Dr. Nora Bensahel is a Professor of Practice at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a Contributing Editor and Columnist for War on the Rocks. She is also an Adjunct Research Staff Member at the Institute for Defense Analyses. Her work focuses on the future of warfare, and military strategy and operations. She is the co-author of the recently-published book Adaptation Under Fire: How Militaries Change in Wartime, and previously served on the Board of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LCWINS).
Before joining SAIS, Dr. Bensahel was a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the School of International Service at American University and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Prior to that, she was a senior fellow and co-director of the Responsible Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security. Her early career included over eleven years at the RAND Corporation, where she rose to the position of senior political scientist. She also spent more than a decade as an adjunct professor in the Security Studies Program at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, where she taught graduate classes and received the Alumni Leadership Council Teaching Award.
Dr. Bensahel received her Ph.D. and M.A. degrees from the Department of Political Science at Stanford University, and her B.A. magna cum laude from Cornell University. While at Stanford, she worked as a research assistant for former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry. She previously served on the Secretary of Defense’s Reserve Forces Policy Board, and the President’s Council on Cornell Women.
Dr. Nora Bensahel is a Professor of Practice at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a Contributing Editor and Columnist for War on the Rocks. She is also an Adjunct Research Staff Member at the Institute for Defense Analyses. Her work focuses on the future of warfare, and military strategy and operations. She is the co-author of the recently-published book Adaptation Under Fire: How Militaries Change in Wartime, and previously served on the Board of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LCWINS).
Before joining SAIS, Dr. Bensahel was a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the School of International Service at American University and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Prior to that, she was a senior fellow and co-director of the Responsible Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security. Her early career included over eleven years at the RAND Corporation, where she rose to the position of senior political scientist. She also spent more than a decade as an adjunct professor in the Security Studies Program at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, where she taught graduate classes and received the Alumni Leadership Council Teaching Award.
Dr. Bensahel received her Ph.D. and M.A. degrees from the Department of Political Science at Stanford University, and her B.A. magna cum laude from Cornell University. While at Stanford, she worked as a research assistant for former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry. She previously served on the Secretary of Defense’s Reserve Forces Policy Board, and the President’s Council on Cornell Women.
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.
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.
Emily Perkins is a senior leader of policy-focused non-profit organizations. Her 20-year career spans international program management, fundraising, and external relations.
Perkins served most recently as Vice President of Development at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies where she helped “America’s Black think tank” create a multi-year development strategy and establish operational best practices across the organization. She previously spent eight years at the Brookings Institution where she led fundraising strategy and operations for teams whose issues ranged from foreign policy to domestic political institutions. She has also held program management and business development roles in the private sector.
Perkins earned a B.A. in Political Science from Boston College and an LL.M. from the University of Kent’s Brussels School of International Studies.
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.
Shelby Pierson advises a broad range of defense-tech, AI, and national-security companies across venture-backed, early-stage, and growth ecosystems, with a tireless focus on integration and operational outcomes. She partners with CEOs, founders, and investors to scale technology for government adoption, accelerate product-market fit inside the national security enterprise, and shape mission-aligned strategies for data, AI/ML, advanced sensing, and geospatial innovation.
Shelby also serves on corporate boards, bringing expertise in enterprise risk, oversight, modernization, and international partnership management. Her portfolio work focuses on building tech-forward operating rhythms, aligning investments to measurable mission value, and strengthening governance to deliver durable performance. Shelby has more than 25 years of national security leadership experience in the U.S. intelligence community, known for translating strategy into execution across large, matrixed organizations.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Alex Kahan is a global strategy, operations, and policy leader with experience at the intersection of national security, government, and the private sector.
Most recently she served on the executive leadership team of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the government’s investment arm that provides financing to the private sector to advance foreign policy and development goals in key sectors and global markets. As the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategy, she led DFC’s enterprise strategic planning and consulting function, enabling DFC to grow to over 700 personnel with a $50B portfolio. Prior to DFC Ms. Kahan was the Chief of Staff for Global COVID-19 Response and Health Security at the U.S. Department of State, where she supported global pandemic response coordination and oversaw Department activities to distribute more than 700 million vaccines to 118 countries.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ambassador (ret) Laura Kennedy served almost four decades as a U.S. career diplomat. She spent much of her career working in or on the former Soviet Union and served multiple assignments in Geneva and Vienna on multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation (conventional, nuclear and biological) as well as a number of temporary assignments in New York, including the 2010 and 2015 NPT Review Conferences and heading the U.S. delegations to the UN Committee on Disarmament. She retired in 2013 but was recalled to service in 2014 to head the U.S. Embassy in Turkmenistan and then the U.S. Mission in Vienna where she served as the U.S. Governor on the Board of the International Atomic Energy Agency. She retired again in 2015.
