Basil Kiwan lives in Arlington, Virginia, and is the child of Syrian immigrants. He has a bachelor’s in Economics from the University of Maryland. He holds two master's degrees from the University of Michigan, one in Middle East Studies and another in Business Administration. He works in financial regulation at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). He has over fifteen years of prior federal experience at the US Treasury Department and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, working on a broad array of issues related to international economic policy, foreign policy, financial sanctions, and international economic development. He has several years of experience in the private sector as an investment banker engaged in corporate finance and fund management in Arab capital markets across the Middle East and North Africa. Outside of work, he is politically active, advocating for progressive causes, particularly support for Palestinian freedom.