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.
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.
She also is a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments and has published commentary across defense media. She holds an M.A. in International Politics and a B.A. in interdisciplinary studies: Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government, both from American University. She is a Fulbright scholar and David L. Boren National Security Education Program recipient to South Korea.
Deborah Rosenblum has spent over 35 years working in the national security and defense field. Most recently, she served, from 2021 to 2025, as the Senate confirmed Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs as well as the Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. In these roles she was responsible for all matters pertaining to acquisition; contract administration; logistics and materiel readiness; installations and environment; operational energy; chemical, biological and nuclear defense; as well as the defense industrial base.
From 2009 through 2021, she served as Executive Vice President at The Nuclear Threat Initiative, a global nonprofit focused on reducing catastrophic risks. She also advised corporate clients as a Vice President at The Cohen Group, a global consulting firm, on business opportunities in the defense and homeland security markets. Deborah is currently serving as a Senior Consultant to a range of defense companies; non-profits as well as academia.
She was educated at Middlebury College as well as Columbia University.
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.
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.
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.
Dr. Richard Verma is chief administrative officer for Mastercard, overseeing the company’s Law, Government Affairs and Policy, Franchise, Corporate Security, and Community and Belonging functions. He is also a member of the company’s Executive Leadership Team and Management Committee.
Rich has a distinguished background as a public servant. Most recently, he was deputy secretary of state for management and resources from 2023 to 2025. Rich acted as chief operating officer of the State Department, leading its efforts on modernization, foreign assistance and a wide range of strategic issues. He also previously served as the U.S. ambassador to India, where he led one of the largest U.S. diplomatic missions and championed historic progress in bilateral ties. He is a former assistant secretary of state for Legislative Affairs and national security advisor to the Senate Majority Leader. Rich has been a member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, the Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism Commission, and the Secretary of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board.
Rich also has extensive experience in the private sector. Prior to his most recent State Department tenure, Rich was chief legal officer and head of global public policy at Mastercard. He is a former partner at the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson and the vice chairman of The Asia Group, a global consulting firm. He also served on the T. Rowe Price corporate board of directors.
Rich is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and the recipient of numerous military awards and civilian decorations, including the Meritorious Service Medal, the State Department’s Distinguished Service Award, and the Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship. He is a board member of the Ford Foundation, and has previously served on the boards for Lehigh University and the National Endowment for Democracy. He is the inaugural President’s Distinguished Fellow at Lehigh and was a senior fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
Julie Myers Wood has more than 30 years of experience in the public and private sector working on regulatory and enforcement issues from many perspectives, including as federal prosecutor, defense counsel, government investigator and compliance consultant. Key highlights include leading 15,000 special agents, lawyers, and officers at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS); helping the President choose cabinet members to serve in his administration; and co-founding a compliance software and consulting startup, which was later acquired by Guidepost Solutions. Ms. Wood is currently the Chief Executive Officer at Guidepost Solutions, a leading investigations, compliance, monitoring, and security firm with offices throughout the United States, as well as England, Colombia, Mexico and Singapore.
Before joining the private sector, Ms. Wood held several high-level positions with the U.S. government at four government agencies (DOJ, DHS, Treasury and Commerce), as well as the White House. At the White House, she helped President George W. Bush identify key cabinet and sub-cabinet officials, including at DOJ, DHS, and DOD. At DHS, she led 15,000 special agents, lawyers, and officers at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the largest investigative component and second largest investigative agency in the federal government. She oversaw the Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) division at ICE and the agency’s initiatives to combat human trafficking as well as its investigative work to prevent child exploitation. While serving as Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement at the Department of Commerce, Ms. Wood was responsible for all dual-use export enforcement and special agents and she oversaw the enforcement of criminal and civil violations of export enforcement laws, including those involving telecommunications companies and encryption issues. At the Department of Justice, she served as Chief of Staff for the Assistant Attorney General of DOJ’s Criminal Division and also prosecuted cases as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, including securities fraud, organized crime, money laundering, and bankruptcy fraud. As a Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of Treasury, she developed policy and ran a team responsible for money laundering and customs enforcement matters.
Ms. Wood serves on several nonprofit boards and advisory boards relating to national security and immigration. She has been recognized with numerous industry and leadership awards, including the naming of the Julie L. Myers Conference Center at ICE Headquarters, in honor of her contributions and leadership at the Department of Homeland 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.
