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 You are in: Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs > Bureau of Public Affairs > Bureau of Public Affairs: Electronic Information and Publications Office > Photo Gallery > Photos by Regions and Topics > Office of Civil Rights > Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month > 2008 

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, 2008: Mahvash Siddiqui

Office of Civil Rights
Washington, DC
May 9, 2008

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, 2008: Mahvash SiddiquiMahvash Siddiqui joined the Department of State in March 2004. She brings a unique academic background and cultural experience acquired from being a U.N. diplomat’s daughter. She was amongst a handful of candidates chosen from her A-100 class to serve hard-to-fill mid-senior positions at State. She served her first tour in the Office of Terrorism Finance (EB) under the guidance of Amb. Anthony Wayne. In this capacity, she worked closely with the National Security Council (NSC) to designate 55 foreign terrorist organizations, which she believes was one of the most rewarding experiences.

In her second tour, Ms. Siddiqui capitalized on her science/technology background, where she served as the Visas Mantis Coordinator in Chennai, India. She was popularly known as the “resident expert on sensitive technologies” and guided fellow consular officers on nuclear proliferation concerns. She also proved to be an asset to US public diplomacy efforts where her knowledge of 7 Indian languages made her a great resource for outreach to minorities.

Prior to finding her lifelong calling in diplomacy, Ms. Siddiqui was a “Jill-of-all-trades”. She worked as a financial analyst for Archos and dabbled in investment banking. Before obtaining an MBA in finance, she worked as a genetic engineer at Quest Diagnostics and at UCLA. Although she enjoyed being a scientist in the Neuropsychiatry Institute at UCLA School of Medicine, she opposed the killing of animals for brain research. Having an affinity for genetics, she hopes to integrate her expertise with her public diplomacy work in Qatar.

Ms. Siddiqui hails from sunny Orange County, California which she considers to be the loveliest place on Earth. Besides globetrotting, she enjoys riding horses and fast roller coasters. She explains that life in the Foreign Service is very much like a roller coaster, full of challenges and joys, never a dull moment here.


Released on May 29, 2008

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