Omar Pimentel

Omar is joining Stanford after serving two years at the U.S. House of Representatives. Having grown up in the Dominican Republic, Omar was always interested in the legislative process and training to become a public servant back home in the United States. He holds a bachelor’s in economics and political science from Florida State University with certificates in policy research, disaster management, and the U.S. intelligence community. He also attended Howard University as a Charles B. Rangel Scholar, where he trained to properly formulate, represent, and implement U.S. foreign policy with the U.S. Department of State. In Congress, he served with Congressman Adriano Espaillat of New York City, the first Dominican and formerly undocumented Member of Congress. There, he had the responsibility of closely advising the Congressman through his tenures on the House Higher Education, Foreign Affairs, and Appropriations Committees, as well as both impeachments of former President Donald J. Trump and the fallout of the insurrection of January 6th. At Stanford, Omar is focusing on international and cyber security studies, specifically those pertaining to the growing commercial space industry, the role of the United States Space Force on the international stage, and the development of artificial intelligence. His academic interests also include decentralized financial markets (DeFi) originating from the global adoption of blockchain technology, astrophysics, and the search for life beyond Earth. In his free time, Omar enjoys golfing, following Florida State football, and reading the Wall Street Journal.