Amanda Simpson is an advisor and consultant on aerospace, energy, and DEI as the CEO of Third Segment LLC. She is a nationally renowned speaker and has presented at corporations, government agencies, civic organizations, conferences, and colleges around the country on technology and aerospace innovation as well as gender and diversity.
Formerly she was Vice President for Research and Technology and Head of Sustainability at Airbus Americas, responsible for coordinating technology development, research activities, and innovation for Airbus in the western hemisphere. She was also the Head of Sustainability efforts for Airbus in the Americas and has been an outspoken advocate for future flight concepts and clean aviation.
Ms. Simpson joined Airbus following government assignments in the United States Department of Defense. She was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy, responsible for developing the strategy for the utilization of energy for military operational forces worldwide and was the senior advisor to the Secretary of Defense for all matters pertaining to energy in our military.
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.
With over 30 years of government service, Katharina (Katrina) McFarland is widely recognized as a leading subject-matter expert on government procurement. She served as Chairman of the Board of Army Research and Development at the National Academies of Science, and as a Director on the Boards of SAIC and Transphorm, She was previously the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition (2012 to 2017) and acting Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics & Technology) (2016-2017). She was President of the Defense Acquisition University from 2010 to 2012 From 2006 to 2010, Ms. McFarland was the Director of Acquisition, Missile Defense Agency. She is an accredited Materials, Mechanical, Civil and Electronics Engineer. She has received an Honorary Doctoral of Engineering from the University of Cranfield, United Kingdom; the Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award, the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service Award, the Department of the Navy Civilian Tester of the Year Award, and the Navy and United States Marine Corps Commendation Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service. Ms. McFarland brings substantial experience with the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Army, and Intelligence Community procurement with focus on Space applications, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber, and IT technologies.in defense acquisition, program management, logistics and technology.
Dr. Kimberly A. McClain is a global strategist, retired U.S. Air Force Reserve officer, and CEO of TMG Strategic Advisors, LLC, a boutique firm advising governments, corporations, and investors on geopolitical risk, public-private partnerships, and enterprise resilience. With more than three decades of service across the U.S. military, federal government, and private sector, she is recognized for bringing clarity and precision to high-stakes decisions.
A Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Dr. McClain led enterprise-wide strategy for a $79B federal budget, supported $1T in grants and $6T in securities, and secured $400M in reinvestments for underserved programs. At the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, she coauthored breakthrough legislation that delivered long-term health benefits to over 5M veterans. Earlier, as an Air Force executive, she directed policy and engagement for a $179B enterprise, improving operational performance and strengthening congressional relationships.
Her distinguished military career spanned 30 years, including senior advisory roles for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where she negotiated $2B in international defense partnerships and built enduring coalitions across 45+ countries. She also pioneered the first regional cybersecurity cooperation strategy for Latin America under U.S. Cyber Command.
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.
Lisa Franchetti is an experienced military leader, global strategist, and national security expert. She most recently served as the 33rd Chief of Naval Operations, retiring in March 2025 after nearly 40 years of dedicated service to the Nation. As the Navy’s senior military officer and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Franchetti advised the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on national security matters.
Known for her visionary leadership, as CNO she developed long-term strategies to maintain the Navy as a formidable force in the future by strengthening its maritime dominance, building a culture of warfighting excellence, enhancing strategic partnerships and global alliances, and ensuring the Navy’s over 600,000 Sailors and Civilians were ready to execute the maritime service’s mission in peace, crisis, and war. She directed strategic initiatives to enhance future capabilities by investing in the expansion of the Navy’s Fleet, integrating advanced technologies such as robotic and autonomous systems, improving shipyard maintenance performance, resolving manpower and infrastructure challenges, and modernizing command and control centers.
A 1985 graduate of Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, Franchetti was commissioned through the NROTC program at a time when roles for women in the military were constrained by the Combat Exclusion Act and limited to non-combatant ships and aircraft in the Navy. When Congress repealed that law in 1993, she was among the first women to serve on combatants and went on to lead at every level. With nearly 20 years of at-sea experience, Franchetti commanded USS Ross, Destroyer Squadron 21, US Naval Forces in Korea, two Aircraft Carrier Strike Groups, US SIXTH Fleet, and Striking and Support Forces NATO. Ashore, as a Flag Officer she served as the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Force Development (N-7), the Director, Strategy, Plans and Policy on the Joint Staff (J-5), and the 42nd Vice Chief of Naval Operations.
