Sharon Burke
Affiliation: Center for a New American Security
Sharon Burke is a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Prior to joining CNAS she was the Director of the National Security Project at Third Way. In that capacity, Ms. Burke advised candidates for office and members of Congress on the full range of national security issues, including the Iraq War, weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and America’s role in the 21st century world. Previously, she served as a high-level advisor in the U.S. government on the Middle East, South Asia, and strategic communications, including as a member of the Policy Planning Staff at the Department of State, a Country Director in the Department of Defense’s Office of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, and a speechwriter to Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Secretary of Defense William Cohen. She also worked in Congress’s Energy and Materials program of the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment, helping to produce a multi-year study of energy in developing countries. Ms. Burke received medals for Exceptional Public Service from the Department of Defense and the Superior Honor Award from the Department of State. She serves on the Leadership Team of the American Assembly’s Next Generation Project, served as the Middle East Advocacy Director at Amnesty International USA, and is the author of numerous reports, including Beyond Bush: A New Strategy of Constriction to Defeat Al Qaeda and its Allies. Ms. Burke graduated from Williams College and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she focused on international energy policy and earned a Certificate of Middle Eastern Studies. At Columbia, she also was a Zuckerman Fellow, an International Fellow, and a recipient of a Foreign Language and Areas Studies grant for Arabic.
Sharon Burke is a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Prior to joining CNAS she was the Director of the National Security Project at Third Way. In that capacity, Ms. Burke advised candidates for office and members of Congress on the full range of national security issues, including the Iraq War, weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and America’s role in the 21st century world. Previously, she served as a high-level advisor in the U.S. government on the Middle East, South Asia, and strategic communications, including as a member of the Policy Planning Staff at the Department of State, a Country Director in the Department of Defense’s Office of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, and a speechwriter to Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Secretary of Defense William Cohen. She also worked in Congress’s Energy and Materials program of the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment, helping to produce a multi-year study of energy in developing countries. Ms. Burke received medals for Exceptional Public Service from the Department of Defense and the Superior Honor Award from the Department of State. She serves on the Leadership Team of the American Assembly’s Next Generation Project, served as the Middle East Advocacy Director at Amnesty International USA, and is the author of numerous reports, including Beyond Bush: A New Strategy of Constriction to Defeat Al Qaeda and its Allies. Ms. Burke graduated from Williams College and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she focused on international energy policy and earned a Certificate of Middle Eastern Studies. At Columbia, she also was a Zuckerman Fellow, an International Fellow, and a recipient of a Foreign Language and Areas Studies grant for Arabic.
