BIOGRAPHY

Nadine Maenza is a noted speaker, writer, and policy expert with more than two decades of experience as an advocate for working families and a champion for international religious freedom.

Nadine is the President of the IRF Secretariat, an international organization focused on building infrastructure to support the religious freedom movement globally. They convene the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Roundtable in Washington, DC and in over 30 countries globally. She also serves as a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center. In May 2022, Nadine finished her second term as a White House appointee on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), serving her last year as Chair.

In 2023, Nadine was given the “Hevrin Khalaf Peace Award” from The Future Syria Party in Raqqa, Syria. In 2022, Nadine was awarded the IRF Impact Award for current or former government officials at the IRF Summit in Washington, D.C. Because of her strong commitment to advocate for religious freedom for all communities, she was especially honored by separate awards from both Christian and Muslim communities. In July 2023, she was given the “Humanitarian Award” by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, focusing on her work evacuating the community from Afghanistan. In 2022, she was awarded by Justice for All for “Advocacy for all, especially Muslims.” In 2021, she was awarded the “Cedar of God Award” by In Defense of Christians for her "tireless worker throughout her career for religious freedom for Christians both in the Middle East and globally." 

In the past six years, Nadine has traveled extensively, spending about a month each year in Syria and Iraq. She is a sought-after speaker on international religious freedom, current events in the Middle East, building inclusive societies, U.S. foreign policy, and various other topics. Her writings have been published in numerous publications domestically and internationally.

Drawing on her extensive network, Nadine has built unique coalitions on issues such as paid family leave, health care, tax reform, and international religious freedom. She has also advised several major organizations on faith engagement, working family policy, and strategic partnerships through The Clapham Group. She has partnered with The Shai Fund in the evacuation of those fleeing severe persecution, including resettling Afghan refugees since August 2021. She has decades of experience in fundraising and grassroots organizing as senior advisor to several presidential candidates, U.S. Senators, and grassroots organization Patriot Voices. She worked on Capitol Hill in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. 

She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE) and is on the board for both The Sinjar Academy and Freedom Research Foundation. She is a graduate of Penn State University. She is married with three adult children and lives outside of Philadelphia in Chester County, Pennsylvania.