Franchetti holds a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Northwestern University and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix. She is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, was awarded the Northwestern Alumni Medal in 2019, received the Naval War College Distinguished Graduate Award in 2024, was inducted into the Medill School of Journalism Hall of Achievement in 2024, and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Northwestern University in 2025.
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.
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.
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.
Brandi Vann, PhD, is a globally experienced national security executive, currently serving as Director for Strategy at Draper and a member of the Board of Directors of 908 Devices. In these roles, she helps organizations strengthen their business and technical strategies and engage effectively with national security communities worldwide.
In July 2025, Dr. Vann concluded a distinguished career in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), where she most recently served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs (ASD(NCB)) and as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs. In this capacity, she advised the senior Defense Department leadership on management and execution of programs related to nuclear weapons, biological and chemical defense programs, chemical demilitarization, countering weapons of mass destruction, and treaty management. She also served as Staff Director of the Nuclear Weapons Council, leading efforts to assess and maintain the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, ensure sustainment and operations of deployed systems, and plan for modernization. Across her DoD tenure, Dr. Vann contributed to every phase of capability development, including policy, strategy, research and development, acquisition, and operations. Before serving as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs she was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Chemical and Biological Defense. She oversaw a multibillion-dollar portfolio spanning chemical and biological defense, counterproliferation, countering weapons of mass destruction, nuclear forensics, international cooperation, and business operations. Notably, she co-led the first-ever Biodefense Posture Review (BPR), which fundamentally reformed DoD policy, strategy, and execution of global biodefense operations. In 2023, President Biden awarded Dr. Vann the Meritorious Presidential Rank Award for her transformative contributions to biodefense and her support of critical DoD initiatives.
Before joining the Department of Defense, Dr. Vann served as Director of Laboratories at Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation and was a visiting scientist at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Dr. Vann holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of South Carolina, where she specialized in analytical chemistry and applied statistics.
JoAnne Bass served in the U.S. Air Force for over 31 years. In August 2020, she was selected as the 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force and the first woman to become the highest senior enlisted leader in any military service, making her a unique trailblazer and role model to hundreds of thousands of men and women. She retired from that position in March 2024 and continues to champion national security and policies that impact veterans and their families using her influence and platform.
Bass has vast whole-of-society leadership experience from cutting-edge technology to our nation’s most sensitive relationships. She has written and spoken extensively on leadership, national security, innovation, risk management, international affairs, workforce strategy, and the understanding of generational diversity.
Bass is the founder and president of The Bass Group LLC, developing the leaders our nation needs and fostering a leadership style that breaks barriers, challenges convention, and ignites innovation. She is also a Strategic Advisor to the President of Columbia Southern University, an Ambassador for Hiring Our Heroes, Board Director for the Bob Woodruff Foundation, an Honorary Board Co-Chair for the Military Women’s Memorial, and Board of Director for Student Veterans of America, the Robert Irvine Foundation, and the Air & Space Forces Association.
She was raised as an Army dependent, living in several overseas and stateside locations, and calls Hawaii home. She graduated with honors from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and now shares her time between Texas and Washington, DC.
Adm. Linda L. Fagan (USCG, ret.) served most recently as the 27th Commandant of the United States Coast Guard and was the first woman to lead a U.S. military service. As Commandant, she oversaw all global Coast Guard operations and personnel, including 42,000 active-duty, 7,000 reserve, 8,700 civilians, and 21,000 Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteers.
Previously, Adm. Fagan was the 32nd Vice Commandant. Her prior flag assignments include Commander, Pacific Area, and Commander, Coast Guard Defense Force West; Deputy Commandant for Operations, Policy, and Capability; Commander, First Coast Guard District; and a joint assignment as Deputy Director of Operations for Headquarters, United States Northern Command. She has served on every continent with operational tours as Commander, Sector New York, more than 15 years as a Marine Inspector, and sea duty in a polar icebreaker.
Adm. Fagan holds a Bachelor of Science in Marine Science from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, a Master of Science in Marine Affairs from the University of Washington, and a Master in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. She earned numerous personal and team awards during her 37 years of Coast Guard service. Upon retirement, Adm. Fagan was the longest serving active duty Marine Safety Officer and holds the distinction of being the Coast Guard’s first-ever Gold Ancient Trident.
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.
