Jon B. Alterman is a senior vice president, holds the Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, and is director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Prior to joining CSIS in 2002, he served as a member of the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State and as a special assistant to the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs. From 2009-19, Alterman served as a member of the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel. Earlier in his career, he was a scholar at the United States Institute of Peace and Washington Institute for Near East Policy as well as a legislative aide to Senator Daniel P. Moynihan, responsible for foreign policy and defense. From 1993-97, Alterman was an award-winning teacher at Harvard University, where he received his PhD in history.