Dana L. Banks is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center. She is a former senior foreign service officer with over twenty-five years of experience advancing US foreign policy, national security, and commercial and public diplomacy. Most recently, Banks served as senior advisor to the US Chamber of Commerce’s Africa Business Center, where she advised on public policies that advanced the investment goals of US companies operating in Africa, particularly in the digital transformation, critical minerals, sustainable energy, healthcare, agriculture, and infrastructure sectors. In 2024, Banks was nominated by US President Joe Biden for the position of US executive director of the African Development Bank, representing the US government’s interests as the bank’s largest non-African shareholder.

From 2021 to 2023, Banks served at the White House as special assistant to the president and senior director for Africa at the National Security Council. She worked to transform the administration’s relationship with African partners on priority national security issues, including health security, democratic governance, digital transformation, sustainable energy, and commercial engagement.

In 2020, Banks served as director of executive development at the US Department of State’s School of Leadership and Management, where she redesigned leadership training for US ambassadors and deputy chiefs of mission. Throughout her diplomatic career, Banks served as deputy political counselor at the US embassy in Pretoria, South Africa; deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Lomé, Togo; and public affairs officer at the US embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Additional assignments include roles on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s staff in the Operations Center at the State Department in Washington, as special assistant to the assistant secretary for African Affairs, and overseas postings in Haiti and Thailand.

Banks has received numerous State Department awards and letters of commendation from the White House and National Security Council. In addition to being the proud mother of Christopher, Banks is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She holds a Master of Arts in international relations from Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Spelman College.