Heather Samuelson is an attorney and strategic advisor with nearly two decades of experience in government, politics and the non-profit sector. She most recently served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Confirmations Counsel in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, guiding hundreds of Biden-Harris Administration nominees through the Senate confirmation process. Heather also served in the Obama-Biden Administration, first as White House Liaison at the U.S. Department of State, and then as Assistant Counsel in the White House Counsel’s Office. In these roles, she directed recruitment and vetting for national security positions and advised officials on federal ethics compliance.
Prior to rejoining government, Heather was the first General Counsel for the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) overseeing all legal matters for NDWA and its sister organization Care in Action. Heather also served as a longtime attorney and advisor to Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, including representing the Secretary before the U.S. House Select Committee on Benghazi, and serving as Chief Counsel for the 2016 Clinton-Kaine Pre-Election Transition team.
Heather Samuelson is an attorney and strategic advisor with nearly two decades of experience in government, politics and the non-profit sector. She most recently served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Confirmations Counsel in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, guiding hundreds of Biden-Harris Administration nominees through the Senate confirmation process. Heather also served in the Obama-Biden Administration, first as White House Liaison at the U.S. Department of State, and then as Assistant Counsel in the White House Counsel’s Office. In these roles, she directed recruitment and vetting for national security positions and advised officials on federal ethics compliance.
Prior to rejoining government, Heather was the first General Counsel for the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) overseeing all legal matters for NDWA and its sister organization Care in Action. Heather also served as a longtime attorney and advisor to Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, including representing the Secretary before the U.S. House Select Committee on Benghazi, and serving as Chief Counsel for the 2016 Clinton-Kaine Pre-Election Transition team.
Heather holds a B.A. from George Washington University, and a J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law. She is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a former Fellow at the Partnership for Public Service’s Center for Presidential Transition. Heather lives in Washington, DC with her husband, son, and dog Scooter.
Reta Jo Lewis most recently served as President and Chair of the Export Import Bank. Previously, she was Senior Fellow and Director of Congressional Affairs at The German Marshall Fund of the United States where she was the principal liaison between GMF and Congress and built extensive congressional relationships. During the Obama Administration, from 2010 to 2013, she served as the U. S. Department of States’ first-ever Special Representative for Global Intergovernmental Affairs, under Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. Lewis led the office charged with building strategic peer- to-peer relationships between the Department of State, U.S. state and local officials, and their foreign counterparts. In her post, she served as the State Department’s lead interlocutor in negotiating and executing the first historic agreements to solidify subnational cooperation and engagement efforts with BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries and with targeted countries in the European Union. She was the principal architect that led the global engagement of U.S. state and local government leaders’ integration into and strategy regarding sustainability and climate change to RIO+20, COP-16, COP-17 and COP-18. In 2013, she was awarded the Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award.
Allison Peters previously served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the U.S. Department of State where she oversaw the Bureau’s Office of Multilateral and Global Affairs, including its work on technology and human rights, Office of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Office of Policy Planning and Public Diplomacy. Previously, Ms. Peters served as the Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights and the Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs where she worked to advance rights-respecting approaches to technology and cyber policy and counter threats.
Prior to her time in government, Peters served as the Deputy Director of the National Security Program at the think tank Third Way where she regularly advised policymakers on a broad spectrum of foreign policy and national security issues. In this capacity, she helped to lead the Program’s Cyber Enforcement Initiative where her writing, research, and policy development focused on strengthening global cooperation and capacity to identify and bring to justice malicious cyber actors.
Paloma Adams-Allen is President and Chief Executive Officer of Airlink, a nonprofit organization that harnesses the power of aviation to provide humanitarian relief to communities in crisis. Prior to Airlink, she served in the Biden Administration as the United States Agency for International Development’s Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Administrator for Management and Resources. As second in command, she oversaw operations in over a 100 countries and led an ambitious internal reform agenda that modernized private sector engagement, spurred locally-led development, and slashed bureaucratic burdens on staff and partners.
Adams-Allen was the President and CEO of the Inter-American Foundation from 2017-2021, a period of transformation for the foundation marked by significant growth in its revenues, geographic reach, and partnerships. She has also served in senior roles at Winrock International and USAID’s Latin America and Caribbean Bureau, where she launched new public private partnerships outfits to mobilize funding and know-how and scale development impact. Adams-Allen, who speaks Spanish, also worked at the Organization of American States in programming and leadership roles for over a decade. She is currently the President of Brown University’s Women’s Alumni Network, and serves on the boards of the global non profit, Pact, and the French social impact organization, Livelihoods Venture.
Ms. Adams-Allen spent her childhood between rural Jamaica and the New England region of the U.S. She earned a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center, a Bachelor of Arts in Development Studies from Brown University, and a Masters in International Affairs from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. An avid hiker and gardener, she lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, two awesome daughters, and an energetic puppy.
Ambassador (ret.) Greta C. Holtz is the President and CEO of Amideast, a leading non-profit organization which works to provide live-changing educational and exchange programs in the Middle East and North Africa and for U.S. students and faculty. Ambassador Holtz served as a career diplomat with extensive experience in the Middle East and North Africa. She was the U.S. Ambassador to Oman from 2012 to 2015, the Chargé d’affaires in Qatar from 2020-2021, and the Minister-Counselor for Provincial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad from 2009 to 2010. Additional overseas postings included Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Tunisia, Syria, and Turkey, and her domestic assignments included serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Strategic Communication in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, and the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia.
Ambassador Holtz’s broad experience encompasses a number of other positions, including as Chancellor and Vice Chancellor of the College of International Security Affairs at the National Defense University, and Senior U.S. Coordinator for Operations Allies Refuge (OAR) in Doha, Qatar. Ambassador Holtz also served as the State Department’s Coordinator for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a Senior Watch Officer in the State Department’s Executive Secretariat’s Operations Center, a 24/7 crisis management and communications center, and the Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commanding General of the U.S. Special Operations Command, providing strategic guidance for special operations missions worldwide.
