About Yaya J. Fanusie
Yaya J. Fanusie is an expert on U.S. national security issues relating to finance and technology. He spent seven years as an analyst at the CIA where he covered both terrorism and economic security threats.
In 2008, Yaya personally briefed President George W. Bush on terrorism issues and he later spent time in Afghanistan where he provided analytic support to senior U.S. military officials.
Since leaving government service, Yaya has worked in consulting and in the Washington D.C. policy think tank community. Yaya has testified before the U.S. Congress multiple times on national security and illicit finance issues. He also runs a consulting practice that provides strategic analysis on money laundering risks for firms dealing with cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
Yaya is passionate about the educational advancement and economic empowerment of the African American community. Before working at CIA, Yaya spent three years teaching mathematics at a charter high school in DC. He also served as a budget officer for the DC public school system and DC’s juvenile detention administration. In 2018, he developed and taught a course on blockchain technology at Morgan State University, a historically black institution in Baltimore.
Yaya is also an artist and creative writer. He produces Rhythm of Wisdom, a podcast featuring gripping nonfiction storytelling. He is currently developing a new audio series, a fictional international spy thriller where the lead character is an African American Muslim CIA officer.
Yaya received an MA in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a BA in Economics from UC Berkeley. He and his wife live in Maryland with their three precious children.
