Heidi is a General Partner and Executive Vice President at America’s Frontier Fund, a venture capital fund that invests in frontier technologies vital to the long-term competitiveness and national security of the United States and close allies. She is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations where she specializes in Economic Statecraft and leads the high-level Roundtable Series on Geoeconomics. She is the former CEO, and remains a Partner, at International Capital Strategies – a boutique advisory firm that provides clients with market-relevant insights on the intersection of macroeconomics, geopolitics, policy and global financial markets.
She served on the Biden Treasury Department Transition team as lead on International Affairs through January 2021. From August 2019 through the 2020 election, she led and built Biden’s international economic policy team for his Presidential campaign, crafting and contributing to incoming Administration policy on national economic security, China policy, supply chain resilience, trade, energy and energy security, the IMF and Multilateral Development Banks, sanctions and export controls, as well as to the domestic competitiveness and investment agenda.
Heidi is a General Partner and Executive Vice President at America’s Frontier Fund, a venture capital fund that invests in frontier technologies vital to the long-term competitiveness and national security of the United States and close allies. She is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations where she specializes in Economic Statecraft and leads the high-level Roundtable Series on Geoeconomics. She is the former CEO, and remains a Partner, at International Capital Strategies – a boutique advisory firm that provides clients with market-relevant insights on the intersection of macroeconomics, geopolitics, policy and global financial markets.
She served on the Biden Treasury Department Transition team as lead on International Affairs through January 2021. From August 2019 through the 2020 election, she led and built Biden’s international economic policy team for his Presidential campaign, crafting and contributing to incoming Administration policy on national economic security, China policy, supply chain resilience, trade, energy and energy security, the IMF and Multilateral Development Banks, sanctions and export controls, as well as to the domestic competitiveness and investment agenda.
Previously, Heidi served in the Obama Administration as the State Department’s first Chief Economist. She provided strategic advice to two Secretaries of State on the integration of economics and finance with geopolitics to help craft and launch “Economic Statecraft” in the Administration. Her remit encompassed a wide range of foreign policy issues, both crisis-related and longer-term challenges and opportunities with economic drivers. Before this, she served as the Chief of International Finance and Economics for the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Over her previous, nearly two-decade investment banking career based in Europe as a Managing Director at several bulge bracket investment banks, she managed businesses ranging from Sovereign and Public Sector Banking, European Debt Capital Markets, to Emerging Markets Debt Capital Markets. Areas of industry focus were energy and mining, financial services and telecommunications. She began her career in Energy Merchant Banking and investing in Russia/CIS.
From 2018-2021 she was a member of the Advisory Board of Campbell Lutyens, a UK based global independent capital advisory firm for private equity, infrastructure and private credit funds, where she provided strategic direction on macroeconomic and geopolitical risks and opportunities in developed and emerging markets, infrastructure, and related policy and political trends.
Heidi holds a BA from Dartmouth College and MSc from the London School of Economics.
She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (member of the Membership Committee), and the Trilateral Commission. She was named one of the “Top 25 Women in Business” by The Wall Street Journal Europe. Married with one daughter, she is based in Washington, D.C.
Jen Daskal is a Partner at Venable LLP. She is a national security legal and policy expert, with years of experience managing crisis, mitigating risk, and working at the intersection of technology, policy and law. From October 2023 to January 2025, Daskal served as the Deputy Homeland Security Advisor at the White House. Before that, she was the Principal Deputy Legal Advisor at the National Security Council and served as Acting General Counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, where she oversaw over 3,000 attorneys, including the Department’s cybersecurity, intelligence, litigation, and law enforcement legal teams.
Before joining the federal government, Daskal was a tenured law professor at American University Washington College of Law (WCL) until February 2021. In 2020, she founded and served as the first Faculty Director of WCL’s Tech, Law & Security Program. As a law professor, she wrote extensively on issues of data security and data privacy, testified multiple times before Congress, and won several awards for her work.
