Ambassador Susan Rice

Susan E. Rice served as Domestic Policy Advisor to President Joe Biden (2021–2023) and as National Security Advisor and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under President Obama (2009–2017). She is the only person to serve in the White House as both National Security Advisor and Domestic Policy Advisor. During the Clinton Administration, she was U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and held key roles at the National Security Council.

A Rhodes Scholar, Rice earned a B.A. in History from Stanford University and a master’s and doctorate in International Relations from Oxford University. A Washington, D.C., native, she is married with two grown children.

Admiral James Stavridis USN (Ret.)

A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Admiral James Stavridis served over 30 years in the Navy, achieving the rank of 4-star Admiral. He was Supreme Allied Commander at NATO, overseeing operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, and beyond, and also led U.S. Southern Command, focusing on Latin America.

During his career, Stavridis served as senior military assistant to the Secretaries of Defense and the Navy and led the Navy’s innovation think tank, Deep Blue, after 9/11. He received numerous accolades, including the Battenberg Cup and the Navy League’s John Paul Jones Award, along with over 40 medals.

Stavridis earned a Ph.D. from The Fletcher School at Tufts, where he later became the 12th Dean in 2013. A prolific author, he has published five books and delivered a TED Talk with over 700,000 views. He is Chair of the Board of the U.S. Naval Institute and an award-winning writer.

David Sanger

David E. Sanger is a White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times and a senior writer with over 40 years of experience. A three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, he is recognized for his in-depth reporting on international affairs, cyber conflict, and national security.

Sanger has authored four books, including The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage and Fear in the Cyber Age and the forthcoming New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and the Struggle to Defend the West. His work inspired the HBO documentary The Perfect Weapon and contributed to Zero Days, an Academy Award-shortlisted documentary on cyberattacks.

A Harvard graduate, Sanger is a senior fellow at the Belfer Center and co-teaches national security strategy at Harvard’s Kennedy School. He is also a national security contributor to CNN.