Russia’s Operations in Ukraine: A Conversation with ASD Celeste Wallander

Please join the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Monday, October 3, for a Smart Women, Smart Power conversation with Celeste Wallander, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy at the U.S. Department of Defense. ASD Wallander will sit down with Dr. Kathleen McInnis, Director of the Smart Women, Smart Power Initiative, for an assessment of Russia’s operations in Ukraine. Additionally, they will discuss core U.S. interests in Europe, including U.S. force posture in Europe relative to other combatant commands (COCOMs), U.S. ideas on NATO’s way forward after Madrid, and ASD Wallander’s experience as a woman in one of the most critical roles in the Pentagon.
 
Prior to her current role, ASD Wallander served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russia/Central Asia on the National Security Council (2013-2017), and as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia (2009 to July 2012). Outside government, she served as President and CEO of the U.S.-Russia Foundation (2017-2022), professor at American University (2009-2013), visiting professor at Georgetown University (2006-2008), Director for Russia/Eurasia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (2001-2006), Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (2000- 2001), and professor of Government at Harvard (1989-2000). 
 
She is the author of over 80 publications on European and Eurasian security issues, focused on Russian foreign and defense strategy. She received her Ph.D. (1990), M.Phil. (1986), and M.A. (1985) degrees from Yale University, and her B.A. (1983 – summa cum laude) from Northwestern University. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Atlantic Council of the United States, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
 
This event is made possible through support from Citi.

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