Center for National Policy

The Center for National Policy

The Center for National Policy (CNP) is a non-profit, "non-partisan" public policy think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. According to its mission statement, the Center for National Policy is focused on three priorities: “understanding emerging global threats, strengthening national resilience, and building next-generation infrastructure.” In its fourth decade of service, CNP seeks to bring together decision makers, policy experts, opinion leaders and the American public to encourage innovative policy and programs on the challenges facing America’s national security. The Center for National Policy's stated vision is to "promote civil dialogue around innovative and practical solutions that demonstrate anew America's resilient spirit and unlimited capacity for renewal."

Dr. Stephen Flynn became the sixth President of the Center for National Policy on January 1, 2010. Flynn’s extensive work to strengthen national security while enhancing U.S. competitiveness is widely recognized and highly regarded by experts and policy makers on both sides of the political aisle. His priority for the Center will be to respond to the crisis of America’s deteriorating infrastructure as a national security, environmental and economic imperative.

History

The Center for National Policy was founded in 1981. Peter Kovler, Director of the Marjorie Kovler Fund, serves as Chairman of the Center, succeeding Leon Panetta, CNP’s National Advisory Board Chair and former White House Chief of Staff.

Previous Presidents and Chairmen of CNP include U.S. ambassador to India and former six-term member of Congress, Tim Roemer, three former U.S. Secretaries of State, Madeleine Albright, Edmund Muskie, and Cyrus Vance. Other CNP Board members have included former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Thomas Foley, former Republican Members of Congress Jack Buechner and Rod Chandler, and former Democratic Members of Congress John Brademas and Michael Barnes.

Edmund S. Muskie Distinguished Public Service Award

The Edmund S. Muskie Distinguished Service Award honors the late Edmund S. Muskie (1914-1996) who served in the Navy, as governor of Maine, as U.S. senator and as U.S. secretary of state. He chaired the CNP board following his retirement from government service.

Past Muskie Recipients

1996

• Madeleine Albright

1997

• Hon. Lee Hamilton, U.S. House of Representatives

1998

• Hillary Clinton

1999

• Hon. Christopher Dodd, U.S. Senate
• Hon. John Warner, U.S. Senate

2000

• Hon. William Cohen, Secretary of Defense

2002

• Hon. Charles Rangel, U.S. House of Representatives
• Hon. Amory Houghton, U.S. House of Representatives

2003

• Hon. Robert Byrd, U.S. Senate
• Hon. Richard Lugar, U.S. Senate

2004

• Hon. Charles Hagel, U.S. Senate
• Hon. Edward Kennedy, U.S. Senate

2005

• Hon. John McCain, U.S. Senate
• Hon. Mark Warner, Governor of Virginia

2006

• Hon. John Murtha, U.S. House of Representatives

2007

• Hon. Nancy Pelosi, U.S. House of Representatives
• Hon. Susan Collins, U.S. Senate

2008

• Hon. Joe Biden, U.S. Senate
• General Brent Scowcroft, Former National Security Advisor

2009

• Hon. Dianne Feinstein, U.S. Senate
• General James Mattis, Commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command

President

In January 2010, Dr. Stephen E. Flynn became the sixth President of the Center for National Policy, founded in 1981. Prior to being selected to lead CNP, he spent a decade as a senior fellow for National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Following the election of President Barack Obama, he served as the lead policy advisor on homeland security for the presidential transition team. He currently serves as a member of the bipartisan National Security Preparedness Group, co-chaired by former 9/11 commissioners, Governor Tom Kean and Congressman Lee Hamilton.

Dr. Flynn is the author of the critically acclaimed The Edge of Disaster: Rebuilding a Resilient Nation (Random House, 2007), and the national bestseller, America the Vulnerable (HarperCollins 2004). He is a Consulting Professor at the Center of International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University and a Senior Fellow at the Wharton School's Risk Management and Decision Processes Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Since 9/11 he has provided testimony on twenty-two occasions on Capitol Hill. Dr. Flynn is also a member of the Marine Board of the National Research Council. Prior to September 11, 2001, he served as an expert advisor to U.S. Commission on National Security (Hart-Rudman Commission), and following the 9/11 attacks he was the principal advisor to the bipartisan Congressional Port Security Caucus, and advised the Bush Administration on maritime and homeland security issues.

He is a frequent media commentator and has appeared on Meet the Press, 60 Minutes, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, The Today Show, the Charlie Rose Show, CNN and on National Public Radio. Four of his articles have been published in the prestigious journal, Foreign Affairs. Excerpts of his books have been featured in Time, as the cover story for U.S. News & World Report, and as the subject of two CNN documentaries.

A 1982 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Dr. Flynn served in the Coast Guard on active duty for 20 years, including two tours as commanding officer at sea, received several professional awards including the Legion of Merit, and retired at the rank of Commander. As a Coast Guard officer, he served in the White House Military Office during the George H.W. Bush administration and as a director for Global Issues on the National Security Council staff during the Clinton administration.

Dr. Flynn received the M.A.L.D. and Ph.D. degrees in International Politics from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, in 1990 and 1991. He was a Guest Scholar in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at the Brookings Institution from 1991-92, and in 1993-94 he was an Annenberg Scholar-in-Residence at the University of Pennsylvania. He has been a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations since 1999.

Dr. Flynn is the principal for Stephen E. Flynn Associates LLC, where he provides independent advisory services on improving enterprise resiliency and critical infrastructure protection, and transportation and maritime security.

Born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1960, Dr. Flynn lives in Connecticut with his wife JoAnn and their daughter Christina.

CNP Board of Directors

• Peter B. Kovler, Chairman (CNP), The Marjorie Kovler Fund, Washington, D.C.
• Michael Evans, Counsel, K&L Gates, Washington, D.C.
• Michael Barnes, Director, Covington & Burling, Washington, D.C.
• John Brademas, Director, New York University, New York, NY
• John Bridgeland, Director, Civic Enterprises, Washington, DC
• Rev. Cn. Robert J. Brooks, Director, Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
• Jack Buechner, Director, Anderson Kill & Olick, Washington, DC
• Robert Cavnar, Director, Milagro Exploration, Houston, TX
• Elizabeth Folsom, Director, Academy for Educational Development, Washington, DC
• John Freidenrich, Director, Regis Management Company, Palo Alto, CA
• David Geanacopoulos, Director, Volkswagen of America, Washington, DC
• Daniel Glickman, Director, Motion Picture Association of America, Washington, DC
• Lester Hyman, Director, Swidler & Berlin, Washington, DC
• Markos Kounalakis, Director, The Washington Monthly, Washington, DC
• Ira Lechner, Director, Katz & Ranzman
• Paul McHale, Director, McKenna Long & Aldridge
• Maurice Tempelsman, Director, Lazare Kaplan International, New York, NY
• Samuel Tenenbaum, Director, Lexington, SC
• Peter Thoren, Director, Access Industries, New York, NY

External links

• Center for National Policy Homepage