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.
Molly Montgomery is a Director of Public Policy at Meta, where she leads engagement with the diplomatic community and U.S. foreign affairs and national security agencies and advises on geopolitics and national security issues. She is also a member of the board of directors of Tenaris S.A. and an adjunct professor at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, where she teaches transatlantic relations.
Molly spent more than 15 years in government, serving most recently as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State responsible for relations with Western Europe, the European Union, and European regional economic affairs. As a career Foreign Service Officer she completed overseas tours in Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Latvia, and the United Arab Emirates. Her domestic assignments included serving in the Office of the Secretary of State and as Special Advisor to the Vice President for Europe and Eurasia. She was also a Senior Vice President in the Europe practice at Albright Stonebridge Group and a non-resident fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution.
Nilmini Rubin is the Chief Policy Officer for Hedera, a fast and energy-efficient global blockchain platform. She co-founded Fix the System, a coalition of organizations committed to election integrity and democracy strengthening in the U.S. Previously, Nilmini headed Tetra Tech’s global team implementing energy and internet projects that resulted in millions of people gaining access to electricity for the first time. For twelve years, she served as a senior aide on both the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee where she spearheaded the passage of legislation to provide electricity access in Africa, increase global internet access, reduce corruption through transparency, and reform U.S. foreign assistance. As a Director at the National Security Council under President George W. Bush, Nilmini helped secure agreements on non-proliferation, international health and foreign aid. Nilmini was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and is a member of its Experts Network. She is an advisor to the Women’s Democracy Network and Energy Growth Hub, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Academy of the Global Teacher Prize and the International Mindfulness Teachers Association.
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.
Ambassador Nina Hachigian (ret) was the first U.S. Special Representative for City and State Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State from 2022 to 2025 in the Biden Administration. Before that, Amb, Hachigian served as the first Deputy Mayor for International Affairs for the City of Los Angeles for five years. From 2014 to 2017, Ambassador Hachigian served as the second U.S. Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Obama Administration. Earlier, she was a Senior Fellow and a Senior Vice President at the Center for American Progress focused on Asia policy and U.S.-China relations. Before that, Ambassador Hachigian was the director of the RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy for four years.
Ambassador Hachigian served on the staff of the National Security Council in the Clinton White House from 1998-1999. She is the editor of Debating China: The U.S. – China Relationship in Ten Conversations (Oxford University Press, 2014) and co-author of The Next American Century: How the U.S. Can Thrive as Other Powers Rise (Simon & Schuster, 2008). She went to Yale University and got her JD from Stanford University.
Jennifer Short is a senior national security leader with more than 30 years of experience shaping strategy and leading operations at the highest levels of U.S. defense and government. She most recently served as Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense under two presidential administrations, advising on global defense strategy and operations across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and U.S. homeland defense.
Throughout her career, Jennifer has led complex, multi-agency collaboration across the Department of Defense, Air Force, Space Force, and Congress, securing critical legislative outcomes and funding for defense modernization, cyber strategy, and space capabilities. A combat-proven A-10 fighter pilot and former Commander of the 23rd Wing, she led more than 6,000 personnel and global combat search and rescue operations.
Jennifer holds degrees from Arizona State University, Touro University International, and the National War College, and is an International Women’s Forum Leadership Fellow with executive education from INSEAD and Harvard Business School.
A retired career diplomat from the US Department of State, Annie is a Senior Non-Resident Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an Adjunct Professor at the City University of New York, and a public commentator on foreign policy. She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and active on non-profit boards relating to NewYork City and Afghanistan advocacy.
As a self-employed consultant, Annie works with non-profits and think tanks on issues relating to US policymaking and fragile states, international organized crime, Afghanistan, and Latin America.
