Center for a New American Security

In 2026, the United States Department of Defense announced it would limit institutional ties with several Washington-based think tanks, including CNAS, as part of a broader policy change affecting certain universities and research organizations. A Defense Department memo stated that, beginning in the September academic term, U.S. service members would be barred from attending specific graduate-level programs and fellowships at the affected institutions. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth characterized the move as intended to ensure military leaders receive a “more rigorous and relevant education.” The policy change was part of a wider review of Defense Department educational partnerships. ²

Funding

In fiscal year 2020, the following groups made contributions to the Center for a New American Security: ³

In January 2023, bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange company FTX released its creditor matrix listing all former vendors and investors, with CNAS being listed as one of said groups. According to CNAS’s director of communications Shai Korman, the company had received a $25,000 grant from FTX in 2022 for, “general support of CNAS’s independent research on national security.” ⁴ In an interview with The Incercept, Korman confirmed that the organization had returned FTX’s donation, “in full.” ⁵

Between 2019 and 2023, the CNAS received $3,985,000 in grants from the U.S government including the U.S Department of State, the U.S Department of Defense, and the U.S Department of Energy. The CNAS also received $6,665,000 from Pentagon Contractors in that same period of time including Lockheed Martin, RTX, and Northrop Grumann. Finally, the organization received $2,805,001 in funding from foreign governments including Japan, South Korea, Germany, and the European Union. ^{6 7}

Leadership

The Center for a New American Security’s board of directors includes:

• Richard Armitage, a former diplomat who served as U.S. deputy secretary of state from 2001 to 2005 under president George W. Bush
• Douglas A. Beck, vice president of the Americas and Northeast Asia regions for Apple, Inc.
• Denis A. Bovin, senior advisor to Evercore Partners, an international investment banking firm
• Richard J. Danzig, served as the U.S. Secretary of the Navy from 1998 to 2001 under president Bill Clinton
• Michèle Flournoy, a former government official who served as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from 2009 to 2012 under president Barack Obama
• Richard Fontaine, president of CNAS from 2012-2019 and was a foreign policy advisor to former Arizona senator John McCain
• Carl D. Glaeser-Glaeser is an operating executive who is Managing Partner at Palladian Capital Partners
• Admiral Cecil Haney, a retired U.S. Navy Admiral who served as commander of U.S. Strategic Command and the U.S. Pacific Fleet
• USN (Ret.), David J. Hogan, a long-time international investment banker who worked at Saudi International Bank for 13 years
• Secretary Jeh Johnson, a former government official who served as U.S. secretary of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017 under president Barack Obama
• Joseph Liberman, an American politician who served as a U.S. senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013, and was the Democratic Party’s nominee for vice president in 2000
• Robert Mandell, an American attorney who served as U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg from 2011 to 2016
• James Murdoch, the CEO of 21^st Century Fox from 2015 to 2019 and is the liberal son of Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch
• Admiral John Richardson, USN (Ret)-Richardson is a retired U.S. Navy admiral and the former chief of Naval Operations
• Robert Roche, a liberal political activist who was appointed in 2010 to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations by president Barack Obama
• David Schwimmer, the CEO of London Stock Exchange, previously spent 20 years at Goldman Sachs
• Karen D. Seitz, founder and managing director of Fusion Partners and the former head of the Pensions, Endowments and Foundations Group for the Securities Division of Goldman, Sachs, & Co.
• Michael Sonnenfeldt, an American philanthropist and political activist who served as the co-chair of senator Joe Lieberman’s 2004 presidential campaign.
• Douglas Silverman, co-founder and managing partner of Senator Investment Group
• Jane Wales, the vice president of the Aspen Institute and served as Special Assistant to the President in the Clinton Administration from 1993 to 1996.
• Michael J. Zak, venture capitalist and founder of Cornell’s program on China & Asia-Pacific Studies

Executive Team

Richard Fontaine is the CEO of CNAS. From 2012 to 2019, Fontaine served as the Center’s president. He had previously been a foreign policy advisor to former Arizona Senator John McCain and held positions in the State Department, the National Security Council, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Anna Saito Carson is the vice president of development at CNAS. Before joining, Carson was director of corporate relations, strategic planning and development at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).