Ambassador Holtz holds a BS in Political Science from Vanderbilt University, an MS in International Relations from the University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce, and an MS in National Security Studies from the National War College. She speaks French, Arabic, and Turkish, and is the recipient of numerous State Department awards, as well as awards from the Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency. She is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy, a member of the Board of Advisors for Spirit of America, and a member of the Board of Directors for The Marshall Legacy Institute. Ambassador Holtz is a non-resident Distinguished Fellow at the University of South Florida’s Global and National Security Institute and is a distinguished graduate of University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of International relations and Commerce.
M. Tia Johnson, Visiting Professor of Law, was Director of the National Security Law LL.M Program at Georgetown Law and a Visiting Fellow at Georgetown’s Center on National Security and the Law. She is also a Distinguished Fellow at the Center for National Security Law at the University of Virginia School of Law. Immediately prior to her appointment at Georgetown, she served in the Obama Administration as the Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Before that, Professor Johnson was the Senior Advisor to the Director at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Professor Johnson retired from the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, where she specialized in international and national security law. In 2002, she became the first African-American female to be selected to the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Army’s JAG Corps’ 227-year history. In her final assignment, she served as the Senior Military Assistant to the Department of Defense General Counsel.
Prior to returning to Stanford University, Dr. Van Schaack served as Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice in the U.S. State Department office where she once served as Deputy. GCJ advised the Secretary of State and the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights on issues related to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide and the deployment of the whole range of transitional justice mechanisms in states emerging from violence or repression. Prior to returning to public service, Dr. Van Schaack was the Leah Kaplan Visiting Professor in Human Rights at Stanford Law School, where she taught international criminal law, human rights, human trafficking, and a policy lab on Legal & Policy Tools for Preventing Atrocities. In addition, she directed Stanford’s International Human Rights & Conflict Resolution Clinic. Ambassador Van Schaack has published numerous articles and papers on international human rights and justice issues, including her 2020 thesis, Imagining Justice for Syria (Oxford University Press). From 2014 to 2022, she served as Executive Editor for Just Security, an online forum for the analysis of national security, foreign policy, and rights.
Alexis Lasselle Ross is the President of Apex Defense Strategies, LLC, a strategic advisory firm that guides companies as they navigate the defense market. Ross founded Apex after more than two decades as an executive in the public and private sectors. Her consultancy draws upon this experience to offer companies a unique blend of strategic planning and executive advising on the epartment of Defense’s acquisition system, the U.S. defense industrial base, and the planning and execution of large-scale change.
Most recently, Ross performed strategic planning at General Dynamics, advising corporate leadership on managing critical issues and navigating government business. Prior to entering the private sector, Ross served in a variety of senior positions in both the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government. She served as the deputy chief of staff to the Secretary of Defense, advising the secretary and ensuring execution of Department of Defense policy, programs, and organizational restructuring. During her tenure, she performed the duties of the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, leading the department’s healthcare and human resources systems during the early response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, Ross served as the deputy assistant secretary of the army for strategy and acquisition reform, where she designed and implemented improvements to the Army acquisition system, including new policies on intellectual property and advanced manufacturing.
Dr. Rebecca Bill Chavez is president and CEO of the Inter-American Dialogue. She is formerly a senior fellow in the Dialogue’s Rule of Law Program. She is a member of the Truman Center for National Policy Board of Directors, the Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LCWINS) Steering Committee, the Princeton University Institute for Regional and International Studies Advisory Board, and the Foreign Policy for America Advisory Board.
Dr. Chavez served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Western Hemisphere Affairs from 2013 until 2016 where she prioritized Women, Peace, and Security initiatives, combatting the militarization of law enforcement, and expanding defense institution building programs. Her areas of focus included shaping Defense Department contributions to President Obama’s Central America Strategy, moving the U.S.- Mexico relationship beyond the narrow counternarcotics focus, supporting the Colombian peace process, resetting defense relations with Argentina and Brazil, and establishing a productive dialogue with Cuba on humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
Johnnie Kaberle is a Senior Vice President at WestExec Advisors, where she helps clients navigate the intersection of Congress, the Department of Defense, and the intelligence community. Prior to joining WestExec, Johnnie spent over three decades on Capitol Hill, culminating as Staff Director of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and Deputy Staff Director of the full Appropriations Committee. In that role, she led bipartisan negotiations and shaped hundreds of billions in national security funding—playing a central role in advancing innovation, acquisition reform, and capability delivery to the warfighter. Today, Johnnie draws on that deep institutional experience to help clients understand how decisions are made in Washington, identify and pursue strategic opportunities, and build lasting relationships with key stakeholders. She also teaches legislative negotiation and is known for her ability to help clients “decode” complex government processes and deliver impact where it matters most.
Mary DeRosa is a Professor from Practice at Georgetown University Law Center, where she focuses on national security law. She is Director of Georgetown’s Global Law Scholars program and Co-Director of its Center on National Security and the Law.
Previously, Ms. DeRosa served as Deputy Assistant and Deputy Counsel to the President and National Security Council Legal Adviser in the Obama Administration. She has also served at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations as Alternate Representative of the United States to the 66th Session of the UN General Assembly, an ambassador-level position. Before the Obama Administration, Ms. DeRosa was Chief Counsel for National Security for the Senate Judiciary Committee, working for the Chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy; Senior Fellow for Technology and Public Policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Special Assistant to the President and National Security Council Legal Advisor, and earlier Deputy Legal Adviser, during the Clinton Administration; and Special Counsel to the General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Defense. Earlier in her career, Ms. DeRosa was a lawyer at the Arnold & Porter law firm and a law clerk to the Honorable Richard Cardamone, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Virginia Blaser is a tech-driven CEO, founder, and AI inventor with over three decades of experience leading organizations and driving innovation across the public and private sectors. As the CEO and founder of Blaser Global, she advises corporations, NGOs, and governments on leadership, operational strategy, and the ethical integration of AI into diplomacy, development, and foreign affairs. A serial entrepreneur, Virginia has launched and scaled multiple startups, secured venture capital investments, and developed AI-powered tools, including a patent-pending platform that transforms images into customizable products — merging technology, design, and accessibility at scale. Before entering the private sector, Virginia served as a senior U.S. diplomat for over 30 years across three continents — including five years as acting U.S. ambassador to five countries. She managed billion-dollar budgets, navigated complex political and economic challenges, and advanced U.S. interests on the global stage. Virginia is the author of The Manager’s Workbook, described by the Foreign Service Journal as a “must-read” for aspiring and experienced leaders. She serves on several boards, including Cape BPO, the President’s Advisory Council at Pathfinder International, and the board of IRPIA, an Africa-based think tank focused on innovation, governance, and policy impact. She also sits on the advisory boards of Tilting Futures and Crisis Path, helping shape global strategies on leadership, innovation, and resilience. Her work reflects her passions: empowering women and youth, advancing innovation, and shaping the future of leadership in the age of AI.
