Rand Beers, Founder

Before founding the National Security Network, Rand Beers served as the National Security Adviser to the Kerry-Edwards 2004 campaign, and was for 35 years a civil servant. After serving as a Marine officer and rifle company commander in Vietnam, he entered the Foreign Service in 1971 and the Civil Service in 1983. From 1988-98, Mr. Beers served on the White House National Security Council Staff as Director for Counter-terrorism and Counter-narcotics, Director for Peacekeeping, and Senior Director for Intelligence Programs. From 1998-2003, he was Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. In 2002-03, he was Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Combating Terrorism at the National Security Council. Beers earned a BA from Dartmouth College and an MA from the University of Michigan.

Heather Hurlburt, Executive Director

From 2002 until she joined the National Security Network, Heather Hurlburt ran her own communications and strategy practice, working on global and political issues with political, entertainment, and educational leaders, as well as groups such as DATA (Debt AIDS Trade Africa), the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Stanley Foundation, and many others. From 1995-2001, Hurlburt served in the Clinton Administration as Special Assistant and Speechwriter to the President, speechwriter for Secretaries of State Albright and Christopher, and member of the State Department's Policy Planning staff. She has also worked for the International Crisis Group, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Congressional Helsinki Commission. She is a Senior Adviser to the U.S. in the World Project of Dēmos, and appears frequently as a commentator in print and new media, and is a regular guest on Robert Wright's Blogging Heads TV. Hurlburt holds a BA from Brown University and an MA from the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs.

Max Bergmann, Deputy Policy Director

Prior to joining NSN, Max Bergmann was a Research Associate for National Security at the Center for American Progress from 2004 to 2007. Bergmann has been published by The New Republic, The American Prospect, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Times, The Washington Times, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. While at the Center for American Progress, Bergmann co-authored the reports: Restoring American Military Power: Toward a New Progressive Defense Strategy; How to Redeploy: Implementing a Responsible Drawdown of U.S. Forces from Iraq; Marine Corps Equipment After Iraq; and Beyond the Call of Duty: A Comprehensive Review of the Overuse of the U.S. Army in Iraq. He is a regular contributor to Democracy Arsenal and the Huffington Post. Mr. Bergmann received his MA in Comparative Politics with a concentration on Ethnic Conflict Regulation and the European Union from the London School of Economics. He is from Gainesville, Florida, and received his BA from Bates College.

Adam Blickstein, Press Secretary

Adam Blickstein has worked in numerous national media and political positions, most recently as Rep. Jane Harman’s Press Secretary. While there, he worked with national and international print, television and radio journalists to promote Harman’s national security and intelligence agendas. Blickstein also worked at CNN’s Washington bureau, providing production and editorial assistance for their election and political coverage. In 2004, he graduated cum laude from Tufts University. While at Tufts he was President of the Tufts Democrats, spent a year at the University College of London, and was a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national Political Science Honors Society.

Ryan Keenan, State Outreach Coordinator

Ryan Keenan served as Assistant Regional Field Director for the Biden campaign in Northeast Iowa. In 2006, he worked on the Senate campaign of Robert P. Casey (D-PA). Before that, Keenan worked at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague as a Junior Officer in the Assistance and Protection Branch. While at the OPCW, Keenan was awarded a Certificate in Emergency Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) Response training, at the Swiss Advanced Field Training Course, in April 2006. He received an MA in International Policy and a Certificate in Nonproliferation Studies from the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. Keenan received his BA in International Studies from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Patrick Barry, Research Associate

Pat Barry comes to NSN from Haverford College, where he earned a BA in History, with a concentration in Nationalism and Political Violence. He is a native of Baltimore, Maryland.

James Lamond, Policy Researcher

Before coming to NSN, James worked on international law, international organizations and transatlantic relations at the Center for American Progress. A regular contributor to Democracy Arsenal, James has also appeared in both domestic and international publications. A native of New Jersey, James received a B.A. in History from Rowan University and a M.S. in Global Affairs from Rutgers University.

Ethan Gelber, State Outreach Associate and Assistant to the Executive Director

Ethan previously worked as a member of the National Advance Staff for Hillary Clinton for President, planning and executing events across the country for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton. He graduated from Brown University with an A.B. in Linguistics and History in 2007.