Richard Nephew returned from a public service leave of absence to the Center on Global Energy Policy and Faculty of the School of International and Public Affairs on 1 July 2024.
During his most recent leave, he was the inaugural U.S. Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption at the Department of State (2022-2024). He was also elected as the President of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption. During his government career, he has also served as the Deputy Special Envoy for Iran (2021), Principal Deputy Coordinator for Sanctions Policy at the Department of State (2013-2015), and Director for Iran at the National Security Council (2011-2013), among other senior civil service staff roles from 2003-2011.
While a senior research scholar at SIPA since 2015, Nephew has written dozens of reports and articles for various publications focused on geopolitics and their intersection with energy markets, economic statecraft, nuclear topics, and sanctions. He is also the author of The Art of Sanctions: A View from the Field, published by Columbia University Press in 2018.
In addition to his primary appointment at CGEP, he is an adjunct fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and operates his own consulting LLC, “Go Beyond Compliance.” In the latter capacity, he acts as a nonproliferation consultant to Commonwealth Fusion Systems.
Nephew holds a Masters in Security Policy Studies and a Bachelors in International Affairs, both from The George Washington University. He is married with three children.
