Experts

Mara Rudman

Fast Facts

  • Served in both the Obama and Clinton administrations, including as deputy assistant to the president for national security affairs
  • Director, Ripples of Hope Project
  • Former deputy envoy and chief of staff for the Office of the Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, U.S. Department of State
  • Expertise in foreign affairs, diplomacy, national security, the Middle East

Areas Of Expertise

  • Foreign Affairs
  • American Defense and Security
  • War and Terrorism
  • Middle East
  • Governance
  • The Presidency

Mara Rudman is a professor of practice at the Miller Center, where she directs the Ripples of Hope Project aimed at identifying practical approaches to help democratic leaders resolve key challenges. She previously served a term as a Miller Center Schlesinger Distinguished Professor.

Rudman served on the 2022 National Defense Strategy Commission. She is a member of the Board of Visitors for the Howard University College of Arts and Sciences. She also consults for Democracy Forward. 

Rudman’s government positions have included serving as deputy assistant to the president for national security affairs in the Obama and Clinton administrations; deputy envoy for the Office of the Special Envoy for Middle East Peace at the U.S. Department of State; assistant administrator for the Middle East at the U.S. Agency for International Development; and chief counsel to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.  

Previously, Rudman was executive vice president for policy at the Center for American Progress and senior vice president for policy/projects at Business Executives for National Security. She also led Quorum Strategies, a geopolitical strategic advisory firm. Rudman has been a guest on numerous TV and radio shows and has written for and been quoted in various print publications. She received her BA from Dartmouth College and a law degree from Harvard Law School.

Mara Rudman News Feed

CAPRI’s Third Annual Forum, “Building Resilience on Shaky Ground in the Asia Pacific,” convened a distinguished group of leaders and thinkers from across the Asia Pacific, Europe, and the US to address the defining challenges of our time.
Mara Rudman Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation
Mara Rudman discusses the initial Israeli strikes on Iran on June 13.
Mara Rudman Bloomberg Asia
Mara Rudman discusses the "ever compiling and compounding tragedies playing out in Gaza, political turmoil in Israel while PM Netanyahu is seemingly controlled by two ideological extremists in his coalition, [and] the fate of the hostages and the many non-Hamas affiliated Palestinians in Gaza at peril."
Mara Rudman BBC News
"The most lasting impact of this term will be felt in the damage done to the reputation of the United States as a safe harbor where the rule of law is king and where the Constitution is as sacred a national document as any country has developed."
Mara Rudman, Bob Strong, Andrew Rudalevige, and Russell Riley The New York Times
"Putin knows from his KGB background and others just how to read and play various figures when and as he needs to—and I think he is doing that to a fine degree, sadly, with President Trump," says Mara Rudman.
Mara Rudman Bloomberg Balance of Power
Mara Rudman discusses Trump's most recent call with Putin, and implications for Ukraine, Europe, Asia, and U.S. security.
Mara Rudman CNN