![Taiwanese students participate in the 'Sunflower Movement' protesting peacefully about democracy in Taiwan.](/https/freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/styles/308x182_fp_scale_crop_/public/2024-08/TAIWAN-DEMOCRACY-PROTEST-2023.jpg?h=265e640d&itok=dygreM3M)
Nicole Bibbins Sedaca
Interim President
Nicole Bibbins Sedaca serves as the interim president of Freedom House. Prior, she served as Executive Vice President for three years, where she oversaw the organization's strategy and programs.
Prior to joining Freedom House, Ms. Bibbins Sedaca served as the Deputy Director of Georgetown University’s Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) program, the Co-Chair for the Global Politics and Security Concentration, and a Professor in the Practice of International Affairs in MSFS. She is also the Kelly and David Pfeil Fellow at the George W. Bush Institute.
Ms. Bibbins Sedaca has held numerous positions in the public and non-governmental sectors in the United States and Ecuador. She served for ten years in the United States Department of State, working on democracy promotion, human rights, human trafficking, religious freedom, refugees, and counterterrorism. Following her governmental service, she opened and directed the International Republican Institute’s local governance program in Ecuador. She also taught at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador) on democratization and conflict resolution. She served as the Director of the Washington Office for the advisory group Independent Diplomat.
Ms. Bibbins Sedaca holds a Master’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from The College of William and Mary. She also studied at Humboldt Universitӓt in Berlin, Germany, while on a Rotary International Scholarship. She has served on the Board of non-governmental organizations working on human trafficking, violence against the poor, and religious freedom, as well as on the Board of Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, the William and Mary Fund, and the William and Mary Washington Office.
Recent Appearances & Publications
Advocate reflects on Alexei Navalny’s legacy | Spectrum News — February 22, 2024
Human Rights Heroes | Nobel Peace Conference — August 31, 2023
How democratic are the countries at Biden’s democracy summit? | The Washington Post — March 30, 2023
Russian Invasion of Ukraine and Values in U.S. Foreign Policy | C-SPAN — February 21, 2023
How the Jan. 6 insurrection has affected democracy globally | NPR — November 4, 2022
Protecting Democracy Globally | TEDxFoggyBottom — October 5, 2022
Your candidates share your views, but will they strengthen democracy? | Dallas Morning News — September 14, 2021
The Struggle for Freedom in Afghanistan Will Not End with an Airlift | Newsweek — September 4, 2021
How Juneteenth Observance Can Rekindle Our Democracy | The Bulwark — June 19, 2021