Title Executive Director, Middle East Commercial Center Company U.S. Chamber of Commerce Bio Joshua M. Kram is director for Turkey and Middle East Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he is responsible for developing and executing programs and policy initiatives related to U.S. trade and investment in the region. Kram also serves as executive director of the Middle East Commercial Center (MECC), a newly established, private sector-led alliance of business leaders working to advance intraregional business and address economic impediments. He also directs the Chamber’s U.S.-Israel Business Initiative, the premiere organization advancing commercial relations between the United States and Israel. Before joining the Chamber in his current role, Kram founded Foxhall Strategies Consulting, LLC, a boutique strategic advisory firm that provides corporations, NGOs, and associations with international government affairs, public affairs, regulatory, and strategic advice and support. Previously, Kram was the Washington director for the Joint Distribution Committee, one of the largest humanitarian aid organizations in the world. There he led the government affairs program and advocated on key public policy and international issues before Congress, the administration, and foreign governments. He also served as deputy political director and Middle East adviser to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and later as constituency vote director in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia for Obama for America. Kram began his career with the America Israel Public Affairs Committee. Kram collaborated on two books: Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle by Council of Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Dan Senor and Jerusalem Post Editor Saul Singer (Twelve Publishers, 2009) and The Great Entrepreneurial Divide: The Winning Tactics of Successful Entrepreneurs by Professors Charles Goetz and Michael Axelrod (Rathskeller, 2008). Kram graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Florida and holds an M.B.A. from Emory University, where he was a Goizueta Leadership Fellow.