Toni G. Verstandig

Toni Verstandig is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Verstandig Family Foundation and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of State. A philanthropist and foreign policy expert with extensive government expertise on Middle East issues, Ms. Verstandig is particularly focused on international development, governance and private sector growth, and the Israel-Palestinian Conflict, along with broader challenges facing the Middle East. She is also the Founder of Prospect Global, a strategic consulting practice focused on driving innovation and entrepreneurship to create job growth and pathways for women and youth in the public and private sectors.

Ms. Verstandig is actively engaged and participates in task force convenings with major institutions in Washington, DC including the Atlantic Council, The Aspen Institute, Brookings Institution, Center for a New American Security and U.S. Institute of Peace that provide thought-leadership and new frameworks for advancing outcomes in critical geopolitical areas of interest in the Middle East. She is an active supporter and participant in The Aspen Ministers Forum founded and chaired by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, which seeks to strengthen diplomatic ties and serves as a preeminent platform regularly convening 20-25 former foreign ministers to discuss critical global challenges. It is a platform that enables candid dialogue and fosters insights that can realistically be applied.

Ms. Verstandig recently held a leadership role as Executive Vice President of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace, and Chair of the Middle East Program at The Aspen Institute, including Senior Advisor to the Public Programs Department, which includes the Abu Dhabi Ideas Lab and the Partners for a New Beginning Initiative. Previously, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Near Eastern Affairs at the US Department of State and served as a member of the US negotiation team tasked to reach a comprehensive agreement to end the Arab-Israeli conflict.

She is a longstanding member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the Board of Trustees of Children’s National Medical Center, The Foundation Board where she recently served as Chair of the Foundation Board. She also serves as an advisor on international issues to the CEO, Dr. Kurt Newman. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the Center for Global Development, the National Cryptologic Museum Foundation/Center for Education & Innovation, the University of Denver’s Korbel Graduate School of International Affairs, the U.S. Institute of Peace International Advisory Board, IREX Global Advisory Council and Women in International Security.

Ms. Verstandig is a graduate of Boston University and holds an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Seton Hill University. She is married to the Hon. Lee L. Verstandig and they have a son, Grant who is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rally Health.