Beverly Kirk is the Director of Washington Programs at Syracuse University. She was most recently the Executive Director of JOURNEY, a diverse, intergenerational community that connects preeminent emerging talent with women at the top. Prior to JOURNEY she was a fellow and director for outreach in the CSIS International Security Program and director of the CSIS Smart Women, Smart Power Initiative. She previously was director of the iDeas Lab, the multimedia production and design studio at CSIS. Before joining CSIS, Kirk was a journalist and worked for local and national news organizations, including NBC, NPR, and PBS. She spent much of her career focused on domestic and international politics and government. She also founded a media consulting company and has expertise in media curriculum design. She is a member of the adjunct faculty at the American University School of Communication. Kirk holds an M.A. in diplomacy and international commerce with a concentration in international politics and national security from the University of Kentucky and is a summa cum laude graduate of Western Kentucky University with degrees in history and broadcast journalism.
Dani Schulkin is Director of the Democracy Initiative at Just Security at NYU School of Law. Schulkin formerly served as Senior Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General and Senior Advisor to the Homeland Security Advisor at the White House. Her work spans national security, democratic governance, and administrative law.
Schulkin served as Senior Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she coordinated national security policy and led on issues ranging from election security and foreign malign influence to international synthetic opioid trafficking. She was also Senior Advisor to the Homeland Security Advisor at the National Security Council (NSC), managing domestic crisis response, terrorism prevention, and other domestic security issues from the White House. She began her service in the Biden Administration with the Office of the Staff Secretary, working on the team charged with reviewing all presidential briefing memos and executive actions.
Schulkin has held roles at the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), the New York Attorney General’s Bureau of Internet and Technology, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. She began her legal career as a Legal Fellow at Just Security. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Slate, Yale Journal on Regulation, the University of Pennsylvania Regulatory Review, and Just Security, covering domestic terrorism, democratic governance, and national security. She holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law, where she received the Vanderbilt Medal and was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Legislation and Public Policy, and a B.A. from Harvard University, where she was Captain of the Harvard Women’s Swim and Dive Team.
Kimberly Lehn is the Senior Director at the Pacific Forum, in charge of the Honolulu Defense Forum (HDF). HDF seeks to facilitate dialogue and solutions between a wide range of actors from the private and public sectors to bolster deterrence in the Indo-Pacific in the face of an increasingly contested regional security environment.
She is a national security professional with over 20 years of experience in the U.S. federal government and in the private sector. She is the Founder of Diamond Pacific Strategies LLC in Honolulu, and a Senior Advisor at Beacon Global Strategies, a strategic advisory firm in Washington, D.C. advising leading companies on national security issues. She previously served in management and analytic roles at the Central Intelligence Agency as well as on assignments to the National Security Council’s Directorate of East Asia, the Department of State’s Intelligence and Research Bureau, and on the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee as a professional staff member with a focus on the Indo-Pacific, strategic competition with China and Russia, and the important role alliances and partnerships play to build collective security.
Tracy Pakulniewicz is a senior national security and public affairs executive with more than two decades of experience advancing U.S. defense, homeland security, and international policy priorities across the Executive Branch, private sector, and nonprofit arenas. Her career has centered on strengthening alliances, supporting Service members and their families, and aligning communications, policy, and operational strategy to advance national and global security objectives.
Tracy recently served as the Senior Advisor in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, where she advised on policies impacting military readiness, recruiting, retention, the National Guard and Reserves, and family support — a portfolio valued at more than $8 billion. Her work included engagement with NATO Allies to advance shared approaches to recruitment and retention, including efforts to integrate and advance women across allied military forces. She has represented the United States in high-level discussions with NATO’s International Staff and Personnel Directors, contributing to alliance-wide strategies that strengthen the resilience and inclusivity of the modern force.
Stephanie Barna is Of Counsel in the Public Policy Practice Group of Covington & Burling LLP. She draws on more than three decades of U.S. military and government service to provide advisory and advocacy support and counseling to clients facing policy and political challenges in the aerospace and defense sectors.
Prior to joining the firm, Stephanie served as General Counsel of the Senate Armed Services Committee. A member of the Committee’s senior leadership team, she was responsible for shepherding the annual National Defense Authorization Act through the Committee and on the Senate floor. She oversaw the Senate confirmation process for military general and flag officers and for civilian nominees for Presidential appointment to positions in the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy nuclear enterprise. She also managed an expansive portfolio encompassing the use of military force and war powers, the organization and structure of the Department of Defense, and the uniform code of military justice. She was the Committee lead for investigations.
Linda Robinson is Senior Fellow for Women and Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, where she is currently writing a book about women political leaders and leadership archetypes. Robinson is a national security and foreign affairs expert, best-selling author, and prize-winning former foreign correspondent. She has testified before Congress multiple times on national security, the Middle East, and military issues. She is the author of three critically acclaimed and best-selling books about Afghanistan, Iraq and the special forces, One Hundred Victories (2013), Tell Me How This Ends (2008), and Masters of Chaos (2004).
She has served as chair of the Army War College Board of Visitors, for which she received the Army’s Outstanding Civilian Service Award, and as a member of the National Defense University board. She has also served as a senior adviser to the U.S. State Department, U.S. Central Command, and other military headquarters commands. As a volunteer advisor on the Biden presidential campaign, Robinson led the Special Operations / Low Intensity Conflict team of the Defense Working Group.
Before joining the Council on Foreign Relations, Robinson was a senior policy researcher and director of its Center for Middle East Public Policy at the RAND Corporation.
