Assistant Secretary, Partnership & Engagement
Fayrouz Saad was appointed to serve as the Assistant Secretary, Office of Partnership and Engagement at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on February 26, 2024. In this role, she serves as the Secretary’s primary advisor on external engagements and the impact of the Department’s policies, regulations, processes, and actions on state, local, tribal, territorial (SLTT) officials, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and the academic community.
Fayrouz is a Michigan native with almost 20 years of experience working in in the private sector and public service at the state, local, and federal level. She has served in multiple leadership roles in the Biden-Harris Administration. Most recently, she as the Director of Public Engagement for the CHIPs Program Office at the Department of Commerce. She lead the office in the development and implementation of an engagement strategy to work directly with key stakeholders with an emphasis on the private sector – as well as others from academia and labor - on implementation the CHIPS & Science Act. This included building relationships to the successful rollout of multiple funding opportunities and announcements, as well as policy priorities and vision statements. Prior to this role, Fayrouz served as Director of Public Engagement at USAID; where she expanded the Agency's engagements to domestic audiences, including diaspora communities, students, and international development partners.
Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration, Fayrouz spent five years in Michigan working on economic integration programs for immigrant and refugee communities. She worked alongside the private sector and community partners to create workforce and small business pathways for under-represented communities. In Michigan, she served as the first Director of Immigration Affairs for Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, and later was appointed by Governor Whitmer as the Executive Director of Global Michigan. Fayrouz also served in the Obama Administration at the Department of Homeland Security; where she worked on emergency response, community resilience programs, and cybersecurity.