Rachel Schneller

International Affairs Fellow

Former international affairs fellow in residence at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

During her IAF tenure, she researched the implications for Iraq and U.S. foreign policy of the displacement of 4 million Iraqis from their original homes to locations outside and inside Iraq. Rachel was a foreign service officer with the U.S. Department of State. She began her service in 2001 and has served at U.S. embassies in Macedonia and Guinea, as well as in the State Department's Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs and the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. From 2005-2006, she served at the U.S. regional Embassy Office in Basra, Iraq, where she reported on sectarian violence and internal displacement following the Samarra mosque bombing. Prior to joining the U.S. Department of State, Rachel served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali from 1996-98. She earned her MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Top Stories on CFR

Iran

The IRGC is one of the most powerful organizations in Iran, conceived as the principal defender of the 1979 revolution, and now a critical link to Islamist militant groups violently opposed to Israel and the United States.

United States

Each Friday, I examine what is happening with President-elect Donald Trump’s transition to the White House. This week: Presidential transitions are complicated affairs, especially when power passes from one party to another.

Climate Change

The 2024 summit in Azerbaijan comes amid fresh reports showing that global warming levels are accelerating, bringing more intense climate-related disasters and an increased demand for funding to mitigate and protect communities from the effects of climate change.