Mary Beth Long

Former Assistant Secretary of Defense, The Honorable Mary Beth Long was also the first female Chair of NATO’s High Level Group (HLG). She served as the senior Defense representative to the Deputies’ Committee at the National Security Council and held a number of other senior positions, including Principal Deputy Secretary of Defense for the Middle East, Africa, the Western Hemisphere, and Asia and Southeast Asia. To those credentials, she adds more than a decade of Central Intelligence Agency operational experience (1986–99) on terrorism, covert action, counter proliferation and other security issues. Ms. Long is a current member of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Task Forces on Syria and the Middle East, the CFR’s Trans Atlantic Working Group, the US Chamber of Commerce’s Defense and Aerospace Export Council, and USAID’s Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid. Ms. Long received the Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Chairman and Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award, the National Guard Patriot Award, and CIA Superior and Exceptional Performance Awards.