Mara Rudman is a James D. Schlesinger distinguished professor at the Miller Center at University of Virginia, where she runs the Ripples of Hope project. Rudman’s positions have included serving on the 2022-24 National Defense Strategy Commission, as deputy assistant to the president for national security affairs in the Obama and Clinton administrations; deputy envoy for the Office of the Special Envoy for Middle East Peace at the U.S. Department of State; assistant administrator for the Middle East at the U.S. Agency for International Development; and chief counsel to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Previously, Rudman was executive vice president for policy at Center for American Progress, and senior vice president for policy/projects at Business Executives for National Security. She also serves on the boards of Howard University College of Arts and Sciences, and the Inclusive Abundance Initiative, and as a Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow at the Middle East Institute. Rudman frequently appears on TV, podcasts, and radio, and has written for and been quoted in various print publications. She received her BA from Dartmouth College and a law degree from Harvard Law School.