Katherine L. Kuzminski

Director of Studies

Research Areas

Katherine Kuzminski is the director of studies at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), where she is responsible for managing the Center’s research agenda, publications, and research staff.

In addition to her senior management role, Kuzminski leads the Center’s work on national security human capital. Her research specializations include military recruitment, retention, and talent management; mobilization; Department of Defense institutional and organizational design and management; civil-military relations; and veteran and military family issues.

Kuzminski previously served as the deputy director of studies and the director of the Military, Veterans, and Society (MVS) Program at CNAS. She returned to CNAS from the RAND Corporation, where she was a political scientist researching military personnel policy. During her time at RAND, she led research teams examining officer personnel management, reserve component utilization, senior officer selection and development, military culture, and ground force capability development.

From 2013 to 2017, Kuzminski served as a research associate, Bacevich fellow, and fellow for the CNAS MVS Program. During this time, she led the Rebuilding the Bipartisan Defense Consensus Project and developed the Veterans Data Project.

Kuzminski has testified before the congressionally mandated National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service. Her research and analysis have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, BBC, NBC Nightly News, and CBS Evening News. She is completing a certificate in management excellence at Harvard Business School, and earned a BS in military history and an MA in security studies from Kansas State University.