Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Senior national security leader with 15+ years of experience driving strategy, operations, and program execution across the Department of State, Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and allied partners. Demonstrated success translating strategic requirements into executable, data-driven campaigns, leading cross-functional teams, managing complex stakeholders, and integrating policy, operations, and emerging defense technologies in contested environments. Trusted advisor to senior executives with a track record of delivering measurable outcomes, operational rigor, and mission-aligned results in high-growth, and high-accountability organizations.
Engagement Team Leader responsible for managing conflict and stabilization operations in the Middle East and Central Asia. Oversee program coordination to integrate the Bureau’s strategic plan and vision into each engagement’s strategies and goals. MIDDLE EAST ENGAGEMENTS • Syria Analysis Team Lead: established and manage new five-person unit to conduct complex analysis of high visibility programs for Syria. Secured $5 million of in-kind assistance from the Department of Defense to support new analytical methods to analyze Syria’s opposition. • Syria Deputy Field Team Lead: oversaw the design, implementation, and training of the Planning for Civil Administration Transition (PCAT) program- the most visible USG non-lethal assistance program to the Syrian opposition. • Syria Transition Planning Lead: managed eight-person team to support NSS strategic planning for post-Asad transition, including program development to support the opposition and accelerate the Regime’s departure. • Lebanon Contingency Planning Lead: designed scenario-based contingency planning to position Embassy Beirut in responding to Syria’s impact on Lebanon. Led five-person field team to implement planning activities with Embassy; utilizing results to re-shape USG strategic planning within the NSS. • Yemen Transition Planning Lead: support NSS in developing the USG’s strategic approach for stabilizing the post-Saleh transition in Yemen. Authored "Quick Wins" paper that became the foundation for USG strategy. CENTRAL ASIA ENGAGEMENTS TEAM LEAD • Uzbekistan Strategic Planning Lead: led diverse eight-person team in designing and implementing an innovative contingency planning exercise for political transition in Uzbekistan. U.S. • Kyrgyzstan Stabilization & Transition Lead: managed 22 personnel and oversaw significant changes to mission’s goals, personnel turnover, and coordinating the first drawdown of a major extended engagement in the organization’s history.
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER • Designed and facilitated strategic communications planning process for USG and NATO/ISAF; resulting in the Integrated Civilian-Military Communications Plan for Afghanistan- the foundation of the U.S. Embassy Kabul's $170M strategic communications and public diplomacy program. SENIOR TRAINING ADVISOR • Collaborate with S/CRS’ partners to support the design, development, and delivery of USG interagency reconstruction and stabilization (R&S) training; including the creation of an evaluation processes program policies to improve quality. • Devised strategy to identify, assess, and establish partnerships with existing training programs, and implemented it by collaborating with potential partners to leverage resources for R&S training. • Contribute to the development of the Civilian Response Corps (CRC) field operations guide; specifically, designing an interoperable strategic communications cells at the strategic, operational, and field levels. • Led the design and development of distance learning course PD573: Introduction to USG R&S operations. • Facilitated and authored U.S. interagency approved training strategy for R&S operations. • Lead training designer for CRC orientation training for USG civilian and military personnel.
Deputy Director providing essential coordination, analysis, and oversight for the global campaign to defeat the Islamic State (D-ISIS). Responsible for organizing, developing, implementing, and managing a wide range of high-level US Government foreign policy initiatives and projects contributing to the defeat of ISIS and political and economic stability across 10 geographic regions in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Serving in a pivotal role to lead teams and build collaborative partnerships in constructing and executing strategic plans that achieve US national security goals. • Key strategist and focal point in coordinating the Departments of State, Defense, Treasury, Justice, Homeland Security, USAID, and the Intelligence Community in the design, development, and implementation of the President's approved global strategy to defeat the Islamic State. • US representative to highly complex international discussions with partner nations resulting in the endorsement of key US initiatives integral to a sustained defeat of ISIS and its affiliate organizations. • Re-imagined US strategic communications policy, resulting in a National Security Council (NSC) approved plan that improves integration of US government and the Global Coalition’s efforts to achieve greater strategic effects against ISIS. • Serve as the Deputy Special Envoy’s liaison to the Special Operations community’s Joint Taskforce to coordinate and integrate civilian-military planning, operations, analysis, and policy for U.S. government senior decision makers.
• Coordinate and liaise Institute efforts to implement NSPD-44 and DoD Directive 3000.05 programs with the interagency and military communities; develop curriculum for the Institute’s Education and Training Center; assist with designing R&S curriculums for PRTs, the interagency Civilian Response Corps, National Security Education Consortium (NSEC), the Integrated Education and Training Workshop (PKSOI), and the Consortium for Complex Operations (CCO). • Training Programs: prepare and process contracts with partnering organizations; develop security briefings for staff deployment; liaise internally with departments to coordinate effective program planning; support the management and promotion of the Institute’s Distance Learning Courses, and the Professional Training program’s website; assist in the research, development, editing, and authoring of the REACT online course and the Negotiation Distance Learning Course (Nuclear Proliferation Treaty case study). • Departmental Operations: assist with the management and oversight of the Professional Training program’s budget; oversee and administer the Professional Training program’s operating plans; update and document knowledge management best practices; contributing author to Institute published materials. • Country/Regional Focus: Middle East, Israel-Palestine, Sudan, Colombia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and other nations in the Muslim world.