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Nitya Labh
Advisory Board Member
Nitya Labh is one of the world's youngest armed conflict mediators, specializing in maritime security, conflict management at sea, and international negotiations. Nitya is currently an Academy Associate Fellow at the Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House) in London and a consultant at Center for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva, Switzerland. In this capacity, she serves as a technical advisor on maritime dialogues related to some of the world's most significant waterways, including the Red Sea, Strait of Hormuz, and South China Sea. Her analysis is regularly featured in the New York Times, Financial Times, BBC, France 24, and The World Today, amongst others.
Nitya has over a decade of experience in international affairs. She began her career as an NGO delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in 2016. Working alongside organizations such as UN Women's Working Group on Girls and Girls Learn International, Nitya supported efforts to prevent gender-based violence and strengthen protections for women and children affected by armed conflict.
Nitya earned her BA in International Relations from William & Mary in 2022. During her time at W&M, she conducted research with the International Justice Lab (IJL), Blockchain Lab, and the Project on International Peace and Security (PIPS). Nitya was a teaching assistant for the Departments of Government and Public Policy. She also served as president of the International Relations Club and advisor to the Dean of Arts & Sciences. Upon graduation, Nitya received the Koenig-Nimmo Foreign Service Award, the William & Mary Cypher Award, and the William & Mary Woman of Influence Award.
Nitya was nominated for the Truman Scholarship and selected as a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship in 2021. She was a 2022–2023 James C. Gaither Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC and 2024–2025 Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. During her time at Tsinghua, Nitya earned a MSc in Global Affairs. From 2025 - 2026, Nitya worked as an Academy Fellow at Chatham House's International Security Programme.
She has also held positions with US Indo-Pacific Command, US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and Rice, Hadley, Gates, and Manuel LLC.
Nitya has over a decade of experience in international affairs. She began her career as an NGO delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in 2016. Working alongside organizations such as UN Women's Working Group on Girls and Girls Learn International, Nitya supported efforts to prevent gender-based violence and strengthen protections for women and children affected by armed conflict.
Nitya earned her BA in International Relations from William & Mary in 2022. During her time at W&M, she conducted research with the International Justice Lab (IJL), Blockchain Lab, and the Project on International Peace and Security (PIPS). Nitya was a teaching assistant for the Departments of Government and Public Policy. She also served as president of the International Relations Club and advisor to the Dean of Arts & Sciences. Upon graduation, Nitya received the Koenig-Nimmo Foreign Service Award, the William & Mary Cypher Award, and the William & Mary Woman of Influence Award.
Nitya was nominated for the Truman Scholarship and selected as a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship in 2021. She was a 2022–2023 James C. Gaither Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC and 2024–2025 Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. During her time at Tsinghua, Nitya earned a MSc in Global Affairs. From 2025 - 2026, Nitya worked as an Academy Fellow at Chatham House's International Security Programme.
She has also held positions with US Indo-Pacific Command, US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and Rice, Hadley, Gates, and Manuel LLC.