Daniel R. Mahanty

As the Director of CIVIC’s new Research, Learning, and Innovation Unit, Dan leads a team of advisors that work to advance CIVIC’s strategic goals through research initiatives and special projects, technical advisory services, organizational learning, and public thought leadership. He was formerly the Director of CIVIC’s U.S. Program (2017-2021) where he promoted the adoption of U.S. policies and practices for preventing and responding to civilian harm in conflict. He served at the Department of State from 1999-2016, where he created and led the Office of Security and Human Rights in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.  He is a member of the UN advisory network on Security Sector Reform, a non-resident Senior Associate at the Center on Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and a former term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He was an instructor with Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program and the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas through Kansas University.  His writings have appeared in Foreign Policy, Newsweek, War on the Rocks, Defense One, Just Security among others. He holds a master’s degree in national security policy from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from George Mason University. He lives in the Hague, Netherlands.