Jameela Raja Akbari is currently the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Global Talent Management. She serves as the Director of the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations (OAA) for the Department of State (Department). OAA aims to create a barrier-free environment and provides centralized disability services and expertise to advance the Department’s mission worldwide.
Prior to joining OAA in May 2019, Jameela worked on workforce planning and oversight issues related to IT at DOS for five years. Jameela began her federal career in 2001 as a Presidential Management Fellow at the Department of Health and Human Services. She has also worked at the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and did a detail to the Department of Education’s Office of the Deputy Secretary and the Bureau of South and Central Asia in the Department. Jameela holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. She completed the Department of State’s Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program in 2019.