Shira Efron is a policy advisor at Israel Policy Forum. In parallel, she is a senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv, a special advisor on Israel for the RAND Corporation, and a consultant with the U.N. country team in Jerusalem advising on Gaza access issues. Dr. Efron’s main research interests are the Middle East and the intersection between climate change and national security. Previously, Dr. Efron was a Middle East analyst at several think tanks in Washington, DC, including the Center for American Progress and the Middle East Institute. She has a Ph.D. and M.Phil. in policy analysis from RAND’s Graduate School, an M.A. in international relations/international business from New York University and a B.Sc. in biology (major) and computer science (minor) from Tel Aviv University. She is a member of the board of directors of Deborah Forum, which promotes women in the security establishment.