Caroline Wadhams was a fellow in New America's International Security program, where she focused on fragile and conflict-affected states in South Asia and Africa. Her research focused on the drivers of conflict and policies to address governance and economic challenges and to reduce violent conflict.
For more than 15 years, she has worked on foreign policy and national security issues in the executive and legislative branches and leading U.S. think tanks. Most recently, Wadhams was a senior advisor to the U.S. Special Envoy for the Great Lakes of Africa at the Department of State, focused primarily on the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda. Prior to this position, she served as a senior advisor and acting director in the Office of the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, a strategic review and reform document for the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development.
Prior to the State Department, Wadhams was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, where she focused on Afghanistan, Pakistan, terrorism, and U.S. national security. Previously in her career, she served as a legislative assistant on foreign policy issues for Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.). She also worked at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C. and New York.
She received a master’s degree in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and her BA in history from the Colorado College. Wadhams has been a guest analyst with numerous international, national, and local news outlets and has authored articles in publications such as the Washington Post, Boston Globe, U.S. News & World Report, and Foreign Policy.