Ellen Laipson is the Director of the International Security Program at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. She joined GMU after a distinguished 25-year career in government and as President of the Stimson Center (2002-2015). Her last post in the US government was Vice Chair of the National Intelligence Council (1997-2002). She also served on the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, the National Security Council staff, and at the Congressional Research Service. Currently she serves on a number of academic and non-government boards related to international security and diplomacy, including the ISD Board of Advisors. She joined the boards of the Center for Climate and Security in 2022 and the WWF’s
Oceans Futures in 2023. She previously served on the International Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the board of The Asia Foundation, and the advisory board of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. She was a member of the CIA External Advisory Panel (2006-2009), President Obama’s Intelligence Advisory Board (2009-2013) and the Secretary of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board (2011-2014). She holds an M.A. from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and an A.B. from Cornell University.