Eileen O’Connor is the senior vice president for Communications, Policy, and Advocacy, a member of the Foundation’s executive team, overseeing all government relations and strategic communications for all program priorities. Before joining the foundation, O’Connor spent her career as an attorney and award-winning journalist, serving as vice president of Yale University, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Obama administration, for South and Central Asia, and White House and foreign correspondent for CNN and ABC news. As an attorney, O’Connor specialized in complex litigation, political investigations, multi-party dispute negotiations, and crisis management in the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine. In government, O’Connor was awarded several Superior Honor awards for her work in Afghanistan, where she was posted for 14 months, Pakistan and South and Central Asia, countering violent extremism and building democratic institutions, including a focus on women’s peace and security programs. As a journalist she earned the Peabody Award, the DuPont Award, multiple Overseas Press Club awards, an Emmy, Cable Ace, and National Headliner awards for her documentary, investigative, and war-zone coverage in the former Soviet Union, Africa, and the Middle East. Her documentary on Russian organized crime garnered a NY Film Festival Golden Eagle award.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Prior to her appointment as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, Elizabeth Fitzsimmons served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Togolese Republic from 2022-2024. She was previously the Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs. She has also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central Africa and Public Diplomacy, the Acting Deputy Spokesperson for the Department, Deputy Executive Secretary to Secretaries Kerry and Tillerson, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. She joined the Department in 1995, and at the time of her swearing in was the youngest member of the Foreign Service. She has served overseas in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Cambodia, India, Bulgaria, and Togo.
Elizabeth A. O’Reilly is a senior national security leader with more than 25 years of experience advising senior officials across the Intelligence Community, Department of Defense, Congress, and the executive branch. She has built her career at the intersection of strategy, operations, and organizational leadership, helping institutions translate mission priorities into effective execution.
At the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Ms. O’Reilly served as a trusted advisor to senior leaders on complex organizational and workforce challenges, supporting decision-making in high-stakes, highly visible environments. Her work focused on strengthening leadership effectiveness, aligning resources to mission needs, and navigating sensitive issues that impact organizational performance. Previously, O’Reilly served as Chief of Staff to the National Intelligence Council, where she led strategic planning and day-to-day operations for the Intelligence Community’s premier analytic organization. During a period of significant change, she drove a comprehensive workforce realignment and strengthened operational coordination to better align the organization with evolving national security priorities. Her career also includes advising the U.S. Senate on intelligence policy, programs, and oversight, including contributions to the Intelligence Authorization Act, as well as supporting strategic policy efforts at the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. Across these roles, she has worked closely with senior policymakers and leaders to shape priorities, inform decisions, and advance mission outcomes. As a result, O’Reilly is known for her ability to operate in complex environments, influence at the senior level, and translate broad strategic direction into practical, executable solutions.
Tanya J. Bradsher is a deal lead for Strategic Customer Engagement, Public Sector at Amazon Web Services (AWS). She architects complex cloud infrastructure agreements for Federal Civilian agencies, aligning AWS technical capabilities with government missions.
Prior to AWS, Bradsher served as the 10th Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). As the first woman to hold this position, she was responsible for the strategy, resources, governance, and management of the nation’s largest integrated healthcare system and benefit claims processing system.
Bradsher’s career includes several senior roles within the federal government. She previously served as Chief of Staff at the VA, where she managed operational policy and veteran outreach programs. Her experience also includes serving as a Chief of Staff on Capitol Hill, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, and a role at the White House focused on engagement with veterans’ organizations. In the private sector, she led communications and stakeholder engagement for the American Psychiatric Association.
A retired Lieutenant Colonel, Bradsher served over 20 years in the U.S. Army. Her military service included a deployment with the 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom, providing a foundation for her work in national security and defense policy.
Bradsher earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master’s degree in Strategic Public Relations from George Washington University. She is the recipient of the Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit, and the Department of Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal. In 2024, she was recognized with the DAV Outstanding Federal Executive of the Year award and the Women in NAACP Empowerment Award.
Shelly O’Neill Stoneman is a seasoned global leader, trusted with managing complex business and policy issues at the highest levels of government and industry. She is the founder and principal of StonePoint Strategies, drawing upon her 25 years of experience working across all three branches of the U.S. Government and in the C-suite of Fortune 500 companies.
