CNAS Welcomes Lindsey Ford and Scott Hembrough to Indo-Pacific Security Program

Washington, February 5, 2026 — The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) today announced the appointment of Lindsey Ford and Scott Hembrough to its Indo-Pacific Security Program as adjunct senior fellows.

Ford and Hembrough come to CNAS after years of service at the highest levels of the White House, Pentagon, and Central Intelligence Agency. They join a strong roster of resident and adjunct experts focusing on the most critical security challenges in the Indo-Pacific.

“I am thrilled to welcome Lindsey and Scott to our team,” said Lisa Curtis, director of the CNAS Indo-Pacific Security Program. “Their unique perspectives from decades of leadership and service will greatly enhance our program’s research and further our development of innovative policy ideas across the region.”

Ford is a leading expert on Indo-Pacific security, having served as the special assistant to the president and senior director for South Asia at the National Security Council from 2024 to 2025 and the deputy assistant secretary of defense for South and Southeast Asia from 2021 to 2024. During her time in government, she was instrumental in advancing U.S. defense relationships and developing strategies to promote U.S. national security interests in a vital part of the world. At the Pentagon, she established the Department of Defense’s first Indo-Pacific defense innovation initiatives. She is a CNAS alumna, having joined CNAS shortly after its founding in 2008 as a research associate, and is currently a vice president at Beacon Global Strategies.

Her full bio is available here.

Hembrough is a deeply experienced professional in intelligence and foreign policy who served for 30 years at the Central Intelligence Agency. At the Agency, he worked extensively on South Asia, developing deep expertise on each country in the region. Later, he oversaw the Agency’s analysis on the Western Hemisphere before serving as a briefer to a cabinet secretary.

His full bio is available here.

The CNAS Indo-Pacific Security Program continues to deliver bold and bipartisan policy recommendations for the world’s most populous region. Recent analysis has focused on restoring good relations between the United States and India, sustaining congressional support for AUKUS, the future of U.S. foreign assistance, and more.

To learn more or request an interview with Lindsey Ford or Scott Hembrough, contact Charles Horn at [email protected]