Women in National Security with Michele L. Malvesti

On Friday, March 24th, the Intelligence Studies Project, in partnership with the Clements Center, Strauss Center, and UT’s Women in Foreign Affairs, welcomed Dr. Michele L. Malvesti to the Texas Union as a speaker in the Women and National Security Speaker Series. The goal of the Women and National Security Speaker Series is to feature distinguished foreign policy and national security experts while highlighting a range of important policy issues.

BIOGRAPHY

Michele Malvesti is currently a Professor of Practice in International Security Studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Prior to her appointment at Fletcher, Dr. Malvesti served as Lecturer and Senior Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, where she taught both graduate and undergraduate students. She previously also worked as a Vice President in the National Security Sector at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and with its successor company, Leidos.

During her time in government, Dr. Malvesti served more than five years on the National Security Council staff, including as the Senior Director for Combating Terrorism Strategy. During this period (2002-2007), she advised the President’s National Security Advisor and Homeland Security Advisor on counterterrorism policy and strategy.

Dr. Malvesti briefly returned to the White House in 2009 in order to co-chair the Presidential study review that reformed the White House organization for homeland security and counterterrorism on behalf of the
Obama Administration. She also has worked as a professional in the Intelligence Community, including at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), where she specialized in Middle East terrorism. Prior to her work at DIA, she served as an intelligence analyst for the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Dr. Malvesti holds a Bachelor of Arts, Highest Distinction, in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her political science degree was conferred with Highest Honors. She received both a Doctor of Philosophy and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.