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![Colby Connelly](https://www.mei.edu/sites/default/files/styles/profile_image_size/public/photos/Connelly_sq.jpg?itok=tWRj0fuu)
About the Director
Colby Connelly
Colby Connelly is the director of MEI's Economics and Energy program. He is also a senior analyst at Energy Intelligence, where he works with the firm’s research and advisory practices. His key areas of focus include oil and gas/LNG markets, aboveground risk, corporate strategy, and the impact of the energy transition on oil and gas producing states.
Advisory Council
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Chairperson
Dr. Karen E. Young is a political economist focusing on the Gulf, the broader MENA region and the intersection of energy, finance and security. She is a Senior Research Scholar at the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy. She was a Senior Fellow and Founding Director of the Program on Economics and Energy at the Middle East Institute. She was a Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and has been a professorial lecturer at George Washington University, teaching courses on the international relations of the Middle East. She regularly teaches at the US Dept of State Foreign Service Institute. Read full bio
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Marwan Abedin
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Wayne C. Ackerman
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Dr. Raad Alkadiri
![](https://www.mei.edu/sites/default/files/2021-07/ali_al-salim.jpeg)
Ali Al-Salim
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Michael Cohen
![](https://www.mei.edu/sites/default/files/2021-07/helima_croft.jpg)
Helima Croft
![](https://www.mei.edu/sites/default/files/2023-11/Abhishek%20Deshpande.jpg)
Abhishek Deshpande
![](https://www.mei.edu/sites/default/files/2021-07/ishac_diwan_square.jpg)
Ishac Diwan
![](https://www.mei.edu/sites/default/files/2021-07/tarek_fadlallah.jpg)
Tarek Fadlallah
![](https://www.mei.edu/sites/default/files/2021-07/shahrokh_fardoust.png)
Shahrokh Fardoust
![](https://www.mei.edu/sites/default/files/2021-07/Riyad%20Hammad.jpg)
Riyad Hammad
![](/sites/default/files/2022-05/Khatija%202021%20s.jpg)
Khatija Haque
![](https://www.mei.edu/sites/default/files/2021-07/molavi_afshin.png)
Afshin Molavi
![](https://www.mei.edu/sites/default/files/2021-07/bessma_momani.jpg)
Bessma Momani
![](https://www.mei.edu/sites/default/files/2021-07/alia_moubayed.jpg)
Alia Moubayed
![](https://www.mei.edu/sites/default/files/2021-07/carole_nakhle.jpg)
Carole Nakhle
![](https://www.mei.edu/sites/default/files/2021-07/rachel_ziemba.jpg)
Rachel Ziemba
Economics and Energy Program Experts
Expert Voices
Watch a series of interviews featuring experts and advisory council members from MEI's Economics and Energy Program. Click the Playlist button in the upper-right corner of the video player to select different interviews. More videos will be added here in the months ahead!
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