Ms. Mariam Atash is an attorney with experience in the legal, business, government relations, media and nonprofit sectors. Ms. Atash currently serves as Managing Partner for a boutique law firm providing representation in immigration and international business matters. She has served as an Adjunct Professor and has taught courses on International Human Rights, Intellectual Property, International Trade and Cybersecurity for international undergraduate students and Law in Post-Conflict Societies and Law of Nonprofit Organizations to U.S. law students.

Ms. Atash also has experience as a television anchor and commentator. For three years, she was the host of a television show that broadcast from the U.S, to Central Asia. She was also the moderator of the “Global Challenges Series” with the Center for Strategic & International Studies. Ms. Atash has been interviewed on Al Jazeera English, BBC News, NBC News, PBC Newshour, and other media outlets regarding U.S. policy in Afghanistan, women’s rights and refugee issues.

Ms. Atash began her career as an attorney at Dechert LLP, a top 50 law firm, from 1999 until 2003. In 2002, she was selected to serve as a member of the U.N's Legal Affairs Working Group for Afghanistan and she also served as the Coordinating Attorney for a legal reform project sponsored by American Bar Association. Ms. Atash also served as Senior Advisor to a chamber of commerce and Commercial and Trade Counsel to an Embassy in Washington, D.C. In these roles, she worked on bilateral trade policies, private sector development, women’s entrepreneurship, and capacity building programs. Ms. Atash’s professional work has been covered by the World Bank, NBC News, PBS, Legal Times, Reuters, and CNN Moneyline.

Ms. Atash previously served on the Board of Directors of KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights from 2005-2009, assisting the organization to expand the Law & Leadership Program and utilizing KARAMAH’s research to assist Afghan and Iraqi women in their efforts to obtain gender equity. She has also served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations and is a founding member of the Orange County chapter of American Women for International Understanding.

Ms. Atash is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., cum laude 1999), where she served on the editorial board of Law and Policy in International Business. She graduated from the Honor’s Program at George Mason University (B.A., International Studies, summa cum laude, 1995), where she served as President of the International Student Association, was a founder of the Afghan Student Association, and was the first Afghan-American selected for a White House Internship.