Leah Siskind

Leah Siskind is FDD’s director of impact and an artificial intelligence (AI) research fellow at FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation. At CCTI, her research focuses on the adversarial use of AI by state and non-state actors — including Iran, China, Russia, North Korea — targeting the United States and its allies.

Before joining FDD, Leah served as the deputy director of the AI Corps at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She previously spent four years with the U.S. Digital Service in the White House, where she led efforts to modernize government technology. Her private sector experience includes roles at data and analytics companies such as Palantir and Uptake. Earlier in her career, she served as chief of staff to former Obama adviser David Axelrod and worked in diplomacy as a representative of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, leading government affairs at the consulate in the Pacific Northwest.

Leah holds a B.A. in international relations and Spanish linguistics from Purdue University and an M.A. in Middle Eastern studies from the University of Chicago.