Michael Baranick

Dr. Michael Baranick is Senior Advisor at ACERTAS. He is a former Army Airborne Ranger and Special Forces officer. He is also Professor of International Relations and Security at the National Defense University and at the American University Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan.

Dr. Baranick’s public sector service experience spans strategic planning and analysis for national decision makers. His extensive career includes 35 years of working with the Department of Defense. Areas of specialization include geo-political and socio-economic analysis, security and stabilization operations. Dr. Baranick assists ACERTAS teams with his demonstrated expertise in navigating complex, dynamic environments.

During his 15 years at the National Defense University he taught in both the War College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces on creating stable nation states, how to rebuild war torn such countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan as well as conflict negotiation. Other past experiences have been in the area of systems development, community and economic development, organizational behavior and intergovernmental relations. Dr. Baranick holds a Ph.D. in Systems Planning and Development from Pennsylvania State University.