Our Staff

Jim Baird is the communications director at Stimson where he oversees the center’s daily communications operations and strategic planning. Before joining Stimson, Baird served four years directing the peace and security work for ReThink Media.

Barry M. Blechman is currently a Distinguished Fellow at the Stimson Center -- a nonpartisan, nonprofit think-tank in Washington, D.C. He co-founded Stimson and was chairman of its Board from 1989 to 2007.

Alex Bollfrass is a Ph.D. candidate at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs working on a dissertation on intelligence assessments of nuclear weapons programs. 

Richard Cincotta is a Political Demographer and Director of the Global Political Demography Program whose research focuses on the demographic transition and its relationships to political, economic and environmental change.

Richard T. Cupitt is Senior Associate and Director of the Partnerships in Proliferation Prevention program at Stimson. His areas of expertise include WMD nonproliferation, export controls, and foreign policy. Prior to joining Stimson, he served as the Special Coordinator for U.N.

William J. Durch is a Distinguished Fellow with the Stimson Center. Prior to joining Stimson in 1990, Durch served as a Foreign Affairs Officer with the U.S.

Brian Finlay is the President and CEO at Stimson. His areas of expertise include nonproliferation, transnational crime, counter-trafficking, supply chain security and private sector engagement.

Hannah E. Haegeland is a Research Associate in Stimson's South Asia Program working on nuclear security, crisis escalation and management, and regional politics.

Herbert-Burns is a leading international maritime security consultant with his own firm, Proteus Offshore & Marine Ltd; engaged in operations and security risk management projects for shipping, offshore oil and gas sector clients with operations in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.

Michael Krepon co-founded the Stimson Center in 1989. He served as Stimson’s President and CEO until 2000, and continues to direct Stimson’s programming on nuclear and space issues.

Ellen Laipson is a Distinguished Fellow and President Emeritus of Stimson. Laipson joined Stimson in 2002, after 25 years of government service. Her last post was Vice Chair of the National Intelligence Council (1997-2002).

Johanna Mendelson Forman is a Distinguished Fellow with the Managing Across Boundaries Initiative at the Stimson Center, where she works on security and development issues, including regional multilateral engagement, civil-military relations and stabilization and reconstruction.

Eric Miller is a Nonresident Fellow with Stimson’s Trade21 initiative, where he focuses on international economics, trade, global governance, and cybersecurity. Miller is also President of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group, a DC-based advisory group focused on assisting firms with navigating U.S., Ca

Nate Olson is director of the Trade21 program at the Stimson Center.

Amit A. Pandya’s research interests include global migration, developments and prospects in maritime commerce, and social and economic trends in the Arab world and South Asia. His professional work consists of international law and consulting, principally on international labor and on migration.

Alan Romberg is a Distinguished Fellow and the Director of the East Asia program at Stimson. Before joining Stimson in September 2000, he enjoyed a distinguished career working on Asian issues including 27 years in the State Department, with over 20 years as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer.

Sharland is a Nonresident Fellow from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra, where her research focuses on peacekeeping and Australia-Africa engagement.

Rachel Stohl is a Senior Associate with Stimson's Managing Across Boundaries Initiative and directs the Conventional Defense Program. Her areas of expertise focus on issues relating to the international arms trade, including drones, small arms and light weapons, and children in armed conflict.

Yun Sun is a Senior Associate with the East Asia Program at the Stimson Center. Her expertise is in Chinese foreign policy, U.S.-China relations and China's relations with neighboring countries and authoritarian regimes.

Akriti Vasudeva is a Research Associate with the South Asia program at the Stimson Center. She is Editor of South Asian Voices, an online magazine featuring strategic analysis and commentary from rising South Asian analysts and scholars.

Cindy Vestergaard is a Senior Associate with the Nuclear Safeguards program. Vestergaard was previously a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) in Copenhagen, Denmark.