Her thirty-year diplomatic career focused on security, rule of law, and human rights policy. She was the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Afghanistan and Deputy Chief of Mission in Kabul; Office Director for UN Peacekeeping and Sanctions; head of the $700 million security assistance program in Mexico; the lead human rights officer in Turkey and South Africa; and a Director at the National Security Council implementing policy on Central American migration. Ms. Pforzheimer is a graduate of Harvard, with a Masters in National Security Studies from the National Defense University.
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.
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.
Michele Pearce most recently served as Of Counsel at Covington and Burling LLP. Prior to Covington, Michele held several senior staff positions within the Department of Defense (DoD) and Congress. Most recently, she served as General Counsel (Acting) of the Department of the Army, providing legal and policy advice to the Secretary of the Army and other service leadership. In this role, Michele was responsible for legal matters related to modernizing acquisition and contracting practices to meet emerging threats, implementing AI and hypersonic systems, and reforming ethics and diversity and inclusion programs.
Prior to her role in the Army, Michele served as Deputy General Counsel (Legislation) at DoD. She was the principal legal advisor to DoD officials, including the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense, and General Counsel on matters concerning legislation, investigations, and the Department’s Legislative Review Program, which considers more than 400 legislative proposals annually.
Katie Arrington is Chief Information Officer at IonQ where she oversees the protection and modernization of the company’s global enterprise systems, safeguards digital assets and supply chains, and strengthens operational and cyber resilience across the company’s rapidly expanding footprint. Her move to IonQ reflects a continued personal mission she has championed throughout her career—ensuring U.S. warfighters, government agencies, and industry have access to the world’s most advanced, secure technology.
Most recently, Arrington performed the duties of the Department of War’s Chief Information Officer, advising the Secretary on enterprise information management; satellite, communications, and spectrum capabilities; cyber assurance; and space and emerging technology policy. Earlier, as Deputy CIO for Cybersecurity, she led defense-wide oversight of cyber strategy, governance, and compliance. A former state legislator and a longtime member of the defense innovation ecosystem, Arrington began her federal service as the CISO for Acquisition & Sustainment, where she developed and implemented the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). She was also instrumental in bringing AI to the COVID Supply Chain efforts. Her industry leadership includes senior roles with Exiger, Booz Allen Hamilton, Centuria Corporation, and Dispersive Networks—each focused on strengthening the defense industrial base, accelerating innovation, and protecting national security.
Jamie Jackson is an attorney and public speaker who provides insider political analysis on U.S. public policy developments. Drawing on her unique blend of experience as a former White House, Pentagon, and congressional leadership aide, she has built a career advising political leaders and organizations on complex legal and policy issues. Her areas of expertise include defense policy, emerging technologies, social justice reform, congressional investigations, and legislative procedure.
In her role as Senior Counsel to then-U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Jackson played a pivotal role in shaping consequential federal legislation. As Deputy General Counsel for the U.S. House Armed Services Committee (HASC), Jackson was integral in drafting and negotiating defense policy legislation, as part of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). She also held key national security roles during the Obama and Biden administrations.
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.
Deirdre M. Walsh is the Executive Vice President for Strategy and Government Affairs for ARKA Group. ARKA combines the strength of visionary aerospace and defense companies, bringing unparalleled innovation, expertise, and capability to the needs of the Intelligence Community (IC) and Department of Defense. Walsh brings her recognized leadership in the IC and the broader aerospace and defense industry to this position, along with her reputation for steadfast commitment to serving the nation and warfighter throughout her career. Prior to ARKA, Ms. Walsh served as Vice President of Strategic Operations for Ball Aerospace & Technologies. In this position, she led the creation and execution of government relations strategies to enhance Ball Aerospace’s reputation and strategic positioning in the industry as a trusted mission partner.