Stoneman most recently served as senior vice president of Government Affairs for Lockheed Martin, one of the world’s largest aerospace and defense companies, with over 120,000 employees and sales over $71 billion in 2024. As one of the company’s corporate officers, she managed Lockheed’s activities with Congress and the Executive Branch, and directed all federal, state and local government customer relationships – efforts that ranged from saving the corporation billions of dollars in tax incentives to working closely with governors on workforce improvements. In this role, she regularly engaged with the corporation’s Board of Directors, advising on strategy and risk. Prior to joining Lockheed Martin in 2023, Stoneman led Government Relations at BAE Systems, Inc., where she oversaw engagement with the White House, Pentagon, State Department, and Intelligence Community for the global aerospace and defense company’s U.S. subsidiary.
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.
Deborah Curtis, former CIA Deputy General Counsel for Litigation and Investigations, is a partner in Arnold & Porter’s White Collar Defense and Investigations practice. Her experience spans a wide range of senior level positions in the federal government involving sensitive intelligence, law enforcement and policy issues.
At CIA, Deborah oversaw the Agency’s response to litigation, congressional investigations, critical incidents and criminal matters. In this role, Deborah advised the CIA’s Director and Deputy Director, the Office of Congressional Affairs, the Counterintelligence Mission Center and the Office of Security. She also handled several major national security policy initiatives including representing CIA interests during the U.S.-EU negotiations to reach a transatlantic data privacy agreement and the provision of U.S. information in support of Russian war crimes prosecutions before the International Criminal Court.
Prior to joining CIA, Deborah was the Chief Counsel for Industry and Security at the Commerce Department, the senior-most legal official on all licensing and enforcement decisions involving the Entity List, Military End-User List, Denied Persons List, Unverified List and other issues arising under the Export Administration Regulations. During her time at Commerce, Deborah also co-drafted the Huawei Foreign Direct Product Rule and advised on the CFIUS-adjacent process prohibiting certain foreign transactions that could impact the U.S. Information and Communications Technology and Services supply chain.
Deborah previously served for more than a decade at the Department of Justice, including at the National Security Division’s Counterespionage Section. At Main Justice, she oversaw Espionage Act cases and criminal export control and sanctions investigations and prosecutions nationwide. Deborah was also a Deputy Chief for National Security at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, where she investigated, prosecuted and supervised cases involving espionage, illegal foreign agents, state-sponsored malicious cyber intrusions and matters involving the ITAR, FCPA and theft of trade secrets.
Finally, as an Associate General Counsel for National Security and Military Affairs at the Pentagon, Deborah provided legal guidance on Air Force Special Access Programs involving air and space system projects, the issuance of national interest determinations, commercial facilities physical security breaches and counterintelligence “insider threat” probes.
Bess Dopkeen is the founder of Keen Edge Strategies, LLC and has worked for over two decades in Defense. She advises small and nontraditional companies as they work to provide their innovative technology to the Department of War.
Bess was the Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering for three years. At R&E she championed and guided policy, issues, and programs spanning from basic research through prototyping, experimentation, and transition. Previously Bess was a professional staff member on the House Armed Services Committee and the majority’s lead for the Science and Technology and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction portfolios. Before the Hill she was a senior analyst in the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Cost Assessment & Program Evaluation. She led the Defense Innovation Board’s 2018 congressionally mandated Software Acquisition and Practices study for the Under Secretary of Acquisition and Sustainment, was the Program Manager for the Cost Assessment Data Enterprise, and ran the Better Data for Acquisition effort for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition. She worked on major analyses for the Secretary including CAPE’s national security space launch study, evolutionary satellite acquisition-efficiency project, and National Nuclear Security Administration’s national labs labor-cost analysis.
Bess holds degrees from Tufts University and the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy at National Defense University, where she was a distinguished graduate. She is a recipient of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service and the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service. Bess was a Council on Foreign Relations Term Member, a Center for a New American Security Next Generation fellow, a Truman National Security Project fellow, and a Tufts University Dutko fellow. Bess helped create Tufts’ Tisch College of Civic Life’s summer DC fellowship and mentorship program and created and led the Tufts Fellowship program in the Pentagon for over a decade. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband, Paul Voosen, a science journalist for Science Magazine, and their two children.
Victoria J. Taylor is director of the Iraq Initiative in the Atlantic Council’s Middle East program. A national security leader with over two decades of experience in the Middle East and Europe, she led large interagency teams and advanced U.S. economic and national security interests as a Deputy Assistant Secretary, Deputy Chief of Mission, and at the White House National Security Council.
