Continued Capacity-building at CSR’s Core
Continuing a period of rapid expansion, the Council on Strategic Risks is thrilled to announce a new round of hires across its programs and additions to its Board.
The Nolan Center on Strategic Weapons added expertise across its portfolios, bringing on Jackson du Pont, Saskia Popescu, and Sahil V. Shah to examine issues from biosecurity and pandemic prevention to nuclear weapons policy and the role of diplomacy.
du Point joins the Nolan Center as Research Assistant from Yale’s Jackson School of Public Affairs, where he was a 2021-2022 Fellow for the John Kerry Initiative. At CSR, he will investigate how multilateral diplomacy can be leveraged to address transnational threats such as biological threats, nuclear proliferation, and the impact of emerging technologies.
Dr. Popescu previously served as a non-resident Fellow at the Nolan Center, and returns as a Senior Fellow to bring increased focus on global health security, the intersection of politics and government on biopreparedness, and outbreak response. She is also an Assistant Professor of Biodefense within the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University and an Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology within the University of Arizona Zuckerman College of Public Health.
Shah joins the Nolan Center as Senior Fellow and Program Manager from the European Leadership Network, where he served as Policy Fellow. At CSR, he will analyze and investigate nuclear risk reduction measures, including issues at the intersections of diplomacy, policy, and emerging technologies.
CSR was also honored to bring on Dr. Harshini Mukundan as Senior Policy Advisor. A Biosciences Division scientist and program manager for chemical and biological technologies within the Office of National and Homeland Security at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Dr. Mukundan will help bridge policy work with bench work in the biosciences.
Board Updates
A vibrant, active, and diverse Board of Directors is fundamental to CSR’s unique success as an organization, and we are thrilled to announce two new members.
Glenn Prickett brings CSR’s Board a wealth of experience in conservation and sustainable development. He is President and Chief Executive Officer of the World Environment Center, which advances sustainable development through corporate business practices. Glenn also serves on the Board of the Woodwell Climate Research Center and the Keystone Policy Center. He previously served in the Clinton Administration as Chief Environmental Advisor at USAID, where he oversaw environmental and energy assistance to developing nations.
Janet Wu joins CSR’s Board with a unique perspective as Anchor and Reporter for Bloomberg News. Her career in journalism has featured close examination of entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders and the systems in which these people operate. She is also on the Board of the Harvard Musical Association and a founding member of SheGives, a philanthropic fund created by women.
“Glenn Prickett and Janet Wu will enhance the Board not just with their important voices and perspectives, but also with their strategic approaches to tough problems,” said CSR Board Chair Sherri Goodman. “Their combination of experience, skill, and judgment will help us advance our mission on strategic risks and find new areas of growth and momentum.”
We are also proud to share that Goodman has been selected to join the State Department’s International Security Advisory Board. The ISAB provides “a continuing source of independent insight, advice, and innovation on all aspects of arms control, disarmament, nonproliferation, outer space, critical infrastructure, cybersecurity, the national security aspects of emerging technologies, international security, and related aspects of public diplomacy,” and Goodman is a perfect fit for such a valuable effort.
Building our Future
We are extraordinarily thankful to our supporters who have enabled us to recruit such talented individuals and focus so heavily on effective ways to accomplish our mission. See our support page for a list of current donors or to contribute to enable CSR’s work.
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