KEI Contributor

Esperanza Gomez Jelalian, executive director for Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, advances the interests of U.S. business in the world’s fastest-growing region. Ms. Jelalian serves as president of the Chamber’s U.S.-Pakistan Business Council and executive director of the U.S.-Korea Business Council. She provides leadership and direction to both councils and oversees strategic planning, policy, advocacy, and programs that promote U.S. business opportunities and investment in Korea and Pakistan.

Previously, Ms. Jelalian was senior director for the Chamber’s South Asia program. There she launched and managed the U.S.-Bangladesh Working Group and developed and executed programs and policy activities related to trade and investment in Afghanistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Before joining the Chamber, Ms. Jelalian worked with the late Rep. Charlie Wilson (D-TX) in the government relations firms of Wilson Associates and Hooper Owen & Winburn, representing the government of Pakistan and a number of companies before the U.S. Congress and the executive branch on a range of issues. These included foreign policy, defense appropriations, U.S. foreign assistance, sanctions, and international trade.

Earlier, she held positions with the Republican National Committee, the late Sen. Bob Dole’s (R-KS) Better America Foundation, and American International Group (AIG). She serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the U.S.-Pakistan Women’s Council. Ms. Jelalian has an M.A. in international commerce and policy and a B.A. in international studies from George Mason University in Virginia. She also has a certificate in executive leadership from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.