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 Miller Center Professor Mara Rudman discusses cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Mara Rudman Bloomberg Podcasts
University of Virginia Miller Center Professor Mara Rudman discusses cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Mara Rudman Bloomberg
A big part of the problem, said Mara Rudman, a former special Middle East envoy for the State Department, is that neither Netanyahu nor Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar is motivated to halt the fighting.
Mara Rudman Los Angeles Times
Mara Rudman, Professor at the University of Virginia Miller Center, discusses the latest on turmoil in the Middle East, as the US calls for another round of Gaza cease-fire talks.
Mara Rudman Bloomberg
Commission on the National Defense Strategy Vice Chair Eric Edelman and Commissioner Mara Rudman talked about the bipartisan panel’s report on U.S. defense strategy and military readiness.
Mara Rudman, Eric Edelman Washington Journal
The Commission on the National Defense Strategy discusses their report describing the U.S. strategic threat environment, which will inform future budget requests, legislation, appropriations, and Department of Defense operations and planning.
Eric Edelman, Mara Rudman The Aspen Institute