At the Table
When it Counts.
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CLAY DOHERTY
FOUNDER & PRESIDENT
Counsel in Moments
That Shape Institutions.
Clay Doherty operates in environments where context matters, discretion is non-negotiable, and outcomes must hold under scrutiny. His career spans public service, corporate engagement, and global advisory work, supporting leaders and institutions navigating complexity, competing interests, and reputational consequence.
Clay Doherty operates at the intersection of sovereign decision-making and institutional consequence.
Across six presidential campaign and transition environments, senior diplomatic engagements in Europe, South Asia, Africa, and the Balkans, and advisory roles spanning government, multilateral institutions, and global enterprise, he has worked alongside leaders whose decisions carry national and international weight.
His experience includes engagement with the Executive Office of the President of the United States, the U.S. Department of State, USAID, United Nations, NATO, and foreign government leadership in Kosovo, Senegal, and India. From supporting conventional arms control implementation in Eastern Europe to shaping cross-border public diplomacy efforts, his work has centered on environments where geopolitical sensitivity, reputational exposure, and strategic alignment must be navigated with judgment and discipline.
From 2010 to 2016, Clay served as a Presidential Appointee at USAID, where he led public engagement and became the Agency’s Director of Protocol and Special Events, overseeing diplomatic outreach and high-level convenings across cultures and sectors.
For the last decade, he has led High Touch Engagement, advising institutions and enterprises in strategic engagement and global affairs. He played a key role in the development of the National WWI Memorial in Washington, DC, and conceived the partnership between the U.S. Department of State and CBS Television that brought the sets and props from “Madam Secretary” to the National Museum of American Diplomacy. He has authored national public diplomacy initiatives, including a campaign to strengthen American support for Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction that was endorsed by The Howard G. Buffett Foundation.
Clay’s career reflects a consistent through-line: proximity to leadership when the stakes are real. He works in environments where discretion is assumed, alignment is fragile, and decisions are measured long after they are made.
High Touch Engagement reflects that standard. It exists for leaders operating at the uncompromising level of consequence - and for the moments that define what follows.
Let's Begin the
Conversation.
High Touch Engagement is not built for scale. It is built for proximity — to decision, to consequence, to what happens next. Engagements are selective and anchored in discretion. If the moment in front of you carries institutional weight, the right conversation can change its trajectory.