In her government career, she served as the first chief operating officer (COO) for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Walsh led the ODNI in its transformation to better integrate and unify the nation’s intelligence priorities and strategies. From 2014 to 2018, Walsh was director of legislative affairs for the ODNI. In this position, she managed ODNI’s interaction with Congress, supported Congressional oversight requirements, and advised ODNI senior leaders on Congressional priority interests. Walsh was appointed to the Senior National Intelligence Service in 2013. She served as deputy director of Congressional and public affairs at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Preceding her assignment to NRO, she supported the Intelligence Community Chief Financial Officer in strategic budgeting and communications. Additionally, Walsh provided strategic counsel and support to the revision of Executive Order 12333, entitled “United States Intelligence Activities,” and served as director of Policy Management, driving foundational IC policy in response to the Executive Order. Before joining the IC, Walsh served as House liaison to the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission. She began her career on Capitol Hill, on the legislative staffs of Reps. Sherwood Boehlert and Felix J. Grucci Jr.
Walsh holds a Master of Arts in legislative affairs from the George Washington University, and a Bachelor of Science in international studies from the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Carole House is a strategic technology executive who has spent her career focusing on leveraging innovative technologies to combat national security threats. She is the founder and CEO of a strategic technology and national security advisory practice, Penumbra Strategies, and serves as a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Association for Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) and a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council GeoEconomics Center. Carole recently departed the White House National Security Council (NSC) as Special Advisor for Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure. She previously served as the NSC Director for Cybersecurity and Secure Digital Innovation. During her time at the White House, Carole architected two Executive Orders driving critical steps to promote innovation in cybersecurity, digital identity, artificial intelligence, and digital assets. Carole has held positions in the private sector as an Executive in Residence at Terranet Ventures, Inc., co-founder and interim COO for a stealth fintech startup, and served on advisory boards for three financial regulatory agencies and three non-profits. She also has been recognized for her leadership in cyber and emerging tech initiatives, including the prestigious “Fed100” award and AFFIRM’s “Leadership in Crisis” award, in addition to various publications across the Atlantic Council, Bloomberg, the Small Wars Journal, and the Military Review. Carole’s prior government experience includes service as a U.S. Army Captain as well as positions leading emerging tech, cybersecurity, and national security initiatives across the White House, Senate Homeland Security Committee, and the U.S. Treasury.
Nisha Biswal brings over 30 years of experience in U.S. foreign policy and international economic development including in the Executive Branch, in Congress and the private sector. Most recently, she served as Deputy CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), overseeing operations, management and policy coordination, and helping DFC become the largest bilateral development finance institution in the world. Biswal was senior vice president for international strategy and global initiatives at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce from 2017-2023 and led the South Asia practice.
Her prior government service includes Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State from 2013 to 2017. There she oversaw the U.S.-India strategic partnership, including the launch of an annual U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue. She also initiated the C5+1 Dialogue with Central Asia and the US-Bangladesh Partnership Dialogue during her tenure as Assistant Secretary. Prior to that, Biswal was assistant administrator for Asia at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID),having previously worked in the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and the Bureau for Humanitarian Response. She also spent over a decade on Capitol Hill, working as staff director on the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee on Appropriations as well as professional staff on the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives.
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.
Currently CEO of the think and action tank New America, Anne-Marie Slaughter is a global leader, scholar, and commentator. She was the J. Sinclair Armstrong Professor of International, Foreign, and Comparative Law at Harvard Law School and served as President of the American Society of International Law. From 2002 to 2009, she was Bert G. Kerstetter ‘66 University Professor of Politics and International Affairs and Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. In 2009 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appointed her as the first woman Director of Policy Planning in the U.S. State Department. Slaughter has written and lectured widely on global network design and leadership; on gender equality and elevating the value of care for both men and women; and on American renewal. The author or editor of nine books, she is a contributing editor to the Financial Times and a regular columnist for Project Syndicate.
Alice Albright is a global executive with more than two decades of leadership across international development, global health, education, and innovative finance. Her career has focused on building institutions, pioneering new approaches to development finance, and advancing equitable growth and opportunity around the world. As Founder and Principal of Acadia Advisory, she advises philanthropic and development organizations as they navigate a shifting global landscape. Her work centers on supporting institutions as they consider how development models and financing approaches may need to evolve in the years ahead.