Kennedy’s assignments included Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Southern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus 2004-5, Ambassador to Turkmenistan 2001-3, Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva 2010-13 with concurrent service as U.S. Special Representative for Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention issues, Deputy Commandant of the National War College where she also taught for two years 2007-9, Charge d’Affaires in Armenia, and Deputy Political section chief in Moscow and Ankara. She is a member of the Leadership Council of Women in National Security (LCWINS) and the trilateral US-Germany-Russia Deep Cuts Commission. Kennedy has been a frequent press commentator and has lectured at various U.S. and international institutions including the Foreign Service Institute, the U.S. Army War College, the Army Command and General Staff College, universities and regional international affairs councils. She serves as an expert for the NewYork Times and Smithsonian Institution Silk Road travels to Central Asia. She has participated in a number of track two dialogues on nuclear arms control and nonproliferation and Asia. She is currently a member of the Secretary of State’s International Security Advisory Board.
After receiving her B.A. from Vassar College, Kennedy did graduate work at Stanford and American (M.A.) universities and is also a graduate of the Senior Seminar of the Department of State for which she later served as Dean.
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.
Melissa G. Dalton has over 20 years of experience in U.S. defense, aerospace, and national security affairs. She served as the 28th under secretary of the Air Force. She was responsible for organizing, training, and equipping the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, overseeing an annual budget exceeding $200 billion, and accountable for the welfare of nearly 700,000 active-duty, guard, reserve, and civilian Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Ms. Dalton performed the duties of deputy under secretary of defense for policy from December 2023 to May 2024, when she served as the principal advisor to the secretary of defense on the formation of national security and defense policy. Additionally, she served as the assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and hemispheric affairs from March 2022 to May 2024. She joined the Biden administration in January 2021 as the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans, and capabilities. From 2014 to 2021, Ms. Dalton led research and analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, including directing the Cooperative Defense Project and serving as deputy director and senior fellow in the International Security Program. Ms. Dalton served for more than a decade as a career civil servant in the Bush and Obama administrations within the Department of Defense. Ms. Dalton is a recipient of the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal. She was a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs fellow and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is a Principal at WestExec Advisors, a Non-Resident Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Board Member of the Saber Six Foundation, and is the Principal of Potomac River Strategies, LLC.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Laura Rosenberger is currently the Chair of the American Institute in Taiwan. Previously, she served as the Senior Director for China at the National Security Council.
Laura Rosenberger was the director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy and a senior fellow at The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF). Before she joined GMF, she was foreign policy advisor for Hillary for America, where she coordinated development of the campaign’s national security policies, messaging, and strategy. Prior to that, she served in a range of positions at the State Department and the White House’s National Security Council (NSC). As chief of staff to Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken and earlier as then-Deputy National Security Advisor Blinken’s senior advisor, she counseled on the full range of national security policy. In her role at the NSC, she also managed the interagency Deputies Committee, the U.S. government’s senior-level interagency decision-making forum on our country’s most pressing national security issues.
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.
Uyen (pronounced “Win”) Dinh serves as the Vice President of Government Relations and Strategy at BlackSky Global, LLC, a provider of real-time geospatial intelligence.
Previously, Uyen served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security. With over two decades of experience in national security and intelligence community programs and policies, the Congressional legislative process, and the executive branch planning and decision making process, Uyen’s unique skill set leverages her federal government experience with private sector insights.
In the business sector, Uyen led her own strategic consulting company, WinStrategies, LLC; after having served as Vice President for Government Relations for GeoEye, Inc. a New Space company. Her background includes national and military intelligence, space- based ISR, satellite payloads, space launch systems, GEOINT, cybersecurity, and homeland security issues such as emergency preparedness and disaster relief, customs and border enforcement, maritime security, combating human trafficking, transportation security, and humanitarian issues.
Heather Samuelson is an attorney and strategic advisor with nearly two decades of experience in government, politics and the non-profit sector. She most recently served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Confirmations Counsel in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, guiding hundreds of Biden-Harris Administration nominees through the Senate confirmation process. Heather also served in the Obama-Biden Administration, first as White House Liaison at the U.S. Department of State, and then as Assistant Counsel in the White House Counsel’s Office. In these roles, she directed recruitment and vetting for national security positions and advised officials on federal ethics compliance.
Prior to rejoining government, Heather was the first General Counsel for the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) overseeing all legal matters for NDWA and its sister organization Care in Action. Heather also served as a longtime attorney and advisor to Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, including representing the Secretary before the U.S. House Select Committee on Benghazi, and serving as Chief Counsel for the 2016 Clinton-Kaine Pre-Election Transition team.
Dr. Evelyn N. Farkas has three decades of experience working on national security and foreign policy in the U.S. executive, legislative branch, private sector and for international organizations overseas. She is currently the executive director of the McCain Institute at Arizona State University. Prior to that, she was president of Farkas Global Strategies and a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Atlantic Council and national security contributor for NBC/MSNBC.