Prior to joining the Council, Taylor served as a career Senior Foreign Service Officer with the rank of Minister Counselor. She served most recently as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq and Iran in the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, where she advised senior State Department leaders on Iraq and Iran in the aftermath of the Gaza conflict. She was the Director for North African Affairs from 2021 to 2023 and the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Croatia from 2018 to 2021. She has served as the Deputy Director for Western Europe in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs and as the Director for Balkans, Caucasus, and Black Sea Affairs at the National Security Council, where advanced Montenegro’s NATO accession and strengthened U.S. defense cooperation with Georgia. Other Washington assignments include positions in the Office of Iranian Affairs, on the Turkey Desk in the Office of Southern European Affairs, and as an International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Taylor has served overseas at U.S. Embassies in Georgia, Tunisia, and Pakistan, as well as at the U.S. Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan.
Taylor hails from Springfield, Missouri. She holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations and diplomatic history from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in development studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She speaks French, Mandarin, Russian, and Urdu. She served as Chair of the American International School of Zagreb’s Board of Trustees from 2019-2021. She is member of the Council of Foreign Relations. She has been featured on BBC, CNN, Al Sharqiya, Iran International and other international media outlets.
Former U.S. Secretary of the Army Christine E. Wormuth was named President and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative by the organization’s Board of Directors in October 2025 and began serving in November.
A national security leader with more than 30 years of experience in defense policy, strategic planning, and international security, Wormuth served as the 25th Secretary of the U.S. Army from 2021-to-2025. In that role, she oversaw a $186 billion budget and was responsible for nearly one million soldiers and 300,000 civilian employees. Her tenure was marked by a commitment to innovation, people, and modernizing the Army’s equipment and force posture.
Prior to her service as Army Secretary, Wormuth held several senior roles in the Department of Defense, including Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from 2014 to 2016, where she advised the Secretary of Defense on a wide range of national security issues. She also served as Deputy Under Secretary for Strategy, Plans, and Forces, leading the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director for Defense at the National Security Council, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense.
Outside of government, Wormuth was the Director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation, where she oversaw more than $30 million in research and was the author of “America at Risk,” a classified study examining state actor threats to the U.S. homeland. She also was a senior fellow for five years at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Wormuth holds a BA in Political Science and Fine Arts from Williams College and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Maryland.
Dr. Lesley Anne Warner is a Visiting Scholar with Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and has over two decades of experience as a foreign policy expert at the intersection of political transitions, stabilization, and security cooperation. She was most recently an Adjunct Lecturer in the Kellogg Global Initiatives in Management Program at Northwestern University, leading a real-time examination of how the private sector can generate revenue and achieve social impact in emerging markets amid geopolitical shocks.
Before joining Carnegie, Dr. Warner served as Deputy Assistant Administrator in the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance at the U.S. Agency for International Development, where she was part of the executive leadership team that oversaw a foreign assistance budget of $261 million across 72 countries to advance efforts to protect human rights defenders and mitigate democratic backsliding. She was previously a Senior Policy Advisor to U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, where she served as her principal adviser on Sub-Saharan Africa. During her time at USUN, she originated the concept behind the African Democratic and Political Transitions (ADAPT) Initiative, which became a deliverable for the U.S.-African Leaders’ Summit in 2022. From 2015 to 2021, Dr. Warner was a Senior Professional Staff Member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where she served as the principal adviser to Chairmen Eliot Engel and Gregory Meeks on Sub-Saharan Africa. While on the Committee, she authored the Sudan Democratic Transition, Accountability, and Financial Transparency Act of 2020, which became law as part of the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act.
Dr. Warner holds a PhD in War Studies from King’s College London, and is the author of Military Integration during War-to-Peace Transitions: South Sudan’s Attempt to Manage Armed Groups, 2006-13, Routledge, 2023. Her research and analysis have been widely published and cited in prominent international television, radio, print, and online outlets.
Anne Witkowsky previously served as Assistant Secretary of State for Conflict and Stabilization Operations.
Previously, Witkowsky served as the Co-Director of the Task Force on U.S. Strategy to Support Democracy and Counter Authoritarianism, a partnership of Freedom House. From 2014-2016, she served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Stability and Humanitarian Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). She held policy responsibility for peacekeeping and stability operations; humanitarian assistance and disaster response; DoD support to the security of U.S. embassies; and international humanitarian law, rule of law and protection of human rights. Her office coordinated the DoD policy role in key Administration initiatives, such as the U.S. Ebola response, strengthening United Nations peace operations, and support to embassy security.
