Iran Expert Holly Dagres Joins Institute
Washington, DC – Holly Dagres, an expert in Iranian domestic politics – with an emphasis on Iran’s youth – has joined The Washington Institute as its Libitzky Family Senior Fellow, the research organization announced today.
“We are thrilled to welcome Holly to The Washington Institute,” said Segal Executive Director Robert Satloff, the Institute’s Howard P. Berkowitz Chair in U.S. Middle East Policy. “Her unique insight into a key piece of Iranian politics – Iran’s young generation – will complement the expertise of our Iran team and play a key role in shaping policies to advance freedom, openness and political change inside the Islamic Republic.”
Previously a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council's Middle East Programs, Dagres edited the IranSource and MENASource publications and led a working group on human rights, society, and the environment for the bipartisan report The Future of U.S. Strategy Toward Iran: A Roadmap for the Next Administration.
Dagres also curates The Iranist, a widely read weekly newsletter on Iran, and contributes to Operation Environment Watch. Her groundbreaking report, Iranians on #SocialMedia, and her TEDxTalk on the topic have established her as a leading voice on Iranian social movements and generational change. She has been featured in interviews across radio, television, and print, including the Associated Press, BBC News, CNN, NPR, Fox News, and The New York Times. Her work also earned recognition on the Middle East Policy Council's "40 under 40" list – twice.
An Iranian-American who spent her teenage years in Iran and graduated from Tehran International School, Dagres returned to the United States to attend UCLA, which she graduated with degrees in French and political science. In addition, she received a master’s degree in political science with a concentration in international relations from the American University in Cairo.
Media Contact: Shelby Weiss, 202-230-9550, email.
About The Washington Institute: The Institute is an independent, nonpartisan research institution funded exclusively by U.S. citizens that seeks to advance a balanced and realistic understanding of American interests in the Middle East and to promote the policies that secure them. Drawing on the research of its fellows and the experience of its policy practitioners, the Institute promotes informed debate and scholarly research on U.S. policy in the region.