Katherine B. Hadda

Visiting Fellow, Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies
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Katherine B. Hadda

Katherine B. Hadda is a prior senior diplomat who most recently served as U.S. consul general in Hyderabad, India, where she was the most senior U.S. official in a region covering three Indian states with a combined population of 130 million. During her tenure, Ms. Hadda advocated for the interests of over 130 U.S. companies in the district, managed 1 of the 10 busiest U.S. visa operations in the world, and led an active media and cultural program to promote U.S. strategic interests. Her Twitter account garnered a million views monthly and was recognized one of the most interactive U.S. diplomatic social media platforms in South and Central Asia. Ms. Hadda is a former adviser to the board of United Way Hyderabad and currently serves on the board of the Institute of Advanced Studies in Complex Choices, a Hyderabad-based nongovernmental organization promoting better-informed decision making in government and private organizations in India and internationally.

Prior to her time in India, Ms. Hadda served as minister counselor for economic affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, where she advised the ambassador and senior U.S. officials on issues threatening the financial stability of Italy, then the world’s eighth largest economy. Her other diplomatic assignments included work on Taiwan’s World Trade Organization negotiations in Taipei, Taiwan; building cooperation in the fight against terrorist finance as economic officer in London; strengthening U.S.-New Zealand military and diplomatic cooperation as political counselor in Wellington; and coordinating foreign donor assistance as deputy to the U.S. ambassador overseeing $4.4 billion in economic assistance to Afghanistan. In Washington, Ms. Hadda’s positions included associate dean at the Foreign Service Institute, where she managed economic and regional training for U.S. government employees from 46 different agencies. Ms. Hadda was also an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow and director for central Europe and former Soviet states at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Ms. Hadda holds a B.A. in sociology from Smith College and a Master’s of International Affairs from Columbia University.

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