Alex Elnagdy is an assistant director at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, where he assists in the management and program support of a sustainable security architecture in the region. Elnagdy’s research focus includes biological-resource security, anticorruption, countering violent extremism, and missile defense. Elnagdy has both living and working experience in the Middle East and Latin America.

Prior to joining the Atlantic Council, Elnagdy worked as a researcher for the congressionally funded National Endowment for Democracy, where he supported the work of foreign activists, scholars, and journalists on the frontlines of democratic battles abroad. He also assisted grantmaking for partners in the Middle East and oversaw the implementation of 501(c)3 incorporation trainings for Afghan grantees relocated after the US withdrawal. Previously, Elnagdy worked at Ploughshares Fund, where he contributed to their research on the nexus between societal inequalities and security concerns within nuclear states.

As a student activist, he was elected president for a 2017 to 2018 term for the Colorado chapter of Project Nur, an American Islamic Congress initiative advocating for an environment of acceptance and mutual respect between Muslims and all communities. In this capacity, he managed anti-Islamophobia events with high-profile names such as Hasan Minhaj, contributed to US Department of Homeland Security roundtables with local mosques, and coordinated expert panels to analyze religion’s role in foreign policy. He completed his BA in international affairs with a regional concentration on the Middle East from the University of Colorado, with a language certificate from the Arabic Language Institute at the American University of Cairo.