Board members

Dr. Anwar ul-Haq Ahady

Co-chair

Dr. Ahady is an economist and political scientist. Between 2002 and 2004, Dr. Ahady was responsible for overseeing Afghanistan’s central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), in his capacity as governor. Following his tenure at DAB, Dr. Ahady was Afghanistan’s Minister of Finance from December 2004 to February 2009 and served as Advisor of National Economy to the President before being appointed Minister of Commerce and Industry in June 2010, a role in which he served until November 2013. Finally, between 2020 and August 2021, Dr Ahady held the position of Minister of Agriculture. He holds a Master of Business Administration and a Doctorate in Political Science from Northwestern University. Dr. Ahady received his bachelor’s degree from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, where he also completed a master’s degree in political science.

Dr. Shah Mohammed Mehrabi

Co-chair

Dr. Mehrabi is currently employed as Professor of Economics at Montgomery College in Maryland. Dr. Mehrabi holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from California Polytechnic University, a master’s degree in economics from the University of Cincinnati, and a doctorate degree in Economics and Education from the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Mehrabi has extensive professional experience working on matters related to the economy and central bank of Afghanistan. He is currently a member of the Supreme Council of Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) and has served several previous terms since 2002. In addition, Dr. Mehrabi has served as senior economic advisor to Afghanistan’s previous ministers of finance.

Alexandra Baumann

Board Member - Swiss ambassador

Ambassador Baumann is currently Head of the Prosperity and Sustainability Division at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). In that role, she supports the Swiss Government in linking thematic policy areas with foreign policy and ensures the coherence of positions and efficient cooperation and coordination between the FDFA and relevant offices in other departments. Prior to this, she was the Diplomatic Advisor of the Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Finance and was responsible for all international activities of the Minister. She is a trained diplomat and worked in the Swiss Embassies in Santiago de Chile, Berlin and the Swiss Mission to the UN in New York. Ambassador Baumann holds a Master of Political Studies from the University of Zurich, Switzerland.

Dr. Jay Shambaugh

Board Member

Dr. Jay Shambaugh serves as Under Secretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In this position, his duties include helping to formulate Treasury’s international economic policies regarding the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, G7 and G20, exchange rate issues, climate policies and international financial regulation. His area of research is macroeconomics and international economics. His work includes analysis of the interaction of exchange rate regimes with monetary policy, capital flows, and trade flows as well as studies of international reserves holdings, country balance sheet exchange rate exposure, and regional growth disparities. He has had two prior stints in public service, including as a Member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers from 2015-2017. He is currently on leave as a Professor of Economics and International Affairs at George Washington University. Prior to joining the faculty at George Washington, Shambaugh taught at Georgetown and Dartmouth and was a visiting scholar at the IMF. Shambaugh received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.A. from the Fletcher School at Tufts, and a B.A. from Yale University.

Executive Secretary

Vacant