Toby Dershowitz

Ms. Toby Dershowitz has spent more than 25 years in Washington, focusing on policy issues related to terrorism, cyber, democracy building, energy security and the Middle East. As FDD’s Vice President for Government Relations and Strategy, she engages in policy roadmapping that identifies the conceptual issues and the strategy necessary to move the dial in the policy arena. Ms. Dershowitz also serves on the Board of Advisors of FDD’s Center on Sanctions and Illicit Finance. Possessing a strong commitment to bi-partisanship, she briefs and works closely with Members of Congress and their staff as well as with officials throughout the Executive Branch. Her office also facilitates rapid response research driven by requests from government officials. She co-directs several FDD projects including: 1) Iran Human Rights Project which works with FDD scholars and others addressing Iranian human rights abuses, international companies whose equipment is used as tools of oppression by the regime, and human rights sanctions designed to hold Iranian officials and international companies accountable; 2) Syria Working Group, which identifies policies aimed at supporting Syria’s pro-democracy movement and leveraging vulnerabilities in the regime and relationships with the US and foreign governments to thwart the Assad regime’s brutality; 3) Project on terrorist media, which identifies and seeks to formally designate as terrorist entities traditional and new media owned by terrorist organizations that are used to influence populations throughout the world for nefarious purposes. Leveraging her prior work as Spokesperson and Director of Media Relations for a leading foreign policy organization for 14 years and director of a press association for 12 subsequent years, Ms. Dershowitz maintains strong ties to domestic and international reporters, columnists and editors. She has written several guides regarded as ‘media bibles’ for advocacy organizations. She has done media training for Fortune 500 executives and continues to serve as counselor for clients of The Dershowitz Group, a public affairs and strategic communications firm. Ms. Dershowitz spent a year of academic study in Cairo, Egypt and is conversational in Arabic, Hebrew and Spanish.