Ms. Jennifer Gavito joined The Cohen Group as a Senior Advisor in 2024 and co-leads the firm’s Middle East practice. A career Senior Foreign Service officer with the rank of Minister-Counselor, Ms. Gavito spent over 25 years at the intersection of international and economic policy in senior diplomatic positions in Washington and throughout the Middle East and Europe, on the staff of the National Security Council, and as a senior advisor to the Department of Defense.
Ms. Gavito served most recently as the Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs where she coordinated policy recommendations for the Secretary of State and other senior US government leaders and oversaw the work of 22 diplomatic posts in 18 countries throughout the Middle East. Prior to that, she was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iraq and Iran. She concurrently served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Press and Public Diplomacy, leading hundreds of staff in Washington and throughout the Middle East in strategic communications strategy and engagement. Prior to retiring from government service, Ms. Gavito was nominated by President Biden in January 2024 to serve as the US Ambassador to the State of Libya. Ms. Gavito has held a range of leadership roles at US embassies and consulates around the world. She was Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the US Embassy in London from 2018–2021, US Consul General to Bavaria from 2015–2018, and Political Counselor at US Consulate General Jerusalem from 2012–2015. Earlier assignments include, among others, Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the Director for Strategy, Plans, and Programs (J-5) at the US Africa Command; Deputy Consul General at US Consulate General Dubai; Director for Syria and Lebanon at the National Security Council; Deputy Director for North Africa at the Department of State; and head of the Economic and Commercial Section at US Embassy Beirut.
Michelle J. Howard served 35 years in the United States Navy. She led Sailors and Marines multiple times in her career as the Commander of: a ship, an Expeditionary Strike Group, Task Force, and a Naval theater. Her last command was from 2016 to 2017 as U.S. Naval Forces Europe and U.S. Naval Forces Africa. She simultaneously led NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command Naples with oversight of missions from the Western Balkans to Iraq. Operations in her career include: NATO peacekeeping, West African Training Cruise, Indonesia Tsunami Relief operations, and the rescue of Maersk Alabama from Somali Pirates. Michelle J. Howard is a Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran.
In 1999 Michelle J. Howard became the first African American woman to command a ship in the Navy. In 2014, she was the first woman to become a four-star Admiral in the U.S. Navy and the first woman to be appointed to the position of Vice Chief of Naval Operations (number two in a Military Service). She is the first African American woman to reach the rank of three-star and four-stars in the Armed Forces.
Melissa G. Dalton has over 20 years of experience in U.S. defense, aerospace, and national security affairs. She served as the 28th under secretary of the Air Force. She was responsible for organizing, training, and equipping the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, overseeing an annual budget exceeding $200 billion, and accountable for the welfare of nearly 700,000 active-duty, guard, reserve, and civilian Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Ms. Dalton performed the duties of deputy under secretary of defense for policy from December 2023 to May 2024, when she served as the principal advisor to the secretary of defense on the formation of national security and defense policy. Additionally, she served as the assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and hemispheric affairs from March 2022 to May 2024. She joined the Biden administration in January 2021 as the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans, and capabilities. From 2014 to 2021, Ms. Dalton led research and analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, including directing the Cooperative Defense Project and serving as deputy director and senior fellow in the International Security Program. Ms. Dalton served for more than a decade as a career civil servant in the Bush and Obama administrations within the Department of Defense. Ms. Dalton is a recipient of the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal. She was a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs fellow and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is a Principal at WestExec Advisors, a Non-Resident Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Board Member of the Saber Six Foundation, and is the Principal of Potomac River Strategies, LLC.
Caitlin Hayden is the London-based Group Communications Director for BAE Systems, one of the largest aerospace, defense, and security firms in the world, employing around 110,000 people with customers in more than 40 countries. In this role, Hayden leads global communications and serves as a member of the company’s executive committee.
Prior to this, she served as the Senior Vice President of Communications at BAE Systems, Inc., leading all external and internal communications for the U.S. business.
Before joining BAE Systems, Hayden had accumulated nearly two decades of communications and leadership experience. This includes serving as vice president of Communications for the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), leading the organization’s work to tell the aerospace and defense industry’s story in the U.S. and around the world. Previously, Hayden was executive vice president and Media Group director in Edelman’s Washington, D.C. office, where she worked with a range of clients to develop communications strategies to meet their business objectives, including protecting and promoting their brands and navigating regulatory, policy, and crisis issues.
Mariah Sixkiller is a Director at Hakluyt & Co, a strategic consulting firm based in London. She works in the San Francisco office and specializes in tech policy and regulatory matters for corporate and investor clients. Before joining Hakluyt in 2023, Mariah was the General Manager for Strategy in Microsoft’s US Department of Defense business. She also served as Director of Government Relations for Microsoft’s National Security Government Affairs team, focusing on public policy related to cloud, AI, quantum, and national security matters.
Elizabeth K. Horst is a former career U.S. diplomat with more than 25 years of experience leading policy, people, and partnerships across Europe and South Asia. As Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, she served as the bureau’s chief operating officer—overseeing policy development, budgets, staffing, strategic communications and U.S. engagement with 13 countries and 20 posts. As the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Pakistan, she refocused the bilateral relationship on economic and security issues, and launched the U.S. – Pakistan Green Alliance to advance climate resilience, clean energy, and water security. She was also responsible for Public Diplomacy to the regional audience of almost 2 billion people from Astana to Colombo. She was nominated as U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka in 2024.
Her diplomatic career included leadership roles in Mission German as Minister Counselor for Public Diplomacy and in Tallinn, Estonia as Chargé d’Affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission, where she strengthened transatlantic security and economic cooperation. Her Washington postings focused on regional security, economic development and foreign assistance, and spearheading mentoring and leadership initiatives. Earlier assignments took her to Ukraine, Germany, Russia, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Niger, where she began her public service as a Peace Corps volunteer, working on food security and community health.
She holds degrees from the University of Kansas and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and speaks German, Russian, French, and Hausa.
Caroline Tess is Executive Director of National Security Action and former Executive Director of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security.
Caroline served as Special Assistant to the President at the National Security Council during the Obama Administration. She also served at the State Department focusing on North America and U.S. relations with the United Nations. Caroline worked on Capitol Hill for several years, serving on the Senate Intelligence Committee and in the offices of Senators Harry Reid and Bill Nelson.
Former Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Malta and Former President of the Middle East Policy Council.
Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley is the Non Resident Scholar of the Middle East Policy Council, a think tank that contributes to American understanding of the political, economic and and cultural issues that affect U.S. interests in the Middle East, Senior Advisor at the strategic advisory firm, West Exec Advisors, a BBC Contributor and a Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Before her current appointments, she held a series of senior positions that included Ambassador to the Republic of Malta, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commander of U.S. cyber forces, Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism for the Department of State where she negotiated the establishment of the International Institute for Justice and Rule of Law, and Country Director for Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.Ms. Abercrombie-Winstanley was the first woman to lead a diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia as the Principal Officer in Jeddah after taking on the position of Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for the Middle East and Africa.
With a career spanning government, the non-profit sector, and law, Ms. Foster has deep expertise in the economic and political empowerment of women, and how to effectively integrate a gender-focused approach into foreign policy.
She is a co-founder of Smash Strategies, which provides strategic advice to corporations, institutions, and philanthropists to ensure that their investments in women and girls are effective and transformational. In 2021 through early 2023, Foster returned to the U.S. Department of State focusing on Afghan relocation, with a mandate to prioritize the needs of women and girls. She had previously served at the U.S. Department of State from 2012-2017 as a Senior Advisor/Counselor in the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues and at the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan where she focused on women and civil society. Foster has also worked in private law practice, as a Chief of Staff to United States Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Chris Dodd (D-CT), and in senior management positions in the non-profit sector. She is a lawyer by training.
Her first book, Take Action: Fighting for Women & Girls was published in October 2021. Her second book, co-authored with Susan Markham, Feminist Foreign Policy in Theory and Practice, was published in September 2023.
Shelby Pierson advises a broad range of defense-tech, AI, and national-security companies across venture-backed, early-stage, and growth ecosystems, with a tireless focus on integration and operational outcomes. She partners with CEOs, founders, and investors to scale technology for government adoption, accelerate product-market fit inside the national security enterprise, and shape mission-aligned strategies for data, AI/ML, advanced sensing, and geospatial innovation.
Shelby also serves on corporate boards, bringing expertise in enterprise risk, oversight, modernization, and international partnership management. Her portfolio work focuses on building tech-forward operating rhythms, aligning investments to measurable mission value, and strengthening governance to deliver durable performance. Shelby has more than 25 years of national security leadership experience in the U.S. intelligence community, known for translating strategy into execution across large, matrixed organizations.
Bonny Lin is a senior fellow for Asian security and director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Previously, she was the acting associate director of the Strategy and Doctrine Program of RAND Project AIR FORCE and a political scientist at the RAND Corporation, where she analyzed different aspects of U.S. competition with China, including U.S.-China competition for influence in the Indo-Pacific and China’s use of gray zone tactics against U.S. allies and partners.
Her research advised senior leaders in the Department of Defense, including military leaders at U.S. Pacific Air Forces and U.S. Army Pacific. Dr. Lin also served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 2015 to 2018, where she was director for Taiwan, country director for China, and senior adviser for China. Dr. Lin holds a PhD in political science from Yale University, a master’s degree in Asian studies with a focus on China from the University of Michigan, and a bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard College.
Dr. Evelyn N. Farkas has three decades of experience working on national security and foreign policy in the U.S. executive, legislative branch, private sector and for international organizations overseas. She is currently the executive director of the McCain Institute at Arizona State University. Prior to that, she was president of Farkas Global Strategies and a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Atlantic Council and national security contributor for NBC/MSNBC.
She served from 2012 to 2015 as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia, also covering the Balkans, Caucasus and conventional arms control. From 2010 to 2012, she was the senior advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and special advisor to the Secretary of Defense for the NATO Summit. Prior to that, she was the executive director of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism and senior fellow at the American Security Project. From 2001 to 2008, she served as a professional staff member of the Senate Armed Services Committee responsible for Asia Pacific, Western Hemisphere, Special Operations Command, and policy issues including combatting terrorism and export control.
From 1997-2001, Dr. Farkas was a professor of international relations at the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College. She served 1996-97 in Bosnia with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). She has published numerous journal articles and opinion pieces, including “Fractured States and U.S. Foreign Policy: Iraq, Ethiopia, and Bosnia in the 1990s” (Palgrave/St Martin’s Press). She speaks Hungarian and German and has studied French, Spanish, Serbo-Croatian, Russian, and Hindi.
Beth Roberts is a foreign policy, international trade, and development finance leader with nearly two decades of experience navigating complex geopolitical, regulatory, and investment environments to foster economic growth. In her current role as Senior Manager, Global Strategic Initiatives within Global Public Policy at General Motors, Beth focuses on advancing policies that bolster GM’s supply chain resilience efforts. She specializes in translating big-picture global dynamics into actionable strategies, detailed project management, and diplomatic advocacy to advance policy objectives and drive growth.
During the Biden Administration, Beth served as Vice President of the Office of Foreign Policy at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), where she launched and led a team of regional and sector policy experts focused on aligning DFC’s $50 billion global investment portfolio and business development strategy with U.S. foreign policy priorities. She served as the senior foreign policy advisor to DFC’s CEO, drove strategic diplomatic engagement, and helped integrate geopolitical risk and opportunity analysis across business lines.
Before joining DFC, Beth spent a decade at the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), where she developed and managed infrastructure, energy, and agribusiness projects across Africa and South Asia. She also served as an advisor to MCC’s CEO, launched MCC’s Private Sector Advisory Council and led the Corporation’s first trade mission to Africa. Beth’s career began as a public affairs consultant at APCO, supporting domestic and global health care clients. Her service in the Peace Corps in Mali sparked her passion for working at the nexus global business, foreign policy, and sustainable development.
Beth is a graduate of Elon University and is a Truman National Security Project Security Fellow. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Washington, D.C.
Senate Confirmed in August 2017, the Honorable Ellen M. Lord formerly served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (A&S). In this capacity, she was responsible to the Secretary of Defense for all matters pertaining to acquisition; developmental testing; contract administration; logistics and materiel readiness; installations and environment; operational energy; chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons; the acquisition workforce; and the defense industrial base.
