs sectors in the U.S., with the UN, and worldwide. She is a Visiting Professor/ Lecturer for the Women in Global Politics course as part of the Gender Equality in International Affairs program at GWU Elliott School.

She is the former Director of the Rockefeller Foundation's Health Initiatives Division, and former Advisor to the United Nations Health and Immunizations, Emergencies, and Communications divisions in NY HQ as well as the Middle East and Africa country offices. She has previously served as a lead Policy Advisor and Acting Team Lead at the USAID Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance. Previously, Ms. Quereshi served as a Senior Health Advisor and COVID-19 Racial Equity Task Force Lead to the California Surgeon General and Governor Newsom's Office, WHO/IRC health sector and gender protection lead in Iraq and Syria for 10+ relief organizations at the height of the Syrian civil war, Ebola + Zika + Measles expert in West Africa, South America, and South Sudan outbreak epicenters, respectively; interagency lead, policy analyst and investigative epidemiologist for U.S. DHHS and even spent time advising Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Planned Parenthood Federation of America on the ACA, PEPFAR, CHIP, reproductive access and Medicaid during the Obama Administration, Bush Administration & the 110th Congress. She has published articles in academic journals ranging from Johns Hopkins University to Harvard’s Belfer Center and contributed to speeches and congressional testimonies for USAID Administrators, USUN ambassadors, Secretaries of State and HHS, CEOs, and online media publications.

Prof. Quereshi is of mixed Persian-Pakistani-Arab-Spanish descent, a Presidential Leadership Scholar, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She holds a B.S. in Biomedical Science from Marquette University, an M.P.H. in Health Policy from George Washington University, and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.