Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia
Eileen O'Connor is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia and senior adviser to the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, from May 2011 to October 2015, overseeing strategic communications and public diplomacy programs focused on strengthening civil society, the role of women, countering violent extremism, improving education, and increasing the role of independent media. A former award winning war zone correspondent, she has covered the region since the mid-1980's, later working as an attorney specializing in legal crisis management.