Make Room

Make Room is an inclusive professional development network where early professionals are equipped to pursue their career goals and develop their leadership skills. Founded in 2020 and run by junior members of the CNAS staff, Make Room aims to train, empower, and amplify the voices of underrepresented communities in the national security and foreign policy spheres.

Make Room recognizes and celebrates the inherent value of all people, and the initiative welcomes college students, recent graduates, early career professionals, and others interested in joining a community of peers working to strengthen their skills and build a diverse national security workforce. There are no costs nor prerequisites to join. If you are interested in joining Make Room, you can subscribe to our newsletter, join the mentoring network, and read our mentoring network FAQs. To learn more, contact makeroom@cnas.org.

How to Get Involved

The Study Series holds interactive monthly study sessions that focus on functional skill development and substantive learning. Study sessions speakers are diverse, early- to mid- career professionals who can readily relate to the Make Room community and provide actionable advice.

The mentoring network connects Make Room peers to specific offerings provided by volunteer mentors, focused on career advice and growing practical job-seeking skills. To join, create an account on the Make Room Mentoring Network AlumniFire platform. To learn more, visit our FAQ section.

The newsletter delivers the Make Room experience directly in your inbox. The newsletter’s feature, Around the Table, highlights diverse voices in the field—each month the Make Room team interviews a peer in the community on their area of expertise and personal experience.

More

A key part of CNAS’ mission is to inform and prepare the national security leaders of today and tomorrow. In keeping with this mission, CNAS supports several programs that educate and advance the next generation of national security experts. These programs include: the Shawn Brimley Next Generation National Security Leaders Fellowship, the 1LT Andrew J. Bacevich Jr., USA Award, the Robert M. Gates Fellowship, Make Room, The Pitch: A Competition of New Ideas, and the Joseph S. Nye, Jr. National Security Internship and Mentoring Program.

Join the Make Room Mission: Support our goal of creating a more diverse and inclusive national security workforce.

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