Janette Yarwood

Janette is building on OIA’s work to support the Yale Africa Initiative and outreach efforts in the Middle East including working with Yale faculty to help deepen Yale’s engagement in these regions, developing partnerships, supporting admissions recruitment, and building alumni networks. Prior to joining Yale, Janette held several roles in Washington D.C., most recently as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of African Affairs at the Department of State where she worked on strategic initiatives and policy priorities including contributing to the Biden-Harris administration’s U.S. strategy toward Africa, planning elements of the U.S. – Africa Leaders Summit, developing an African diaspora engagement strategy, and serving as a liaison to academic institutions and think tanks. In this role she also deployed to Doha, Qatar to assist with the Afghanistan evacuation effort. Previously, she was staff director of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations where she led a comprehensive foreign policy agenda. She also managed the Middle East portfolio during which time she spent a month in Israel and traveled to the West Bank and Jordan to gain a deeper understanding of the region. Janette is a Fulbright scholar and holds a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from the Graduate Center, City University of New York.