Amb. Dennis Ross is counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. For more than 12 years he played a leading role in shaping U.S. involvement in the Middle East peace process as the U.S. point man on the peace process in both the George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations. Amb. Ross also served two years as special assistant to President Obama and National Security Council Senior Director for the Central Region, and a year as special advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Earlier he played a prominent role in U.S. policy towards the former Soviet Union, the unification of Germany and its integration into NATO. His most recent book, Be Strong and of Good Courage: How Israel's Most Important Leaders Shaped Its Destiny, written with his colleague David Makovsky, profiles four Israeli prime ministers who made historic choices. It examines lessons from past decisions to help Israel's leaders address the critical choice they must soon make to avoid becoming a binational state by default.