Albright served most recently as Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). At MCC, she led a strategic refresh and helped secure the passage of bipartisan legislation expanding the agency’s country eligibility, adding 33 countries to its potential footprint. At GPE, she guided the organization’s evolution into a major multilateral funder and expanded its financing toolkit, including the launch of the Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX), the GPE Multiplier, and a $500 million COVID-19 emergency window to sustain learning during school closures.
Previously, Albright helped establish the field of innovative development finance beginning at GAVI, where she co-designed and launched the International Finance Facility for Immunization (IFFIm) and the Advance Market Commitment (AMC) — mechanisms that transformed global vaccine access and mobilized more than $10 billion. She continued advancing new financing approaches at the Export-Import Bank of the United States, where she helped launch its first direct lending program for small businesses. Her work has taken her to more than 60 countries, engaging leaders at all levels to align diplomacy, finance, and policy in support of inclusive and sustainable growth.
Albright serves on the Board of the National Democratic Institute, is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and sits on the Food Security Leadership Council. She is a graduate of Williams College and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
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.
Tressa Steffen Guenov is Director for Programs and Operations & Senior Fellow, Scowcroft Center for Security Studies at the Atlantic Council. She previously served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (ISA), Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (OUSDP). In that role she supported the Assistant Secretary of Defense/ISA in a range of policy, leadership, management, and advisory capacities for the offices of African Affairs; European and NATO Policy; the Middle East; and Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia.
Previously, Tressa was Senior Adviser to Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen Hicks, where she supported the Deputy on a variety of strategy development and stakeholder engagement efforts. Tressa also served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs (Acting) and PDASD for Legislative Affairs from 2015-2017. In her government career she also served in the State Department as a Presidential Management Fellow, as a special assistant to USDP and the Principal Deputy USDP, and as a country director for Central Asia issues.
Ambassador Laura S. H. Holgate served most recently as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations International Organizations in Vienna and the Representative of the United States of America to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
As an experienced national security leader, Holgate’s public service includes the reduction of threats and management of risks from nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological weapons. She previously served as Vice President at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, Special Assistant to the President at the National Security Council, and as a senior official at the Departments of Energy and Defense. She is frequently quoted and published in print and tv and she speaks publicly on nuclear energy, nuclear security, chemical weapons, bioterrorism, and related international organizations.
Holgate received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in politics from Princeton University and a Master of Science Degree in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She lives in Arlington, Virginia.
Tamara Cofman Wittes became the fourth president of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in 2024. Before joining the Institute, she served as Director of Foreign Assistance in the U.S Department of State. Previously, she led the Russia sanctions effort for the State Department’s sanctions coordination office. Dr. Wittes also served in the State Department from 2009 to 2012 as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, coordinating U.S. policy on democracy and human rights in the Middle East during the Arab uprisings.
Dr. Wittes spent nearly twenty years as a foreign policy scholar at the Brookings Institution, including as director of its Center for Middle East Policy. Her analysis focused on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, political and economic change in the region, and the Arab-Israel conflict. She is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, where she has taught courses in international relations, Middle East policy, and security studies. Dr. Wittes was one of the first recipients of the Rabin-Peres Peace Award, established by President Bill Clinton in 1997. Dr. Wittes has published three books, most recently Foreign Policy Careers for PhDs: A Practical Guide to a World of Possibilities (Georgetown University Press, 2023).
Caroline Zier has over 15 years of experience in defense and national security, and is currently the Deputy Lead for National Security Policy at OpenAI. She previously served as the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense, where she was responsible for helping manage the Secretary of Defense’s executive staff and providing counsel and advice to the Secretary on all matters concerning the Department.