She served from 2012 to 2015 as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia, also covering the Balkans, Caucasus and conventional arms control. From 2010 to 2012, she was the senior advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and special advisor to the Secretary of Defense for the NATO Summit. Prior to that, she was the executive director of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism and senior fellow at the American Security Project. From 2001 to 2008, she served as a professional staff member of the Senate Armed Services Committee responsible for Asia Pacific, Western Hemisphere, Special Operations Command, and policy issues including combatting terrorism and export control.
From 1997-2001, Dr. Farkas was a professor of international relations at the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College. She served 1996-97 in Bosnia with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). She has published numerous journal articles and opinion pieces, including “Fractured States and U.S. Foreign Policy: Iraq, Ethiopia, and Bosnia in the 1990s” (Palgrave/St Martin’s Press). She speaks Hungarian and German and has studied French, Spanish, Serbo-Croatian, Russian, and Hindi.
Christine Abizaid led the United States Government’s counterterrorism enterprise while serving as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) from June 2021 to July 2024. She was the eighth Senate confirmed Director and the first woman to lead NCTC, the primary U.S. intelligence organization that integrates, analyzes, and shares terrorism information.
Before joining NCTC, Abizaid was as an executive at Dell Technologies in its Global Operations organization, where she led and advised on geopolitical and strategic risk analysis; supply chain security; sustainability and transparency initiatives; compliance; and global inventory management. While in the private sector, Abizaid was aboard member for the Responsible Business Alliance; a board member at the Middle East Policy Council; and an inaugural Steering Committee Member for the Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LCWINS).
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.
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.
Nicholas Rasmussen was the Executive Director at Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT). Previously, he was the Senior Director for National Security and Counterterrorism Programs at the McCain Institute for International Leadership. Rasmussen is a national security professional with over twenty-seven years in U.S. government service, including in senior counterterrorism posts at the White House and in the U.S. Intelligence Community from 2001 to 2017. He concluded his government career as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), leading more than 1,000 professionals from across the Intelligence Community, federal government, and federal contractor workforce.
Rasmussen served in senior posts across three administrations, including as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council staff under Presidents Bush and Obama before being appointed Director of NCTC by President Obama and continuing his tenure at the request of President Trump’s administration. From 1991-2001, he served in policy positions at the Department of State, focused on the Middle East.
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.
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.
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.
Johnnie Kaberle is a Senior Vice President at WestExec Advisors, where she helps clients navigate the intersection of Congress, the Department of Defense, and the intelligence community. Prior to joining WestExec, Johnnie spent over three decades on Capitol Hill, culminating as Staff Director of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and Deputy Staff Director of the full Appropriations Committee. In that role, she led bipartisan negotiations and shaped hundreds of billions in national security funding—playing a central role in advancing innovation, acquisition reform, and capability delivery to the warfighter. Today, Johnnie draws on that deep institutional experience to help clients understand how decisions are made in Washington, identify and pursue strategic opportunities, and build lasting relationships with key stakeholders. She also teaches legislative negotiation and is known for her ability to help clients “decode” complex government processes and deliver impact where it matters most.
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.
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 Tess is Executive Director of National Security Action and former Executive Director of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security.
Caroline served as Special Assistant to the President at the National Security Council during the Obama Administration. She also served at the State Department focusing on North America and U.S. relations with the United Nations. Caroline worked on Capitol Hill for several years, serving on the Senate Intelligence Committee and in the offices of Senators Harry Reid and Bill Nelson.
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.
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.
Mona Sutphen is a Senior Partner at The Vistria Group. Previously, she was a Partner at global consultancy Macro Advisory Partners and earlier was Managing Director at UBS, AG. She served as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy for President Obama during his first term. Earlier Ms. Sutphen was a career diplomat, serving on the staff of the NSC during the Clinton Administration as well as at US Mission to the United Nations and other posts in Asia and Europe. Ms. Sutphen serves on the Board of Spotify and as a Trustee for Putnam Investments. She is Co-Chair of the IRC Board and also serves on the advisory boards of the Omidyar Network and Columbia University’s Center for Global Energy Policy. Ms. Sutphen co-authored “The Next American Century” and was an Executive Producer of several documentary films. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and served on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Holyoke College and a Master of Science degree from the London School of Economics.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Veronica Daigle is the President of National Security Practice at Red Cell Partners. She was previously the Director of Acquisition & Innovation Policy, Federal Legislative Affairs, Government Operations at The Boeing Company. Prior to joining Boeing in 2020, Ms. Daigle was the Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness in the Department of Defense (DoD), where she served as the principal staff advisor to the Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness on all matters related to military readiness. In that position, Ms. Daigle managed three deputy assistant secretaries of defense, with a combined staff of over 50 military and civilian personnel.
Ms. Daigle entered the Federal Government in 2008 as a Presidential Management Fellow at the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and subsequently served as an operations research analyst in DoD’s office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE). From 2008 to 2013, Ms. Daigle assessed a wide-ranging portfolio of issues, including the operational requirements and costs for Army ground operations, the potential effect of continued Overseas Contingency Operations funding on readiness programs, and the sufficiency of resources to support mental health services for Service Members.