From 2009-2013, she served as the Deputy Coordinator for Homeland Security and Multilateral Affairs (DAS equivalent) in the Bureau of Counterterrorism (CT), U.S. Department of State, with responsibility for terrorist designations and sanctions; strengthening international transportation security; developing bilateral information sharing agreements; and building CT cooperation within multilateral organizations. In 2012-2013, she also served as the CT Bureau’s Acting Principal Deputy Coordinator.
General (retired) Laura J. Richardson recently completed her tour as the 32nd Commander of United States Southern Command. She is a native of Northglenn, Colorado and a graduate of Metropolitan State University of Denver. She commissioned into the U.S. Army and trained as an Army Aviator. She holds a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University.
Over her 38 year career, Richardson commanded from the Company to Combatant Command level and served as the Army’s first woman combat arms general officer. As Commander of U.S. Southern Command, one of the six geographic warfighting combatant commands, she worked directly for the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense from 2021 to 2024. In this position she was responsible for all military operations, contingency planning and partnerships across South and Central America, and the Caribbean, which included 31 countries, to promote regional stability, keep America safe, strengthen governance, counter illicit trafficking, and support disaster preparedness and response efforts.
Prior to taking command of USSOUTHCOM, she served as the Commanding General of U.S. Army North (Fifth Army) which is the Army Service Component Command for U.S. Northern Command. She commanded an Assault Helicopter Battalion in combat in the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) 2003-04, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and deployed to Afghanistan as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Headquarters International Security Assistance Force in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She has also served as the Military Aide to the Vice President at the White House in Washington, D.C., and the Army’s Legislative Liaison to Congress at the U.S. Capitol.
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.
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).
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.
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.
Rosa Brooks holds the Scott K. Ginsburg Chair in Law and Policy at Georgetown University Law Center, where she has served as a tenured professor since 2006. She also serves as Georgetown Law’s Associate Dean for Centers and Institutes and as co-director of Georgetown’s Center on Innovations in Public Safety. Brooks is also an Adjunct Senior Scholar at West Point’s Modern War Institute, an ASU Future of War Senior Fellow at New America, and HFX Fellow with the Halifax International Security Forum and a founder of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LCWINS).
From April 2016 to November 2020, she served as a reserve police officer with the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department. In 2019, she received the Chief of Police Special Award. Brooks has combined law teaching and scholarship with stints in government service and a career in journalism. From 2009-2011, Brooks served as Counselor to Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy. In July 2011, she received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service. She previously served as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.
Lisa Curtis is Senior Fellow and Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. She is a foreign policy and national security expert with over 20 years of service in the U.S. government, including at the NSC, CIA, State Department, and Capitol Hill. Her work has centered on U.S. policy toward the Indo-Pacific and South Asia, with a particular focus on Afghanistan, U.S.- India strategic relations, Quad (U.S., Australia, India, and Japan) cooperation, counterterrorism strategy in South and Central Asia, and China’s role in the region.
Curtis served as Deputy Assistant to the President and NSC Senior Director for South and Central Asia from 2017-2021 under three successive National Security Advisors. During her tenure at the NSC, she coordinated U.S. policy development and implementation of the South Asia Strategy approved by the President in 2017 and was the NSC representative at several rounds of the U.S.-Taliban negotiations held in 2019 and 2020. She was also a key contributor to the Indo-Pacific Strategic Framework approved by the President in 2018.
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.
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.
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.
Dr. Ariane Tabatabai is the Vice President of Research, Security and Defense, and Senior Fellow, Middle East, at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Previously, she served in a number of roles at the U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense, including as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Education and Training, Chief of Staff to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, and Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. Dr. Tabatabai has held positions in think tanks and academia, including as the Director of Curriculum and a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University, Associate Political Scientist at the Rand Corporation, Middle East Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, Adjunct Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University, Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Civilian Consultant at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Dr. Tabatabai holds a Ph.D. from King’s College London and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship and a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellowship at Harvard University. She is a Contributing Editor at Lawfare and a Non-Resident Scholar at Georgetown University. She is the author of No Conquest, No Defeat (Oxford University Press, 2020) and co-author of Triple Axis – Iran’s Relations with Russia and China (Bloomsbury, 2018). Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, and International Security.
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.