From 2021 to 2023, Caroline was the Senior Advisor and Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense with responsibility for policy and national security matters. From 2018 to 2021, Caroline was the Director for Global Posture within the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy, leading a team responsible for providing oversight and management of the forces, footprint, and agreements that support the Department’s global operations and activities.
From 2016 to 2018, Caroline served as the Chief of Staff to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs. She joined the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy in 2009, and held several other positions in the organization. Prior to her government service, Caroline worked at Morgan Stanley in New York as an analyst. She graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts and received a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. She is the recipient of the Distinguished Public Service Award and the Meritorious Civilian Service Award. She is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.
Rachel Vogelstein is a Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and Director of the Women’s Initiative at the Columbia Institute of Global Politics, where she focuses on gender equality in the U.S. and globally. Most recently, she served in the Biden Administration as Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the White House Gender Policy Council and Special Advisor on Gender at the National Security Council, leading policy development on health and reproductive rights, economic security, and democracy and political participation, among other issues. For over a decade, Rachel was an advisor to Secretary Hillary Clinton on women’s issues, serving on both of her presidential campaigns and as the Director of Girls’ and Women’s Initiatives at the Clinton Foundation. During the Obama Administration, she was an official in the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues at the U.S. Department of State, where she developed a landmark foreign policy agenda for women’s empowerment. Previously, she served as the Douglas Dillion Senior Fellow and Director of the Women and Foreign Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations. She is the author of Awakening: #MeToo and the Global Fight for Women’s Rights, which was recognized by the New York Times for capturing the global impact of the #MeToo movement, and began her career as a lawyer focused on reproductive rights.
Ambassador James O’Brien most recently served as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs after previously serving as Head of the Office of Sanctions Policy prior to this role.
Mr. O’Brien was Vice Chair of Albright Stonebridge Group (ASG) and led the firm’s Europe practice. A founder of the firm, he has worked extensively on issues affecting consumer goods, health, entertainment, environment, media (including free speech), information technology, telecommunications, and finance sectors. Mr. O’Brien is also a member of the management and investment committees of Albright Capital Management LLC, an affiliated investment advisory firm focused on emerging markets.
Mr. O’Brien has served two U.S. administrations as special presidential envoy, securing the release of Americans held hostage abroad and overseeing U.S. policy planning towards the Balkans. He has been senior advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State and served as the principal deputy director of policy planning at the State Department. He worked to end armed conflicts in Europe, helped develop non-proliferation initiatives after the Cold War, negotiated environmental agreements, and supported initiatives to investigate and prosecute persons responsible for war crimes.
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.
Deborah Lee James has 35 years of senior leadership experience in the aerospace, defense and technology fields in both the public and private sectors. Most notably, she served as the 23rd Secretary of the Air Force and Principal Defense Space Advisor (2013-2017) and as the President of SAIC’s Technical and Engineering Sector, a $2 billion, 8,700-person enterprise (2012-2013). Earlier in her career, she was Assistant Secretary of Defense (Reserve Affairs) and a Professional Staff Member for the House Armed Services Committee.
Since 2017, Ms. James has served as an independent director of three public company boards: Textron, Unisys and Aerojet Rocketdyne, as well as a director on several private and not for profit boards. She is a strategic advisor on topics including mergers and acquisitions, government contracting, technology transformation, and space. She is the author of the book “Aim High: Chart Your Course and Find Success”, a speaker on leadership and national security topics and a mentor to C-suite level executives in Fortune 500 firms.
Jamie Jones Miller is the inaugural Dean and CEO of Northeastern University’s Arlington, VA campus, blending her passion for national security and developing the next generation of leaders. She most recently served as a Senior Advisor at The Roosevelt Group, a strategic advocacy and consulting firm, where she worked with a wide range of clients in the defense, security, and intelligence sectors.