Prior to this appointment, from October 2012 – June 2017, Ms. Lord served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Textron Systems Corporation, a subsidiary of Textron Inc. In this role, she led a multi-billion dollar business with a broad range of products and services supporting defense, homeland security, aerospace, infrastructure protection, and customers around the world.
Ms. Lord has more than 30 years of experience in the defense industry, serving in a variety of capacities, to include Senior Vice President and General Manager of Textron Defense Systems, now Weapon & Sensor Systems; and Senior Vice President and General Manager of AAI Corporation, now known as Textron Systems’ Electronic Systems, Support Solutions, and Unmanned Systems businesses. Earlier in her career, Ms. Lord served as Vice President of Integration Management for Textron Systems and Vice President of Intelligent Battlefield Systems for Textron Defense Systems, in addition to other business and operations positions.
A native of Cuba, former U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) served for almost three decades as a Member of Congress representing diverse areas in South Florida. She was the Chairwoman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In these roles, she led on pressing foreign policy issues, including championing the advancement of freedom and democracy for all, fighting Islamist extremism; supporting free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea; and imposing sanctions on human rights violators in Venezuela. Her record over nearly four decades of public service includes fighting against tyranny and oppression, particularly in her native homeland of Cuba, as well as working diligently to support and strengthen the US – Israel strategic partnership.
Rep. Ros-Lehtinen served on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was a member of the CIA Subcommittee and the National Security Agency and Cybersecurity Subcommittee. A strong proponent of education, Rep.
Essye Miller’s public service career spanned morethan three decades. She served most recently as Principal Deputy Chief Information Officer and Acting Defense Chief Information Officer at the Department of Defense, selected by former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. As a career member of the Senior Executive Service, Miller has deep expertise in information management and technology, cybersecurity, and critical satellite communications. She advises corporations on expansion into the public sector, the federal market, product portfolios, and executive strategy. Miller also serves as an advisor to the Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board, the Department of Commerce, and NGOs.
Leanne G. Caret is a senior advisor to Blackstone, a private equity investment firm. She brings expertise in public company executive leadership, global operations and sales, and technology and innovation. Prior to her retirement in December 2022, Caret served as executive vice president and senior advisor to The Boeing Company, and previously was the president and chief executive officer of Boeing Defense, Space and Security. Caret held numerous leadership roles over her 34+ year career with Boeing, including chief financial officer for Boeing Defense, Space and Security. Caret is a member of the Deere & Company and RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies) Board of Directors. Additionally, she serves as a board member for the Kansas State University Foundation, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and the USO. In addition to being a 2019 inductee of the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame. Fortune magazine named her to its Most Powerful Women list in 2021 for the fifth consecutive year. Caret is a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a member of the Trilateral Commission. She received an MBA from Wichita State University and a BS from Kansas State University.
Ms. Pamela Powers is the Defense Market Leader at Maximus. Prior to her current role, she joined KPMG in March of 2021 as a Managing Director and lead the Transformation Delivery service for KPMG’s Federal sector. In this role she helped organizations develop solutions to complex challenges by leveraging data, technology, and business process improvement while driving effective change management. She also serves in an advisory role for several other organizations including the Women Veterans Interactive Foundation, Kinometrix, the Leadership Council for Women in National Security, and the Partnership for Public Service.
Prior to this, she served as the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Chief of Staff when, on April 2, 2020, the President chose her to serve as Acting Deputy Secretary. In that role, Ms. Powers led enterprise modernization of the federal government’s second-largest Cabinet department with a budget of more than $218 billion and over 400,000 employees serving in VA medical centers, clinics, benefits offices, and national cemeteries across the country.
Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale is the Senior Fellow for Geoeconomics and Defense at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) where she conducts research on economic security and defense industrial policy and investments. She is also a Senior Research Fellow in the Blue Center for Global Strategic Assessment at the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs.
From 2023-2025, Dr. Taylor-Kale served as the first Presidentially-Appointed, Senate-Confirmed Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy. In her role, she led all defense industrial strategy, investments, and planning, including the Defense Production Act and industrial base investments, supply chain resilience, small business programs, international defense industrial cooperation, and economic security and review of domestic mergers and acquisitions and foreign investments (CFIUS). She led the Department of Defense in developing and publishing the first-ever National Defense Industrial Strategy and Implementation Plan. During her tenure, she led the expansion of strategic investments in rare earth elements, critical and strategic materials, solid rocket motors, and other upstream supply chain materials. To further accelerate investment in the Defense Industrial Base, Dr. Taylor-Kale launched the DoD’s largest other transaction contracting vehicle, the Defense Industrial Base Consortium. During her tenure, she led a record of $3.3 billion of grants to manufacturing and defense industrial supply chain businesses through the Defense Production Act and the Industrial Base Fund. Additionally, she established the first Board of Directors for the strategic and critical materials for the National Defense Stockpile.
Dr. Taylor-Kale is a policy executive, strategist, and organizational behavior scholar with extensive experience in finance, business, economic policy and managing in complex organizations. From 2021-2023, she served as the Fellow for Innovation and Economic Competitiveness at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and contributed to CFR’s Renewing America Initiative. Her CFR research focused on strategic innovation, industrial policy, and the changing nature of work. From 2017-2018, she was an International Affairs Fellow at CFR and the deputy director of CFR’s independent task force on the future of the U.S. workforce, co-authoring of the task force’s published report “The Work Ahead: Machines, Skills, and U.S. Leadership in the Twenty-First Century.”
Previously, Dr. Taylor-Kale served in the Obama Administration from 2014-2017. As the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Manufacturing in the International Trade Administration, Dr. Taylor-Kale led multiple teams of international trade specialists and oversaw policies and programs to promote exports of U.S. manufactured goods and economic competitiveness in health and information technology; energy and environmental technologies; and transportation and machinery sectors. Prior to the Department of Commerce, Dr. Taylor-Kale was the senior advisor for policy and operations at the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation where she coordinated policies for OPIC’s $5 billion portfolio of investments in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Taylor-Kale joined the Obama Administration from the World Bank where she was special assistant to the Vice President for sustainable development and climate change.
