Prior to his current position, Dr. Elsanousi was the director of Interfaith and Government Relations for the Islamic Society of North America and he served on the Taskforce for the U.S. Department of State's working group on Religion and Foreign Policy making recommendations to the Secretary of State and the Federal Advisory Commission on the engagement with civil society and religious actors. Dr. Elsanousi is the founding executive committee member of Shoulder to Shoulder, and member of the NGO Working Group on the UN Security Council. He is also the co-chair of the Multi Faith Advisory Council to the UN Interagency Task Force on Religion and Development and serves on the board of directors and trustees for numerous interfaith organizations. Dr. Elsanousi holds a bachelor’s degree in Shariah and Law, a Master of Laws and a Ph.D. in Law and Society from the Indiana University School of Law.