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

With ongoing efforts by President Biden and his team to reach ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that will allow for return of hostages, humanitarian assistance into Gaza, and a non-Hamas path forward for Palestinians, Mara Rudman spoke on these subjects with Times of London Radio, BBC Newshour, and BBC Today Radio 4 and was quoted in Bloomberg News.
Mara Rudman Bloomberg
Mara Rudman, Former Senior US National Security Advisor, discusses ICC charges against Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, what's next in Iran after the death of President Ebrahim Raisii and the Saudi King's illness.
Mara Rudman Bloomberg
Former Deputy National Security Advisor Mara Rudman discusses the ongoing negotiations for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Mara Rudman Bloomberg
“There are two large groups of voters in the United States today when it comes to the domestic protests: people who want the president to stop the rage and people who want the president to solve the issues that have created the rage," said Russell Riley, a presidential historian at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center.
Russell Riley, Mara Rudman The Washington Post
The US last week paused a bomb shipment for Israel over concerns it was going ahead with a major ground operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a senior US administration official said. Israel has not "fully addressed" US concerns over humanitarian needs of civilians in Rafah, the official said. An Israeli military official appeared to play down the US move. We hear analysis from the US and reaction from Israel.
Mara Rudman BBC News
“Biden is continuing all efforts to thread multiple needles at once,” said Mara Rudman, a former deputy Middle East special envoy under President Barack Obama who is now at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center.
Mara Rudman New York Times