Center for Security Policy improves its approach to changing national security challenges

WASHINGTON – The Center for Security Policy announces new leadership, a Director of China Policy, a Director of Russian Affairs and a transformation to a virtual office to expand its staffing and reach.

“The very precarious direction our country is headed, both at home and internationally, has prompted the Center to innovate to serve America’s national interests with more flexibility, innovation, and expertise,” Center interim President and CEO Don Woodsmall said.

“We are happy to announce that the Center has selected Lieutenant Colonel Tommy Waller to be its new President and CEO effective January 1, 2023. Tommy is a decorated U.S. Marine combat veteran with superior leadership skills. He was the natural choice to lead the Center in the decades to come,”  said Woodsmall, a longtime board member.

On August 1^st, Waller became the Center’s Executive Vice President to ensure an orderly transition by January. One of his first moves was to decentralize operations to improve the organization’s flexibility, economic efficiency, and expand its reach into the states.

Waller said, “The Marines taught me a lot about decentralization and pushing resources and decision making as far forward as possible. It no longer makes sense to have a large office two blocks from the White House when we can have greater creativity and impact by going virtual and increasing our support to state and local level policymakers. We’ll maintain a solid presence in Washington, but not under one roof.”

Waller served for two decades in the Marines with deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, and South America. He recently successfully commanded the Marine Corps’ only reserve Force Reconnaissance Company and has worked in his civilian capacity at the Center for nearly a decade. He earned a degree in International Relations from Tulane University and an executive education certificate from the Wharton School.

The Center also announced that Dr. Bradley Thayer has become the fulltime Director of China policy. Dr. Thayer is a widely published author with grand strategic worldview and a stellar track record on Communist China, Thayer received his PhD from the University of Chicago. He is also an authority on Marxist subversion of the Gramsci, Frankfurt School, and critical theory as they relate to national security.

Additionally, the Center’s Senior Fellow Dr. Andrei Illarionov has been brought on fulltime as the Director of Russian Affairs. Dr. Illarionov is an internationally renowned economist who served as Chief Economic Advisor for three Russian Prime Ministers and to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He resigned in protest in 2005 and is one of the only Putin critics in the West who has dealt with the man closely and face to face.  Dr. Illarionov brings to the Center extraordinary insights into Kremlin decision making and Russian grand strategy.

The Center for Security Policy is a nonpartisan 501(c)3 foundation devoted to national security affairs and securing freedom for future generations, founded in 1988. Its founder and longtime CEO, Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., is the Center’s Executive Chairman. He hosts the nationally syndicated radio and television program “Securing America with Frank Gaffney” on Real America’s Voice.