Washington, DC, August 10, 2021 – The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), one of the nation’s premier centers for understanding the future of competition and conflict, recently bolstered its analytical and management capabilities with the addition of five new staff members.
According to Dr. Thomas G. Mahnken, President and CEO of CSBA, “We are delighted to have these outstanding new members on the CSBA team. Working with our existing staff, each will materially help us respond to the growing demand for CSBA’s insight and expertise across the national security community.”
Katherine Kjellström Elgin
Fellow
Dr. Elgin brings rigorous research to discussions of national security and has held positions in both academic and policy organizations. Prior to joining CSBA, she served as a DAAD Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where she wrote and published on grand strategy, great power relations, U.S. defense strategy, European security, and alliance management. Dr. Elgin has also worked at the Brookings Institution and with the Long Term Strategy Group in Washington, D.C. In 2019, she served as a visiting fellow at the Institute for Security & Development Policy in Stockholm, Sweden. She earned her Ph.D. in Public Affairs (Security Studies) from Princeton University’s School of Public & International Affairs. At Princeton, she also served as the director of the Center for International Security Studies’ Strategic Education Initiative, leading the university’s program for educating and mentoring students with an interest in national and international security.
Tyler Hacker
Analyst
Mr. Hacker has a background in U.S. defense strategy, future warfare, and great power competition. Prior to joining CSBA, he was an analyst at the Congressional Research Service, where he conducted research on topics in defense logistics. He previously served as a field artillery officer in the United States Army in Germany, where he participated in NATO operations and exercises in Poland, Romania, and the Baltic states. He has also completed internships at the U.S. Army War College and the American Enterprise Institute. He has a B.A. in International Security from Virginia Military Institute and an M.A. in Security Studies from Georgetown University.
Meredith Meyers
Office Manager
Ms. Meyers brings a comprehensive set of accounting and managerial skills to CSBA. Her background includes positions at several D.C.-based law firms as well as at a major financial planning organization. She manages a broad array of operational responsibilities for CSBA, including accounting support, financial administration, human resources, contracting and purchasing, and office operations.
Joseph Ross
Research Assistant
Mr. Ross’s research focuses on the US-Japan alliance, US-Taiwan security policy, future joint warfighting concepts, and developing trends in space. He previously served at the Stimson Center's Japan Program, the Global Taiwan Institute, and the Project 2049 Institute, where he provided writing and research on Japan's joint operational challenges, alliance crisis coordination, and Chinese military operations. He has a B.A. in Government and International Politics from George Mason University (GMU) and is a candidate for an M.A. in International Security from GMU.
Madison Sparber
Research Assistant
Ms. Sparber focuses on East Asian security and Chinese military modernization. Previously, she served in the Secretary of State’s Office of Policy Planning, where she helped draft, edit, and translate Mandarin sources for the Secretary's seminal report, Elements of the China Challenge. She has also served on the Senate Armed Services Committee and at Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc., where she worked on defense strategy and legislative affairs. In addition to her current role at CSBA, she is a graduate student at the Naval War College, earning an M.A. in Defense and Strategic Studies. She has a B.A. in International Relations and Mandarin from Boston University.
About the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments
CSBA is an independent, nonpartisan policy research institute established to promote innovative thinking and debate about national security strategy and investment options. CSBA’s assessments focus on key questions related to existing and emerging threats to U.S. national security, and its goal is to enable policymakers to make informed decisions on matters of strategy, security policy, and resource allocation.
Media Contact: William Bodie, 202-719-1358