About Me
A former Middle East advisor at the Pentagon, Jasmine has served for 22 years in public and private-sector organisations covering issues related to national security and international affairs, including as a consultant to the United Nations and European Union. She founded Mindwork Strategies in 2022 with a mission to help organisations craft empathy-based, culturally driven approaches to foreign policy, communications and workplace mental health. Her podcast, Mind/work with Jasmine El-Gamal, explores mental health in the workplace through storytelling.
During her tenure at the Pentagon, Jasmine served three Secretaries of Defense, advising on Middle East issues in times of crisis, including post-war Iraq, the Arab Spring, the war against ISIS and the Syria conflict. She accompanied successive Secretaries of Defence on trips to the Middle East, where she prepared them for meetings and drafted post-trip memorandums to the President as well as correspondence to foreign leaders. During the Syria war, she was instrumental in preparing Secretary Pancetta for his first public Congressional hearing on Syria and later was asked to serve as an interpreter for Secretary Hagel during his interactions with then Defence Minister al-Sisi following the Arab Spring.
Also during her tenure, she was asked to serve as the Acting Chief of Staff for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Policy and later as Special Assistant to three consecutive Under Secretaries of Defense for Policy (USDP), where she supported the leadership in crafting national security and organisational strategies; managing 700+ USDP employees; and leading interagency coordination efforts on policy, legal and legislative priorities.
She served as a Senior Fellow at The Atlantic Council and a Visiting Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and was selected as a Young Leader at the IISS Manama Dialogue and Munich Security Conference.
Jasmine is an outdoor enthusiast with a love for the sea who has travelled the world forging connections and sharing experiences across languages and cultures. Her empathy-based approach to problem-solving, team-building and communications is sought after by organisations and individuals wishing to implement sustainable change and achieve lasting impact in their fields.
Her commentary has appeared in The Washington Post, USA Today, The Atlantic, Newsweek, Time Magazine, CNN, Al Jazeera, Al Hurra, TRT World, L’Orient du Jour, Sawt al Azhar, Al Masry Al Youm, Le Figaro, BBC, Sky News, The New Statesman, Sky News Australia and other international outlets.
