Amy E. Cunningham is an advisor at the Global Community Engagement and Resilient Fund (GCERF), the first global effort to support grassroots initiatives to prevent violent extremism. Previously, she served as Associate Director of the Religion and Foreign Policy Initiative at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), which provides a forum for religious leaders and scholars to deepen their understanding of the nexus of religion and U.S. foreign policy. Simultaneously, she served as Associate Director of CFR’s State and Local Officials Initiative, which provides a forum for bipartisan discussion on pressing international issues that affect the priorities and agendas of state and local governments, including homeland security and immigration, . From 2011 to 2014, she organized a series of policy discussions with religious leaders and scholars from around the globe on a range of issues including strategies to counter violent extremism. She also served as a researcher at CFR's Center for Preventive Action. Ms. Cunningham received her undergraduate degree from Fordham University and her Master’s degree from University College Dublin. Her graduate research analyzed linkages between levels of community engagement with local law enforcement and radicalization.