Center for a New American Security

Sharon Burke is a Vice President at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), where she directs the Center’s work on the national security implications of global natural resources challenges. The program looks at the ways in which international demand for water, energy, land, and minerals can affect security, as well as the consequences of high consumption of these resources, such as climate change and biodiversity loss. Ms. Burke’s work at CNAS has included an energy security strategy exercise, the development of futures scenarios focused on global climate change, an international climate change war game, and the effort to map how the U.S. government makes energy security policy. Prior to joining CNAS, she was the Director of the National Security Project at Third Way, where she advised candidates for office and members of Congress on the full range of national security issues, including terrorism and America’s role in the 21st century world. Previously, she served in the U.S. government 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 the 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 served 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 A Strategy for American Power: Energy, Climate, and National Security. 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.