Ellie Cohanim serves as US Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism at the U.S. Department of State. Deputy Special Envoy Cohanim helps inform and carry out policies and related initiatives that aim to counter global anti-Semitism at the State Department.
Prior to her appointment, Deputy Special Envoy Cohanim was Senior Vice President and Special Correspondent for the Jewish Broadcasting Service (JBS), where she handled on-air reporting and anchored the broadcast of major international gatherings such as the Israel President’s Conference live from Jerusalem; the Jerusalem Post Conference live from New York; the AIPAC Policy Conference; and dozens of other global gatherings. Previously, she was an executive at Yeshiva University; the Jewish Theological Seminary; and UJA-Federation of New York.
Deputy Special Envoy Cohanim has served on the boards of AJC (New York region), New York Jewish Community Relations Council, and the Ester Chapter of Hadassah, which recognized her as a “Young Leader” in 2010. Previously, she served on an array of non-profit boards that focus on educating and advocating for religious freedom and fairness both domestically and internationally.
Deputy Special Envoy Cohanim arrived as a child refugee to the US, after she and her family fled the escalating anti-Semitism in Iran during the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Deputy Special Envoy Cohanim received her B.A. in Political Science, Cum Laude, from Barnard College, Columbia University. She has conducted graduate study in International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; and is also a graduate of the Muehlstein Institute for Jewish Professional Leadership/NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. She is fluent in Hebrew and Farsi, familiar with German and Arabic.