Jamie’s 16 years of government service includes roles as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs (SES III) and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (SES II) where she advised the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense on legislative strategy and managed relationships with members of Congress and key congressional staff, the military departments as well as the White House, National Security Council and federal departments and agencies in support of DoD priorities. Jamie is a 2018 graduate of National Defense University’s PINNACLE flag and general officer course and was awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service by the Secretary of Defense in 2020.
The Honorable Robert M. Scher is a recognized expert in strategic planning, geopolitical risk assessment and mitigation, and government advocacy across the energy and defense sectors and on issues of international, national security, and US domestic politics. He has served in the public sector, worked in the private sector, and was appointed to a congressionally mandated commission by the Senate Majority Leader.
Bob was most recently the Vice President and Head of International Affairs for BP America. In this position he tracked and analyzed US foreign and national security policy as it affected BP’s businesses around the world.
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.
Stacie Pettyjohn is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Her areas of expertise include defense strategy, posture, force planning, the defense budget, and wargaming. Her current projects focus on munitions stockpiles, the effect of drones on warfare, and deterring the use of nuclear weapons in a multipolar world. Prior to joining CNAS, Pettyjohn spent over ten years at the RAND Corporation where she served as the Director of the Strategy and Doctrine Program in Project Air Force and the co-director of the Center for Gaming. In2020, she was a volunteer on the Biden administration’s defense transition team.
She has designed and led strategic and operational games that have assessed new operational concepts, tested the impacts of new technology, examined nuclear escalation and warfighting, and explored unclear phenomena, such as gray zone tactics and information warfare. Previously, she was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution, a peace scholar at the United States Institute of Peace, and a TAPIR fellow at the RAND Corporation.
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.
Mary O’Brien is a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant general officer and a leader in cybersecurity, intelligence, emerging technology, and national security. With 34 years of distinguished military service, she commanded at every level of the Air Force and served in pivotal staff leadership roles, including the Joint Staff Director of Command, Control, Communications and Computer/Cyber, and Chief Information Officer, the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Cyber Effects Operations, and the Director of Intelligence, U.S. Cyber Command. An innovator, Mary pioneered advancements in the integration of unmanned aerial vehicles, networked weapons, and advanced intelligence sensors, significantly enhancing military operational capabilities. Mary is also a proud recipient of the National Defense University College of Information and Cyberspace Rear Admiral Grace Hopper Award, recognizing her innovative contributions to the fields of information and cyberspace.
She is the CEO of Mary O’Brien Strategies, LLC, a consulting business which provides clients with expert guidance to navigate complex digital challenges, focusing on risk mitigation, technology integration, and resilience-building strategies.
Julia McQuaid is the Vice President of the Strategy, Policy, and Plans Division at CNA. A seasoned political-military affairs expert, she brings over 20 years of experience advising the U.S. Navy, Department of Defense, and other national security agencies on strategic and operational issues. Her expertise spans areas such as strategic competition, adversary threats, emerging technologies/unmanned systems and autonomy, coalition building and alliance maintenance, terrorism, nuclear policy, and global maritime security.
As a researcher, McQuaid led several high-profile projects at CNA, including a congressionally directed assessment of the 17-year U.S. effort to defeat Al-Qaeda. Her work influenced substantial revisions in U.S. counterterrorism approaches overseas. She has also conducted in-depth research on adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures, particularly within non-state actor groups, and supported DOD efforts to develop countermeasures. Her analytical leadership extends to wargames and strategic studies, addressing global challenges with a focus on homeland defense, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Additionally, she consults for the Defense Science Board. McQuaid holds a Master of Arts in Arab Studies from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts in French and government from Franklin & Marshall College.
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.
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.
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.
Margaret Boatner serves as Vice President of National Security Policy at the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), where she leads the development and execution of strategic initiatives related to defense acquisition, procurement, and the defense industrial base. With nearly 15 years of experience at the Pentagon, Boatner has played a pivotal role in shaping Department of Defense (DOD) acquisition policy and developing and implementing acquisition reform efforts.
