Ellen K. Tannor joins OSAC as Executive Director

Ellen K. Tannor has been named Executive Director at the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC).

Tannor is a Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Supervisory Special Agent who began her foreign service career 19 years ago in the DSS Chicago Field Office. She now joins OSAC on the heels of her service as the Security Advisor to the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) in Stuttgart, Germany. There, Tannor acted as a key interlocutor among DSS, EUCOM and U.S. Diplomatic missions across Europe, synchronizing planning, operations and crisis response efforts.

Previously, Tannor was the Branch Chief for Counterintelligence Policy, focusing on mitigating threats by foreign intelligence services against U.S. diplomatic personnel. She served as the Congressional Affairs Advisor in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Diplomatic Security; the Management Officer and acting Deputy Chief of Mission in Angola; and on the International Organized Crime Task Force. She was the Regional Security Officer at U.S. Embassy Djibouti and Assistant Regional Security Officer in Algiers as it normalized operations, following more than a decade of violent civil unrest. Tannor also served on Secretary of State Colin Powell’s security detail in the lead-up to the Iraq War from 2003-2004.

Tannor was selected as the Department of State’s 2017/2018 International Women’s Leadership Fellow, completing executive leadership training at Harvard Business School and INSEAD Business School in Fontainebleau, France. She has also received multiple Department Meritorious and Superior Honor Awards.

Tannor is married with four children, and her husband is also a Diplomatic Security Supervisory Special Agent. She holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Marketing from Texas Wesleyan University and an MBA in International Business from the University of Baltimore.

Congratulations!