Atlantic Council announces James Mazzarella as senior director of the Freedom and Prosperity Center

WASHINGTON, JANUARY 12, 2026 - The Atlantic Council announced today the appointment of James Mazzarella as senior director of its Freedom and Prosperity Center.

Since its founding, the Freedom and Prosperity center has established itself as one of the world's pre-eminent sources for evidence-based policies to advance global development and stability. Under Mazzarella's leadership, the center will expand its groundbreaking research on the relationship between economic growth and political freedom to help policymakers navigate an era of rapid geopolitical and technological change.

"The evidence shows that free societies are more resilient and prosperous," said Frederick Kempe, the Atlantic Council's president and CEO. "Mazzarella is the right leader to take our Freedom and Prosperity Center into its next phase of impact. His track record - helping create the US International Development Finance Corporation, experience coordinating the G7/G20 for the U.S., and shaping development and infrastructure policy, including many years at the Millennium Challenge Corporation -positions the Center to scale its global analysis and translate it into practical policy solutions that improve lives."

Mazzarella brings deep experience across international development policy, global economic strategy, and government affairs. He served at the White House's National Security Council and National Economic Council from 2017 to 2019, first as director of international development and later as senior director for global economics and development. He was a primary architect of the US International Development Finance Corporation and was a senior member of the US G7/G20 teams. In this capacity, he coordinated US government policy on development finance, global infrastructure, and anti-corruption.

Following his White House service, Mazzarella held senior roles with the Global Innovation Fund and the World Wildlife Fund. He also served as a non-resident senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Earlier in his career, he was deputy vice president for congressional and public affairs at the Millennium Challenge Corporation then served as an alternate member of MCC's board. He also previously led New York State's Office of Federal Affairs for nearly a decade and served as chief of staff and press secretary to Congresswoman Susan Molinari of New York. He currently serves on the steering committee of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network.

"Mazzarella's long career in international development gives him the unique perspective and credentials required to lead the Freedom and Prosperity Center in its next chapter," said Michael Fisch, the chairman of the Freedom and Prosperity Center's Advisory Council as well as the founder and CEO of American Securities. "The Freedom and Prosperity Center prioritizes data-driven models to demonstrate the direct connection between a country's economic prosperity and level of freedom in the rule of law, human rights, and democracy."

Fisch's leadership and philanthropic support have been instrumental in broadening the Center's reach and impact.

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ABOUT THE FREEDOM AND PROSPERITY CENTER

The Atlantic Council's Freedom and Prosperity Center works to increase economic growth and the well-being of people everywhere, especially in developing countries, through unbiased, data-based research on the relationship between increased prosperity and economic, political, and legal freedoms.