Ambassador Daniel B. Shapiro was director of the N7 Initiative and distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs. He is a former US ambassador to Israel, having served in that role from 2011 to 2017. Prior to his appointment, he worked as senior director for the Middle East and North Africa on the National Security Council at the White House, continuing from his role as senior policy adviser in Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Shapiro dedicated much of his career working in senior positions in the US Congress, with a particular focus on Middle East policy. From 2001 to 2007, he worked as legislative advisor and later deputy chief of staff for then US Senator Bill Nelson. From 1999 to 2001, he was director for legislative affairs at the National Security Council, serving as congressional liaison for National Security Adviser Sandy Berger.

Shapiro also previously served as a staff member on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East and as a senior foreign policy adviser to US Senator Dianne Feinstein. In addition to his congressional posts, he has also served as an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and in 2007 he was named vice president of Timmons & Company. Most recently, Shapiro was a distinguished visiting fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv from 2017 to 2021. Concurrently, he was a principal at WestExec Advisors.