Dina Powell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dina Powell
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| 1st United States Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy | |
| In office March 15, 2017 – January 12, 2018 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Nadia Schadlow |
| 11th Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs | |
| In office July 11, 2005 – June 7, 2007 |
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| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Patricia Harrison |
| Succeeded by | Goli Ameri |
| Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office | |
| In office 2003–2005 |
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| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Clay Johnson III |
| Succeeded by | Liza Wright |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Dina Habib
June 12, 1973 Cairo, Egypt |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses |
Richard Powell
(m. 1998; div. 2017)Dave McCormick
(m. 2019) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Texas, Austin (BA) |
Dina Powell, also known as Dina Powell McCormick, was born Dina Habib in Cairo, Egypt, on June 12, 1973. She is an American business leader and political advisor. She is best known for her role as the Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy for President Donald Trump.
Powell moved to the United States from Egypt when she was a child. She has been a member of the Republican Party for her whole life. After college, she began working in politics. She held several important jobs during the presidency of George W. Bush.
In 2007, Powell began working for the large investment bank Goldman Sachs. There, she became a partner and the president of its charity group, the Goldman Sachs Foundation. She led a program called 10,000 Women, which helps women around the world start their own businesses.
Powell returned to government to work in the Trump administration. As a top advisor, she helped shape the country's foreign policy, especially in the Middle East. After leaving the White House in 2018, she went back to Goldman Sachs. In 2023, she joined a new company, BDT & MSD Partners. On April 15, 2025, Powell joined the board of directors for Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram.
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Early Life and Education
Dina Habib was born in Cairo, Egypt, to a Coptic Christian family. Her father was a captain in the Egyptian Army. When she was a young girl, her family moved to the United States. She did not know any English when she first arrived.
The Habib family settled in Dallas, Texas. Her parents ran a small convenience store to support the family. Her father also worked as a bus driver and in real estate. The family wanted Dina to learn English but also to remember her Egyptian culture. Because of this, she is fluent in Arabic.
She later said she used to want American-style lunches like a "turkey and cheese sandwich." Instead, her mom packed her traditional Egyptian foods like grape leaves and hummus. Now, she says she is very grateful for that.
Dina attended Ursuline Academy of Dallas, a private school for girls. After graduating in 1991, she went to the University of Texas at Austin. To help pay for college, she worked as an assistant for two Republican members of the Texas State Senate. This experience helped her realize she agreed with the Republican Party's ideas about personal freedom and less government control. She graduated with honors in 1995.
Political Career Beginnings
After college, Powell was accepted to law school. However, she was offered a one-year internship with U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas. She took the job and moved to Washington, D.C. She enjoyed the work so much that she never went to law school.
After her internship, she worked for Dick Armey, a leader in the U.S. House of Representatives. Later, she worked for the Republican National Committee, the main organization for the Republican Party. There, she helped find jobs for Republicans. This work led to her becoming involved in the 2000 presidential campaign of George W. Bush.
Work in the Bush Administration
After George W. Bush was elected president, Powell was asked to join his team. She started as a Deputy Assistant to the President. Her job was to help find the right people for important government positions.
White House Personnel Office
In 2003, at age 29, Powell was promoted. She became the Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel. This made her the youngest person ever to have this job. She was in charge of helping the president choose people for thousands of jobs, including cabinet members and ambassadors.
Department of State
In 2005, Powell took on a new role as the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs. She also became the Deputy Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. In these roles, she worked to improve America's relationship with other countries, especially in the Middle East.
She traveled the world with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Powell helped create partnerships between American companies and other countries. For example, she started a program to help rebuild Lebanon's economy after the 2006 war. She also helped create the Fortune/U.S. State Department Global Women's Mentoring Partnership. This program connects powerful female leaders with rising women from around the world.
She left the government in 2007. At the time, she was the highest-ranking Arab-American in the Bush administration.
Career at Goldman Sachs
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In 2007, Powell joined Goldman Sachs, a major global investment bank. Even though she had no background in finance, she quickly became a leader at the company. In 2010, she was made a partner.
Powell was the president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation, the company's charitable organization. She was in charge of its programs that help entrepreneurs, or people who start their own businesses.
One of the main programs she led was called 10,000 Women. This program gives women in developing countries business training, mentoring, and access to money to grow their companies. Under her leadership, the program raised $600 million to help over 100,000 women around the world.
Work in the Trump Administration
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After the 2016 election, Powell was asked by Ivanka Trump to join the new administration. She started as a Senior Advisor to the President. Her focus was on creating economic growth and helping women succeed in business.
Powell worked on a U.S.-Canada program to help women entrepreneurs. She also helped organize meetings between President Trump and world leaders, such as the defense minister of Saudi Arabia.
National Security Council
In March 2017, Powell was given an additional, very important job. She was named Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy. This meant she helped the president make decisions about the safety and security of the United States.
She became a key advisor on foreign policy. She helped plan President Trump's first international trip, which included a stop in Saudi Arabia. Her knowledge of the Middle East and her contacts there were very valuable.
Powell was also one of the main people involved in trying to create a peace plan between Israel and the Palestinians. She worked closely with other top advisors like Jared Kushner.
Leaving the White House
In December 2017, it was announced that Powell would leave the administration in early 2018. She had always planned to serve for only one year. She wanted to return to New York to spend more time with her family. Many officials saw her departure as a big loss for the White House.
In October 2018, President Trump said he was considering her for the job of United States Ambassador to the United Nations. However, Powell decided to withdraw her name from consideration and stayed at Goldman Sachs.
Later Career and Personal Life
Powell was married to Richard Powell from 1998 to 2017, and they have two daughters. In 2019, she married Dave McCormick, a business executive and former government official.
In 2022 and 2024, McCormick ran for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania. Powell was very involved in his campaigns. In November 2024, he won the election.
In 2023, Powell left Goldman Sachs to join BDT & MSD Partners, a merchant bank. That same year, she was elected to the board of directors for the energy company ExxonMobil. In October 2022, she was named the new chair of the Robin Hood Foundation, a charity that works to reduce poverty in New York City.
Awards and Honors
Powell has received many awards for her work in public service and business.
- Selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
- Received the Outstanding Young Texas Ex Award from the University of Texas in 2006.
- Received the American by Choice Award in 2007 for the achievements of naturalized U.S. citizens.
- Named a Great Immigrant by the Carnegie Corporation of New York in 2009.
- Named one of the 50 Most Powerful Moms of 2017 by Working Mother magazine.
