Jamil Jaffer
Jamil Jaffer is the Founder and Executive Director of the National Security Institute, and an Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the National Security Law & Policy Program at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. He is also an Advisory Board Member and Former Senior Vice President for Strategy, Partnerships & Corporate Development at IronNet, global cybersecurity leader that delivers the first-ever collective defense platform operation at scale. Previously, Jamil served on Capitol Hill in a variety of roles, including on the leadership team of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as a senior staff member of the House Intelligence Committee. He served in the White House during the Bush Administration as an associate counsel to the President, handling Defense Department, State Department, and intelligence community matters, and serving as one of the White House Counsel’s primary representatives to the National Security Council Deputies Committee. In addition, Jamil serves as an advisor to Beacon Global Strategies, U.S. Strategic Metals, 4iQ, Duco, and Amber, among others. He has also published multiple op-eds and academic articles on national security, foreign policy, cybersecurity, counterterrorism, encryption, and intelligence matters.
Jamil Jaffer Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Founder, Executive Director
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Advisory Board Member, Former Senior Vice President of Strategic, Partnerships & Corporate Development
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Assistant Professor of Law, Director of National Security Law & Policy Program
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Visiting Fellow
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Adjunct Professor
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Senior Counsel
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Associate Counsel to President George W. Bush
Academic History
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M.A., National Security & Strategic Studies
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Juris Doctor, Law
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B.A., Political Science & Economics
He worked directly for the co-CEOs of the company, Gen (ret.) Keith B. Alexander and Bill Welch.
He led all of the company's strategic and technology partnership efforts, including developing go-to-market and technology integration plans.
He evaluated potential acquisition targets and developed overall corporate strategy and thought leadership around collective security and collaborative defense.
TEACHING
At George Mason, he teaches classes on counterterrorism, intelligence, surveillance, cybersecurity, and other national security matters.
He also teaches a summer course in Padua, Italy with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch.
He is also affiliated with Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation.
He taught graduate-level courses in intelligence law and policy at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
He was Chief Counsel and Senior Advisor at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he worked on key national security and foreign policy issues.
He led the drafting of the proposed Authorization for the Use of Military Force against ISIS in 2014 and 2015, and the AUMF against Syria in 2013.
He was also the lead architect of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act and two sanctions laws against Russia for its intervention in Ukraine.
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
He served on the leadership team of the Justice Department’s National Security Division as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
He worked on the confirmations of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to the United States Supreme Court.
He also served in private practice at Kellogg Huber, a Washington, DC-based litigation boutique, as a policy advisor to Congressman Bob Goodlatte.
CURRENT AFFILIATIONS
Advisor, Beacon Global Strategies
Advisor, 4iQ
Advisor, Duco
Advisor, Amber
Board of Directors, Greater Washington Board of Trade
Board of Advisors, Global Cyber Alliance
Advisory Board, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies' Center on Cyber and Tech Innovation
Member, Center for a New American Security's Artificial Intelligence and National Security Task Force
Affiliate, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University
Advisor, Concordia
Board of Directors, Speech First Organization
Board of Directors, Center for Intelligence Policy
MEDIA & APPEARANCES
He has testified before committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on cybersecurity, counterterrorism, and other national security matters.
He has appeared on a range of national television and radio outlets including CNN, Fox News, Fox Business, MSNBC, Bloomberg, PBS, Voice of America, and National Public Radio.
He appeared in various print and online publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post on a range of national security matters including cybersecurity, counterterrorism, surveillance, encryption, privacy, and foreign policy issues.