Elika Eftekhari is an attorney, policy advisor and international trade expert with a broad range of  experience acquired over 15 years of legal practice. Her specific experience includes sanctions compliance, tariffs and subsidies, environmental and social governance, procurement risk, supply chain management, human rights advocacy and government affairs. 

Elika is currently a procurement expert at the U.S. Development Finance Corporation, where she supports DFC projects by developing procurement strategies to promote environmental, social and governance standards, reduce supply chain risk, and avoid adversary-linked supply chains. Elika concurrently serves as Executive Director of the U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit JINA Alliance, where she is responsible for advancing the organizational mission to promote global security, human rights and democracy worldwide. Her work includes advocacy to end gender apartheid in Afghanistan and Iran, support for human rights activists, and sanctions research to combat the illicit activities of the Islamic Republic and its affiliates. She oversaw the first congressional briefings on the repression of doctors during the Islamic Republic’s crackdown on the Woman Life Freedom protests, the suppression of artists, attorneys and journalists in Iran, and gender apartheid in Afghanistan and Iran.

Previously, from 2018 to 2024, Elika served as General Counsel to U.S.-based skincare company Persica Skincare, where she handled legal and regulatory matters, supply chain management, and corporate governance. From 2016 to 2018, she served as the Director of Trade Compliance for the U.S.-registered 501(c)(6) nonprofit, U.S.-Iran Chamber of Commerce, formed in the wake of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“Iran Deal”), where she helped to ensure compliance with U.S. sanctions laws and regulations. From 2012 to 2016, Elika was an attorney in the Office of the Chief Counsel for Trade Enforcement & Compliance at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where she oversaw dozens of tariff and subsidy investigations and reviews.

She graduated with honors from Georgetown University, receiving a Juris Doctor and Master of Science in Foreign Service (specialization: Global Commerce and Finance). She earned her B.A. in political science and philosophy from Southern Methodist University.