Simone Williams

Simone Williams is the Special Assistant to the Acting Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. In her role, she manages congressional engagement, workforce initiatives, and supports a broad portfolio of acquisition and sustainment. Most recently Ms. Williams was the Director of Programs for the Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LCWINS) where she worked to help advance women's representation in national security leadership. In this role, she led and managed the implementation of current and future programming for LCWINS. Previously, she was a program manager and research associate with the Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Prior to her role at PONI, she worked with the Smart Women, Smart Power Initiative at CSIS. Before moving to DC, she worked as a project manager for a healthcare communication company in Chicago. She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a master's degree in international affairs from American University. She is one of the honorees on the 2022 CSIS-DINSN U.S. National Security and Foreign Affairs Leadership List.