As the Israel-Gaza conflict drags on, the world’s attention remains fixed on the humanitarian crisis ignited by the conflict. CCWA is honored to host Ambassador David M. Satterfield, U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues from October 2023 to April 2024, to shed light on such a complex situation. Ambassador Satterfield will discuss the United States’ response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and touch on the many hurdles that obstruct humanitarian relief, as well as how governments, organizations, and individuals problem-solve to overcome those hurdles.

Ambassador David M. Satterfield has over four decades of diplomatic service and policy and management leadership experience in the United States and overseas in the Near East and Europe. He has served as assistant secretary of state, National Security Council staff director, ambassador to Lebanon and Turkey, and chargé d’affaires in Iraq and Egypt. In October, 2023 President Biden appointed him White House Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues to lead US diplomacy in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Currently, Ambassador Satterfield serves as Director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. The Baker Institute’s more than 100 expert fellows and research associates focus on a range of public policy issues of importance to Texas, the nation and the world. The Institute’s Center for Energy Studies is widely regarded as the premier such global analysis and policy recommendation group, and the Baker Institute itself is ranked as one of only two Centers of Excellence among all academically affiliated institutions in the United States.