Most recently, Boatner served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Strategy and Acquisition Reform (DASA(SAR)). In this role, she was the lead executive for the design and implementation of Army-wide acquisition policy affecting the development and production of warfighting capabilities. Boatner was also responsible for leading consistent implementation of new statutory authorities affecting Army programs of record, engaging with Congressional committee staff on legislation affecting the acquisition process, and guiding the development of related acquisition legislative proposals. During her tenure, Boatner orchestrated Army-wide initiatives that overhauled policy on intellectual property, software development and acquisition, and industrial base resilience. Boatner also led a broad effort to streamline and simplify the DOD acquisition processes in collaboration with OSD stakeholders.
Suzanne Spaulding is senior adviser for homeland security and director of the Defending Democratic Institutions project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She also serves as a member of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission. Previously, she served as Undersecretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where she led the National Protection and Programs Directorate, now called the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), managing a $3 billion budget and a workforce of 18,000, charged with strengthening cybersecurity and protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure, including election infrastructure. She led the transformation of budget, acquisition, analytic, and operational processes to bring greater agility and unity of effort to an organization that had experienced dramatic growth through acquisition of new entities and missions over several years. Throughout her career, Ms. Spaulding has advised CEOs, boards, and government policymakers on how to manage complex security risks across all industry sectors. At DHS, she led the development and implementation of national policies for strengthening the security and resilience of critical infrastructure against cyber and physical risks, including the National Infrastructure Protection Plan and key presidential directives and executive orders.
Colonel (retired) Patricia Mulcahy is an accomplished human resources leader and senior executive with a career that spans over 40 years as an Army officer and a civil servant. In her culminating assignment with the Department of the Air Force, Pat was the first Chief Human Capital Officer of the newest military service – the U.S. Space Force. She was responsible for creating the Space Force’s first comprehensive human capital strategy, including establishing core values, talent management goals, uniform design, motto, and logo, and conducting the most extensive transfer plan for military members since the Air Force was established in 1947.
Pat was commissioned into the Army from the Siena College Reserve Officer Training Corps program. She served at every level in the field of military personnel management and personnel service support including command of a company at Fort Devens and in Germany; a battalion at Fort Stewart; and a brigade in 18th Airborne Corps that deployed to Iraq, as well as key staff assignments as the G-1, 3rd Infantry Division; XO, Army G-1; and J-1, European Command. Following her retirement from the Army in 2009, Pat served as a federal civilian employee as well as a member of the Senior Executive Service in several military personnel policy positions in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness including the Director of Officer and Enlisted Personnel Management. Pat also served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Force Management Integration.
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.
Sherri Goodman serves as Vice-Chair of the US Secretary of State’s International Security Advisory Board (ISAB). She is also the Secretary General of the International Military Council on Climate & Security (IMCCS), representing over 40 military and national security organizations addressing the security risks of a changing climate. She is credited with educating a generation of U.S. military and government officials about the nexus between climate change and national security, using her famous coinage, “threat multiplier,” to fundamentally reshape the national discourse on the topic.
She is a Senior Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center’s Polar Institute and Environmental Change & Security Program, as well as a Senior Strategist at the Center for Climate & Security.
Sherri chairs the Board of the Council on Strategic Risks and chairs the External Advisory Board on Energy and Homeland Security for Sandia National Laboratories. She is the Vice-Chair of the Board of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR).
Michèle Flournoy is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of WestExec Advisors, and a Co-Founder, former Chief Executive Officer, and now Chair of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).
Michèle served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from February 2009 to February 2012. She was the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense in the formulation of national security and defense policy, oversight of military plans and operations, and in National Security Council deliberations. She led the development of the Department of Defense’s 2012 Strategic Guidance and represented the Department in dozens of foreign engagements, in the media and before Congress. Prior to confirmation, Michèle co-led President Obama’s transition team at the Defense Department.
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.
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.
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.
