Alyssa Ayres is the Dean of The George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, the first woman to hold the post. She was also a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations for India, Pakistan, and Southeast Asia from October 2013 to February 2021. After her appointment as dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs, she has taken a position as an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Her book Our Time Has Come: How India is Making Its Place in the World, was published in January 2018 and appeared on the “Summer 2018: Politics” list in the Financial Times.

Reuben E. Brigety II is an American diplomat and academic who has served as the United States ambassador to South Africa since August 2022. He was the vice-chancellor and president of the University of the South, in Sewanee, Tennessee, from 2020 to 2021. Previously, Brigety served as dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. Prior to that, Brigety has served as United States ambassador to the African Union, as a deputy assistant secretary of state, and as permanent representative to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.