Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba is president emeritus and distinguished fellow of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (AGSIW) where she served as the founding president of AGSIW from 2014 to 2019. Wahba led a team to research and establish the institute from recruiting board members to identifying real estate space, to establishing the organization’s legal structure and recruiting senior staff. Wahba also leads DerMar International, LLC, a consulting firm focused on assisting American businesses seeking to establish or expand their presence in the Middle East. Assignments included 4 years from 2009-2013 as the Senior Adviser at AIG Asset Management/PineBridge Investments where she succeeded in raising significant investments and establishing their ME headquarters.

Wahba retired from the US Department of State in 2008, rank of Minister Counselor, after 22 years in the Foreign Service spent mostly in the Middle East. Wahba was confirmed as ambassador to the United Arab Emirates in October 2001. She received the White House Presidential Meritorious Service Award for her service in the UAE.

Wahba also served as Spokesperson and Counselor at US Embassies in Nicosia, Amman & Cairo. Her Washington assignments included serving at the Pentagon as the foreign affairs advisor to the chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force and as the deputy at the National War College of the National Defense University at Fort McNair.

Wahba is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on numerous boards providing oversight and advice to non-profit organizations including the Center for International Education and Academic Exchanges (CIEE); School of Policy and International Affairs at the University of Maine; American Near East Refugee Agency; and the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce of Houston.

Wahba graduated from Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio, with a Bachelor of Arts in political science & a minor in international relations. She received a Diploma in National Security from the National War College, National Defense University. Wahba is a fluent Arabic language speaker. She is married to Derek M. Farwagi and lives in Washington D.C.