Wardah Khalid is a policy analyst, activist, career coach, and public speaker based in Washington, D.C. She currently serves as Senior Policy Advisor at the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the US Department of Health and Human Services. Wardah is the Founder and Board President of Poligon Education Fund, a national civic education and advocacy organization strengthening American Muslim engagement with Congress. 

Wardah has significant experience working with Members of Congress, the White House, and State Department on policies pertaining to refugees and immigration, civil rights, Middle East and South Asian affairs, and national security while working on the Hill and with secular and faith based NGOs. She has also worked on these issues with several UN agencies in the US and abroad. 

Wardah was recognized by ABC's Nightline as one of the country's top millennial activists. Her writing and commentary has been featured in outlets including the Washington Post, CNN, The Guardian, NPR, and US News & World Report. She authored the “Young American Muslim” blog for the Houston Chronicle and hosted "Reality Check" on One Legacy Radio. 

​Wardah is a Security Fellow with the Truman National Security Project, American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute (AMCLI) Fellow at the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture, former Scoville Fellow, a 2020 AAPI National Security and Foreign Policy Next Generation Leader by New America and Diversity in National Security Network (DINSN), a 2020 International Career Advancement Program (ICAP) Fellow, 2021 U.S. National Security & Foreign Affairs Leader by CSIS and DINSN, and 2022 Atlantic Council Millennium Leadership Fellow.

Wardah holds a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. Additionally, Wardah is a CPA and received a BBA and MS in Accounting from Texas A&M University.