Emeritus

Kathleen Hicks is senior vice president, Henry A. Kissinger Chair, and director of the International Security Program at CSIS. She is a frequent writer and lecturer on U.S. foreign and security policy; defense strategy, forces, and budget; and strategic futures. From 2009 to July 2013, Dr. Hicks served as a senior official in the Department of Defense. Confirmed in May 2012 as principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy, she was responsible for advising the secretary of defense on global and regional defense policy and strategy pertaining to such areas as the Asia-Pacific and Persian Gulf regions, Syria, and Europe. She also served as deputy under secretary of defense for strategy, plans, and forces, leading the development of the 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance and the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review and crafting guidance for future force capabilities, overseas military posture, and contingency and theater campaign plans.

From 2006 to early 2009, Dr. Hicks served as a senior fellow at CSIS, leading a variety of research projects in the national security field, including as part of the Center’s Beyond Goldwater-Nichols series. She was a career civil servant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 1993 to 2006, serving in a variety of capacities and rising from Presidential Management Intern to the Senior Executive Service. Dr. Hicks has received numerous recognitions for her service in the Department of Defense (DOD), including distinguished awards from Secretaries of Defense Chuck Hagel, Leon Panetta, and Robert Gates and from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey and the 2011 DOD Senior Professional Women’s Association Excellence in Leadership Award. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.A. from the University of Maryland’s School of Public Affairs, and an A.B. magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Mount Holyoke College. She previously served as an ex officio member of the Board of Directors for the U.S. Institute of Peace and currently serves on the Board of Advisors for the Truman National Security Project. Dr. Hicks is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and an adjunct with the RAND Corporation.

Nancy McEldowney is an academic administrator at Georgetown University. Prior to coming to Georgetown, she was an American diplomat and a member of the U.S. Foreign Service. She served as the Director of the Foreign Service Institute and the National Foreign Affairs Training Center from February 2013 until June 2017. In this capacity, she was responsible for professional training for the U.S. Department of State and other foreign affairs agencies. On July 1, 2017, she became Director of the Masters of Science in Foreign Service Program at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Linda McMahon is the co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE), based in Stamford, Connecticut. She stepped down in 2009 to run for the U.S. Senate and was the Republican nominee to represent the people of Connecticut in 2010 and 2012.

As a business executive, McMahon helped grow WWE from a modest, 13-person operation to a publicly traded global enterprise with more than 800 employees in offices worldwide.

McMahon has been widely recognized as one of the country’s top female executives. In 2014, she was honored by Fairfield/Westchester County Business Journal as one of its “Women Making an Impact.” In 2013, she was named one of Moves Magazine’s “Power Women.” In 2007, she was named one of Multichannel News’ “Wonder Women,” recognizing her accomplishments as a leader in the cable television industry.

McMahon spearheaded a wide variety of community and charitable programs at WWE, including the company’s Get R.E.A.L. educational and literacy programs. The Make-A-Wish Foundation has recognized WWE as a top wish granter, awarding it its highest honor in 2004. McMahon was appointed to the organization’s National Advisory Council in 2005. Under McMahon’s leadership, the WWE was the recipient of the USO of Metropolitan Washington’s first ever “Legacy of Hope” award, in honor of Bob Hope, for its extensive support of our troops. In 2007, the company received the Secretary of Defense Exceptional Public Service Award for its support of deployed service members in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 2009, McMahon served on the Connecticut Board of Education as an appointee of Governor M. Jodi Rell.

McMahon serves on the boards of Sacred Heart University of Fairfield, Connecticut; the Close Up Foundation, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit that works to educate and inspire young people to participate in our democracy; and American Corporate Partners, a New York-based organization that pairs returning veterans with mentors in the workforce. She also serves as President of the Advisory Board for Operation Helmet, which provides comfortable and protective helmet pads for U.S. combat troops serving in Afghanistan.

McMahon is an advocate for small businesses and continues to promote entrepreneurship, particularly among women. She advises global businesses as part of APCO Worldwide’s International Advisory Council.

McMahon has been widely recognized for her numerous philanthropic contributions. She has most recently been honored with the Humanitarian Award from the Catholic Big Sisters & Big Brothers in New York City and the Spirit of Hope Award from Liberation Programs in Norwalk, Connecticut.

In 2014, McMahon received the Prescott Bush Award from the Connecticut Republican Party, the organization’s highest honor. In 2013, she received the Public Service Award from the Women’s National Republican Club.

McMahon is a graduate of East Carolina University. She and her husband, Vince, have two adult children and six grandchildren.