From 2003-2012, Dr. Taylor-Kale was a career Foreign Service Officer in the U.S. Department of State and served in diplomatic postings in India as a consular officer and special assistant to the ambassador, Côte d’Ivoire as a political affairs officer, Afghanistan as an economic affairs officer, and in Washington, DC in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs as a financial economist. She received multiple awards for her economic analysis and from 2010-2011, was the first Foreign Service Officer to serve as an advisor to the U.S. Executive Director on the boards of the World Bank Group.
Dr. Taylor-Kale holds a B.A. in economics and anthropology from Smith College, an M.P.A. in development economic and demographic studies from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, an M.B.A. in finance and management from the New York University’s Stern School of Business, and a Ph.D. in management science and engineering with a specialization in Organizations, Technology, and Entrepreneurship from Stanford University’s School of Engineering. Her scholarly research examines grand challenges, ecosystem design, and how organizations leverage technology to build cross-sector strategic partnerships. Dr. Taylor-Kale is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is the recipient of numerous educational and professional awards, including the Zhi-Xing Eisenhower Fellowship, International Career Advancement Program, Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship, and the David Boren Scholarship for Critical Language Study. She is a member of the Truman National Security Project and an alumna of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security.
Leah Nodvin is the Director of Government and External Affairs at the BMW Group, where she supports U.S. – European relations and covers the federal sustainability portfolio. Previously, Leah served as the Chief of Staff for the Bureau of Europe and Eurasia at USAID. Prior to joining USAID, she worked on Capitol Hill and most recently served as the Staff Director for the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee for Europe, working on behalf of Congressman Bill Keating of Massachusetts. During her time on Capitol Hill, Leah also served as a Professional Staff Member on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee for Europe as well as a Foreign Affairs Legislative Assistant for a Senior Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Prior to her time in Washington, Leah completed a research Fellowship with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna, Austria. Leah holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston University as well as master’s degrees from the University College’s London School of Slavonic and East European Studies and the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. Leah is currently completing a master’s degree in Defense and Strategic Studies at the Naval War College. Leah grew up in New Hampshire and speaks basic French, intermediate Russian, fluent German and is a native English speaker.
Shamila Chaudhary currently serves as the Democratic Co-Chair of the Afghanistan War Commission
Shamila N. Chaudhary is an international affairs analyst specializing in U.S. foreign policy with a focus on South Asia. She was the President of the American Pakistan Foundation; a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center; and a Senior Fellow at New America. In her personal capacity, she is a member of the Foreign Policy for America Leadership Circle and serves on the Advisory Council of South Asians for America.
Chaudhary worked for over a decade in the U.S. government, including at the White House as Director for Pakistan and Afghanistan on the National Security Council from 2010-2011. She also served in the U.S. Department of State’s Policy Planning Staff as South Asia Advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the late Ambassador Richard Holbrooke.
Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins is currently the Shapiro Visiting Professor of International Affairs at the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University and the Compton Visiting Professor at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia. From 2021- 2024, she served as the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs.
As Under Secretary of State, Jenkins oversaw three bureaus: the Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability Bureau (ADS); the International Security and Nonproliferation Bureau (ISN); and the Political-Military Affairs Bureau (PM). Notably, she was appointed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken in May 2023 to lead the Department’s implementation efforts on AUKUS, the trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Ambassador Jenkins has the distinction of being the first African American to hold the position of Under Secretary of State.
Ambassador Jenkins was a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution from 2017 – 2021. She was also a Joint Visiting Fellow at The Brookings Institution and the University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House. She continued at the University of Pennsylvania from 2018 – 2021 as a Visiting Scholar at the Nursing School and the School of Veterinary Science.
Eileen Donahoe is the inaugural Special Envoy and Coordinator for Digital Freedom in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy (CDP). Previously, she was the Executive Director of the Global Digital Policy Incubator at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center, where she worked to develop global digital policies that address human rights, security and governance challenges. She served as the first US Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, during the Obama Administration. After leaving government, she was Director of Global Affairs at Human Rights Watch where she represented the organization worldwide on human rights foreign policy, with special emphasis on digital rights, cybersecurity and internet governance. Earlier in her career, she was a technology litigator at Fenwick & West in Silicon Valley.
Eileen serves as a member of Board of Directors of the National Endowment for Democracy; the World Economic Forum Council on the Future of Digital Economy; the University of Essex Advisory Board on Human Rights, Big Data and Technology; the NDI Designing for Democracy Advisory Board, and the Freedom Online Coalition Advisory Network.
During her career at senior levels on Capitol Hill and in private industry, Ann Elise Sauer acquired extensive experience in national security and government issues, including public and private policy matters, acquisition and contracting, federal budget issues, and the corporate world.
From 2013-2023, Ann was a founding Senior Partner in Inglee Sauer Market Strategies, LLC, a strategic consulting firm that specialized in providing timely, critical advice to corporations, think tanks and other non-profit organizations, and government entities. Ann and her partners worked primarily with defense and aerospace companies, providing input to their government affairs, business development and long-range planning organizations.
Prior to co-founding ISM Strategies, in 2012 Ann served as Staff Director for the Minority of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services. She reported to Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Ranking Republican Member of the Committee, and managed the Republican staff of the committee, who were responsible for oversight of all issues in the national security arena, particularly annual defense authorization legislation.
Alex Kahan is a global strategy, operations, and policy leader with experience at the intersection of national security, government, and the private sector.
Most recently she served on the executive leadership team of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the government’s investment arm that provides financing to the private sector to advance foreign policy and development goals in key sectors and global markets. As the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategy, she led DFC’s enterprise strategic planning and consulting function, enabling DFC to grow to over 700 personnel with a $50B portfolio. Prior to DFC Ms. Kahan was the Chief of Staff for Global COVID-19 Response and Health Security at the U.S. Department of State, where she supported global pandemic response coordination and oversaw Department activities to distribute more than 700 million vaccines to 118 countries.
Veronica Daigle is the President of National Security Practice at Red Cell Partners. She was previously the Director of Acquisition & Innovation Policy, Federal Legislative Affairs, Government Operations at The Boeing Company. Prior to joining Boeing in 2020, Ms. Daigle was the Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness in the Department of Defense (DoD), where she served as the principal staff advisor to the Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness on all matters related to military readiness. In that position, Ms. Daigle managed three deputy assistant secretaries of defense, with a combined staff of over 50 military and civilian personnel.
