Laila Hasan
WCAPS Advisory Council Member
Laila Hasan was sworn in as a Foreign Service Office in 2010, and currently serves in the Department of State's Operations Center as a Watch Officer. From 2015-2017, Laila worked in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs' Office of Policy and Global Issues, where she was responsible for the countering violent extremism (CVE) portfolio. In 2016, she was detailed to the Bureau of Counterterrorism's newly-created Office of Countering Violent Extremism to help craft the Department's CVE strategy and policy for Europe.
Before returning to Washington, Laila served as a Political Officer covering CVE and human rights issues at Embassy Brussels from 2013-2015. She was posted to Embassy Beirut from 2010-2012, working on human rights and Syrian refugee issues in both the Political and Consular sections. In the fall of 2018, Laila will begin a three-year assignment at Embassy Paris as a Political Officer.
Prior to joining the Department of State, Laila worked for the Department of Defense as an Arabic Language Analyst, focused on Middle East and counterterrorism issues. She holds a B.A. in International Affairs from The George Washington University, and speaks Arabic and French.
Career Path Q&A
Do you think being a woman of color has had an impact on your career so far?
I think everyone’s identity impacts their career in one way or another, and mine is certainly no different. While I’ve faced challenges due to both my gender and ethnicity, I’ve always drawn strength from the fact that the United States is a nation of immigrants and everyone has a unique story to tell. Everybody has a voice, and everyone deserves a seat at the table. In order to tackle today’s toughest obstacles, we need to take into account diverse opinions, perspectives, and experiences. One of the ways to achieve this is by cultivating a diverse workforce that mirrors society. Traditionally, defense and counter-terrorism fields have been male-dominated arenas, but today there are many more women of all backgrounds pursuing careers in these field. It’s imperative that we work together to support these young women, empowering them to be part of the next generation of strong leaders. As a woman and the daughter of a Muslim immigrant, I know first-hand the struggles one can face just to get a seat at the table. But now that I have, I see it as my responsibility to help ensure there are enough place settings at the table for those who follow.
How did you join the State Department?
After graduating college, I joined the Department of Defense as an Arabic Language Analyst, focused on Middle East and Counter-terrorism issues, but it had always been my dream to work at the State Department. In middle school, I idolized Madeleine Albright as she became the first female Secretary of State. I couldn't imagine a cooler job than traveling around the world and meeting with foreign dignitaries, and my inner feminist was thrilled that a woman represented America abroad. Nearly 15 years later, I signed up to take the Foreign Service written exam, and after a series of interviews and tests spanning more than a year, I was sworn in as a Foreign Service Officer in 2010. The fact that the daughter of a small-town Kentucky mother and a Pakistani immigrant father is now serving as an American diplomat makes me immensely proud. And it’s with that sense of pride and gratitude for all this country has afforded us that I pursued a career in public service.
Any advice for someone who would like to join the Foreign Service?
I would encourage anyone who is thinking about joining the Foreign Service to sign up and take the exam. Many people think you have to be a student of international affairs, politics, or history in order to pass the entrance exams, but that isn’t the case at all. Of course knowledge of foreign affairs is important, but a diverse academic background is equally valuable.
Our job as diplomats is to represent America abroad, and it is essential that our colleagues reflect the diversity-whether racial, ethnic, religious, geographic, academic-that enriches our great nation. Among the members of my orientation class, we had former lawyers, journalists, and even a pilot. There isn’t one cookie cutter profile or biography needed to be a successful Foreign Service Officer. What matters is a curiosity of the world around us, an appreciation for different cultures and languages, and a commitment to representing the United States’ values and ideals, both at home and abroad.
Why did you pick countering violent extremism as one of your areas of expertise?
I was in Beirut, serving the first year of my first Foreign Service tour, when the Arab Spring broke out. I was a Political Officer covering human rights and refugee issues when the Syrian civil war began, and before I knew it I was accompanying our military officers to survey the Lebanese-Syrian border and assess the number of refugees fleeing to Lebanon. In 2011, we could not begin to imagine what atrocities would ensue in Syria, nor the rise and global impact of ISIL that would soon emerge. By the time I arrived in Brussels in 2013 for my second Foreign Service tour, Belgium held the dubious honor of sending one of the highest levels of foreign terrorist fighters to Syria and Iraq to fight with ISIL. I dedicated a large portion of my assignment in Brussels to developing strategies and programs to foster social cohesion among Belgian minority communities, improve community policing efforts, and exchange best practices with Belgian government officials and civil society leaders, all aimed at ultimately reducing the number of foreign terrorist fighters.
Despite working on these issues for several years in the field, I often discounted the impact my own minority background had when meeting with minority communities in Europe, and the apparent positive influence a diverse workforce and diplomatic corps could have. This manifested itself in one of my proudest moments in the Foreign Service, while sitting with a group of Belgian Muslim activists, strategizing ways to counter rising Islamophobia across Europe. As we discussed tactics for amplifying their voices and crafting counter-narratives to hate speech, one of the activists told me I was a role model. That my mere existence as the daughter of a Muslim immigrant, now serving abroad as an American diplomat, was something many young European Muslims didn’t dare to imagine they could achieve. Yet by seeing me in front of them, it inspired the dream of a different future for themselves and the continued pursuit of religious freedom and social integration. I can’t imagine a greater feeling than knowing our country’s work abroad is having such a direct impact on communities, and it’s with that sense of pride that I keep trying to fight violent extremism in all its forms.
The views expressed here are Laila Hasan’s and do not reflect those of the U.S. Department of State or United States Government.
