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 the James R. Schlesinger Distinguished Professor 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 serves on the 2022 National Defense Strategy Commission and the Howard University College of Arts and Sciences board of visitors. Rudman 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

University of Virginia's Mara Rudman on Israel's strikes on Iran.
Mara Rudman Bloomberg
This vision of the region — where Iran is countered, Israel’s right to exist is no longer denied, a pathway to a future Palestinian state is assured, and the ideological oxygen and tangible resources that fuel Iran’s proxies are turned off — is possible with partnership from the United States led by a strong, level-headed president.
Mara Rudman Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Mara Rudman, University of Virginia Miller Center Professor, discusses the United States classified documents leak regarding Israel’s response to Iran, and how the leak may change Israel’s plan going forward.
Mara Rudman Bloomberg
Industrial policy requires making strategic public investments designed to strengthen economic and national security — not only what is traditionally thought of as the defense industrial base, but in broader goods and manufacturing category for both America and its allies. This means ensuring effective production of and supply chains for goods and manufacturing that serve interests and needs across the economy – not just the defense industrial base — as an expanded aperture strengthens U.S. security.
Mara Rudman Breaking Defense
Mara Rudman, a University of Virginia professor and former State Department official, discusses the escalating conflict in the Middle East and the relationship between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mara Rudman Bloomberg
To better understand the conflict, and whether there is a reason for optimism, UVA Today checked in with Mara Rudman, the James R. Schlesinger Distinguished Professor at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs and director of the Ripples of Hope Project.
Mara Rudman UVA Today