Ms. Daigle entered the Federal Government in 2008 as a Presidential Management Fellow at the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and subsequently served as an operations research analyst in DoD’s office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE). From 2008 to 2013, Ms. Daigle assessed a wide-ranging portfolio of issues, including the operational requirements and costs for Army ground operations, the potential effect of continued Overseas Contingency Operations funding on readiness programs, and the sufficiency of resources to support mental health services for Service Members.
Alexis Prieur L’Heureux is Vice President at WestExec Advisors.
Prior to joining WestExec, Alexis most recently served as Chief of Staff for Congressman Seth Moulton (MA-06). Alexis ran his congressional office, including his work on the House Armed Services, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Budget Committees, and was also a Senior Advisor for his political action committee, Serve America. Alexis also served on President Joe Biden’s Presidential Transition Team as the lead for Department of Defense appointments. Before working on the Hill, Alexis served in President Obama’s Administration as a national security policy advisor at the Department of Defense (2009-2012, 2014-2017) and as a Deputy Executive Secretary at the U.S. Department of Treasury (2013-2014).
In addition to her government experience, Alexis has also worked to protect the vote for numerous campaigns at both the state and national levels, starting with then-Senator Obama’s 2008 primary campaign in New Hampshire. In 2017, Alexis co-founded All Voting Is Local, which is a non-profit that works to increase access to voting by improving how elections are run at the local level.
Jeannette Gaudry Haynie, PhD, is a security and conflict scholar, retired Marine Corps officer and combat veteran, and former government senior executive leader. A New Orleans native and U.S. Naval Academy graduate, she is a Cobra attack helicopter pilot by trade who has served both within and outside the government in a wide range of leadership roles. Within the government, she has served on active duty, as a reservist, and in a civilian executive leadership role at the Department of Defense; outside of government, she has served as a principal research scientist, nonprofit executive, and adjunct professor.
Dr. Haynie served on active duty as a Cobra pilot and instructor before transitioning into the reserves and beginning graduate school. While serving on the Joint Staff and in the Marine Corps Commandant’s think tank, she earned her MA in Political Science from the University of New Orleans and her PhD in International Relations from The George Washington University. She retired after 22 years of combined active and reserve service in the Marine corps.
Soladé Rowe is Partner at the leading talent advisory firm, DHR Global where he advises government and nonprofit clients on executive recruitment, performance management, and leadership coaching. Prior to executive search, Soladé held several HR management roles within the retail, life sciences, management consulting, and investment banking industries. In his last corporate position, he held talent acquisition and performance management responsibilities, where he played a vital role in the company’s merger integration and supported the expansion of its e-commerce business. Soladé started his career in higher education and has served as a Trustee for his alma mater for over 20 years and serves as Chair of the Compensation Committee.
A first-generation American from Sierra Leone, Soladé holds a Bachelor of Science in International Business from Utica University and a Master of Science in Organizational Change Management from The New School for Social Research in New York City. He is also certified in Hogan Leadership Assessments. A native New Yorker, Soladé resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife and two sons.
Mona Sutphen is a Senior Partner at The Vistria Group. Previously, she was a Partner at global consultancy Macro Advisory Partners and earlier was Managing Director at UBS, AG. She served as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy for President Obama during his first term. Earlier Ms. Sutphen was a career diplomat, serving on the staff of the NSC during the Clinton Administration as well as at US Mission to the United Nations and other posts in Asia and Europe. Ms. Sutphen serves on the Board of Spotify and as a Trustee for Putnam Investments. She is Co-Chair of the IRC Board and also serves on the advisory boards of the Omidyar Network and Columbia University’s Center for Global Energy Policy. Ms. Sutphen co-authored “The Next American Century” and was an Executive Producer of several documentary films. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and served on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Holyoke College and a Master of Science degree from the London School of Economics.
Ambassador (ret) Laura Kennedy served almost four decades as a U.S. career diplomat. She spent much of her career working in or on the former Soviet Union and served multiple assignments in Geneva and Vienna on multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation (conventional, nuclear and biological) as well as a number of temporary assignments in New York, including the 2010 and 2015 NPT Review Conferences and heading the U.S. delegations to the UN Committee on Disarmament. She retired in 2013 but was recalled to service in 2014 to head the U.S. Embassy in Turkmenistan and then the U.S. Mission in Vienna where she served as the U.S. Governor on the Board of the International Atomic Energy Agency. She retired again in 2015.
Kennedy’s assignments included Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Southern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus 2004-5, Ambassador to Turkmenistan 2001-3, Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva 2010-13 with concurrent service as U.S. Special Representative for Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention issues, Deputy Commandant of the National War College where she also taught for two years 2007-9, Charge d’Affaires in Armenia, and Deputy Political section chief in Moscow and Ankara. She is a member of the Leadership Council of Women in National Security (LCWINS) and the trilateral US-Germany-Russia Deep Cuts Commission. Kennedy has been a frequent press commentator and has lectured at various U.S. and international institutions including the Foreign Service Institute, the U.S. Army War College, the Army Command and General Staff College, universities and regional international affairs councils. She serves as an expert for the NewYork Times and Smithsonian Institution Silk Road travels to Central Asia. She has participated in a number of track two dialogues on nuclear arms control and nonproliferation and Asia. She is currently a member of the Secretary of State’s International Security Advisory Board.
After receiving her B.A. from Vassar College, Kennedy did graduate work at Stanford and American (M.A.) universities and is also a graduate of the Senior Seminar of the Department of State for which she later served as Dean.
Christine Abizaid led the United States Government’s counterterrorism enterprise while serving as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) from June 2021 to July 2024. She was the eighth Senate confirmed Director and the first woman to lead NCTC, the primary U.S. intelligence organization that integrates, analyzes, and shares terrorism information.
Before joining NCTC, Abizaid was as an executive at Dell Technologies in its Global Operations organization, where she led and advised on geopolitical and strategic risk analysis; supply chain security; sustainability and transparency initiatives; compliance; and global inventory management. While in the private sector, Abizaid was aboard member for the Responsible Business Alliance; a board member at the Middle East Policy Council; and an inaugural Steering Committee Member for the Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LCWINS).
