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Andy Rabens

Special Adviser for Global Youth Issues

Term of Appointment: 10/19/2014 to present

Andy Rabens serves as the Special Adviser for Global Youth Issues at the U.S. Department of State in the Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. He focuses on helping the U.S. Government better engage young people internationally to help solve the pressing challenges of today while also building greater global connectivity and networks to shape a more secure and prosperous future. He serves as the principal representative on youth issues for the U.S. Department of State and leads efforts to coordinate and amplify global youth policy and initiatives in three primary areas: 1) Engaging youth in honest two way dialogue - including through Youth Councils and regional networks; 2) Empowering youth as drivers of their own destinies through programs on expanded economic opportunity and skills building; 3) Elevating the voice of young people in global affairs and amplifying the issues that affect them.

Andy previously served at the U.S. Department of State in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs as the Special Advisor for Youth Engagement in the Middle East and North Africa and as the Public Diplomacy Desk Officer for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs. He has also served in the Bureau of African Affairs; the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs; and in the Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.

Prior to joining the State Department in 2008, Andy worked for United States Senator Dianne Feinstein and for the Rt. Honorable Ed Miliband in the UK Parliament. Andy is a former Presidential Management Fellow and in 2012, was named one of the Top 99 Foreign Policy Leaders under 33 by Diplomatic Courier Magazine and Young Professionals in Foreign Policy. In 2013, he was awarded a “Service to America Medal” by the Partnership for Public Service for his Middle East and North Africa youth engagement work at the State Department. Andy is a Fellow with the New Leaders Council; a Fellow with the Truman National Security Project; an advisory board member with the Millennial Action Project; and a long-time Tutor at Miner Elementary School in Washington, DC.

Andy holds a bachelors degree from Harvard University and a masters degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science.