Our Staff

Nakia Bell is the Associate Director of Finance at the Stimson Center. She is responsible for providing program budget support and analysis. Before joining Stimson, Nakia served as the Compliance Manager for Martha’s Table.

Ambassador Lincoln P. Bloomfield is a Distinguished Fellow and Chairman Emeritus at the Stimson Center. He has served as a national security official in the administrations of Presidents Reagan, G.H.W. Bush and G.W. Bush. Amb. Bloomfield was appointed by President Bush to be the U.S.

Diego Cándano Laris is a Nonresident Fellow with the Nuclear Safeguards program. He focuses on non-proliferation and strategic trade issues. He chaired the Consultative Group of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) between 2017 and 2019.

Erin Clements is the Development Associate at the Stimson Center. An experienced grant writer and fundraiser, she previously held positions at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and at Elevate, an institutional fundraising firm.

Richard T. Cupitt is a Senior Fellow 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.

Katie Dock is a Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellow with the Transforming Conflict and Governance program at the Stimson Center. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley as a member of Phi Beta Kappa with a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies and a minor in Middle Eastern Studies.

Grace Easterly is the Program Assistant for the South Asia Program. She graduated summa cum laude from NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study with a BA in International Political Economy and Security and a minor in French.

Brian Finlay is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Stimson Center.

Vice Admiral Michael Franken, USN (ret), is a distinguished fellow with the Environmental Security Program at the Stimson Center. Raised in rural Iowa, Franken lived within view of the world’s oceans during much of his thirty-six-year military career.

Aditi Gorur is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Protecting Civilians in Conflict Program at Stimson. Her primary research focus is on preventing and responding to violence against civilians, particularly in the context of peacekeeping operations.

Carolyn A. Haggis is a Congressional Fellow with the Security for a New Century (SNC) program at the Stimson Center. In this capacity, she supports Members of the House and Senate, as well as their staffs, in gaining a deeper understanding of international security issues.

Victoria K. Holt is a Managing Director at the Henry L. Stimson Center.

Katheryn Howard is the Executive Assistant to the President and CEO and manages the internship program at the Stimson Center.

Marla Keenan is an International Security Program Fellow at New America and is the founder and managing partner of Marla Keenan Consulting LLC. She works with organizations to develop innovative programming on the human experience in conflict and civilian protection.

Igor Khripunov joined the Center for International Trade and Security (formerly the Center for East-West Trade Policy) at the University of Georgia in 1992 and served until July 2018 as a Distinguished Fellow with the Center as well as an Adjunct Professor for the University of Georgia’s School o

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).

Joris Larik is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs of Leiden University in the Netherlands and Senior Advisor and Nonresident Fellow for the Just Security 2020 Program at Stimson.

John Lichtefeld is a Nonresident Fellow with Stimson’s Southeast Asia program and is engaged in research involving environmental security and political adaptation to climate change in mainland Southeast Asia.

Faiqa Mahmood is a Visiting Fellow at the South Asia Program of the Stimson Center, where she is currently conducting research on the nuclear discourse in Pakistan. Ms.

Polly Nayak is a Distinguished Fellow with the South Asia Program at the Stimson Center. Nayak retired in 2002 as a senior government executive after a wide-ranging intelligence career.

Dr. T. Negeen Pegahi is a Nonresident Fellow with the South Asia program. She is an assistant professor of strategy and director of the Mahan Scholars research program at the U.S.

Iliana Ragnone is a Research Assistant at the Stimson Center and “38 North,” a web journal that provides policy and technical analysis on North Korea. Prior to joining Stimson, she was a Program Assistant at the Foreign Service Institute, a part of the Department of State. She holds a B.A.

Kathryn Rauhut is an attorney specializing in international security based in Vienna, Austria. She works primarily on nuclear security governance, accountability and liability issues with a focus on cybersecurity.

Lt. Col. Taro Sato is a Nonresident Fellow at Stimson with the East Asia Program. His research focuses on U.S.-China relations, national security, science and technology policy, and security space.

Brigitta Schuchert is a Research Assistant with the South Asia Program at the Stimson Center, as well as the Deputy Editor for South Asian Voices, an online publication featuring strategic analysis on South Asia.

Natalia is a Research Assistant at the Stimson Center and Editorial Assistant for “38 North,” a web journal that provides policy and technical analysis on North Korea.

David Solimini brings 15 years of experience in policy and persuasion to national security and foreign affairs issues.

Rachel Stohl is Managing Director 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 Fellow and Co-Director of the East Asia Program and Director of the China 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.

Jenny Town is a Stimson Fellow and the Managing Editor of Stimson's 38 North, a website devoted to providing policy and technical analysis on North Korea. She was named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business in 2019 for her role in co-founding and managing 38 North.

Akriti Vasudeva is a Research Associate with the South Asia program at the Stimson Center.

Courtney Weatherby is a research analyst with the Stimson Center’s Southeast Asia and Energy, Water, & Sustainability programs.

Joel S. Wit is a Senior Fellow with Stimson and Director of 38 North. Wit is an internationally recognized expert on Northeast Asia security issues. As a U.S.