Elmira Bayrasli

Elmira Bayrasli
Elmira Bayrasli, 2015
EducationB.A. in political science from New York University, M.A. in Middle Eastern languages and literatures from Columbia University
Occupation(s)Professor, author

Elmira Bayrasli is an American educator and author whose work focuses on global entrepreneurship and foreign policy. She is the author of From the Other Side of the World: Extraordinary Entrepreneurs, Unlikely Places (Public Affairs, 2015), a book profiling entrepreneurs in seven countries and exploring the challenges they face.[1] Bayrasli is also the co-founder of Foreign Policy Interrupted, an initiative with the goal to increase the representation of women in foreign policy media.

Bayrasli teaches in the Globalization and International Affairs Program at Bard College and is an adjunct professor at New York University, where her courses focus on foreign policy and global entrepreneurship.[2]

Biography

In 2014, Elmira Bayrasli was awarded a fellowship by New America, focusing on Turkey and the Middle East.[3] She is also a fellow at the World Policy Institute. She holds a B.A. in political science from New York University, and has an M.A. in Middle Eastern languages and literature from Columbia University.[4][5][6]

Bayrasli regularly contributes to TechCrunch on global entrepreneurship and provides analysis on foreign policy. Her work appears in The New York Times,[7] Reuters, Foreign Affairs, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Quartz,[8] Fortune, Forbes, CNN, NPR, BBC, Al Jazeera, and Charlie Rose.[9] She is a regular guest on the BBC's Business Matters. In 2010, she wrote "Fashioning A New Future For Pakistan" about Bareeze in Forbes.[10]

In 1994, Bayrasli joined Madeleine K. Albright's team at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Following President Clinton's re-election in 1996 and Albright's appointment as Secretary of State, she received a White House Presidential Appointment to the Office of the U.S. Secretary of State. In 1998, when Richard Holbrooke became the lead negotiator to resolve the Cyprus conflict, Bayrasli joined his special negotiator's office.

In 2002, Bayrasli was assigned to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Mission. As the Mission's Chief Spokesperson and Director of Press and Public Information, she addressed post-war recovery and development. After leading the Mission's 10th-anniversary activities in 2005, which included an award-winning documentary on the Roma, a TV series on Bosnian television, and a ten-year Mission retrospective, she returned to New York in January 2006. In New York, she served as the vice president for Endeavor, a global non-profit supporting entrepreneurs.

Since 2006, Bayrasli has been involved in promoting high-growth entrepreneurship globally. She is a frequent speaker at conferences and a commentator on entrepreneurship, having addressed the United Nations Conference on Trade & Development in Geneva. She was a delegate for the Skoll World Forum for Social Entrepreneurship and the Clinton Global Initiative.

Bayrasli was previously a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is now a life member.[11] She is affiliated with the Women's Foreign Policy Group [12]and the New York Women's Social Entrepreneurs Club.[13]

References

  1. ^ Bayrasli, Elmira (2015). From the Other Side of the World: Extraordinary Entrepreneurs, Unlikely Places. PublicAffairs.
  2. ^ "Elmira Bayrasli – Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program". Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  3. ^ "Elmira Bayrasli". New America. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  4. ^ College, Bard. "Faculty and Staff | Bard NYC". bardnyc.bard.edu. Retrieved 2025-05-21.
  5. ^ "Elmira Bayrasli". New America. Retrieved 2025-05-21.
  6. ^ "Beyond Silicon Valley: Elmira Bayrasli on Innovation in Unlikely Places". www.carnegiecouncil.org. Retrieved 2025-05-21.
  7. ^ Chrystia Freeland (April 4, 2013). "How to Get Rich From the Eastward Tilt". The New York Times. Reuters.
  8. ^ "Elmira Bayrasli". Quartz. 2016-07-17. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  9. ^ "Elmira Bayrasli". Charlie Rose. Retrieved 2019-04-20.
  10. ^ Hossain, Anushay. "Outside The Box: Kalsoom Lakhani Looks For Innovators In Emerging Markets". Forbes.
  11. ^ "Council on Foreign Relations". www.cfr.org. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  12. ^ "Carnegie New Leaders Interview: Moving Foreign Policy Forward, with Elmira Bayrasli". www.carnegiecouncil.org. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  13. ^ "Elmira Bayrasli". Women's Funding Network. Retrieved 2025-06-20.