CNAS Defense Program Welcomes New Fellows

Washington, November 21, 2024 – The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is pleased to welcome Dr. Carlton Haelig, Morgan Poyant, and Dr. Sara Moller to its Defense Program. Dr. Carlton Haelig joins as a full-time fellow for the Defense Program. Morgan Poyant and Dr. Sara Moller join as adjunct senior fellows with the Defense Program.

“We are thrilled to be expanding the Defense Program by having Carlton, Morgan, and Sara join us at CNAS,” said Stacie Pettyjohn, senior fellow and director of the Defense Program. “Their combined experience, knowledge of defense and security issues, and skills in analytical work will be a great asset to CNAS.”

Prior to CNAS, Haelig held research and analysis positions at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Ethics and Rule of Law, the RAND Corporation, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Historical Office. Additionally, Haelig was a postdoctoral fellow with the America in the World Consortium at the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas and the Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.

Poyant joins CNAS with experience as an integrator and convener bridging government and the private sector in defense, diplomacy, and development through strategy-grounded, data-driven policy and programs. She developed and disseminated products that revealed gaps and opportunities for smart, efficient investments in the defense, security, civilian, and development sectors in the Sahel, North Africa, and East Africa, building a vast global community of interest and information sharing. She spent over 10 years supporting the Department of State and Department of Defense, where she focused on counterterrorism, border security, regional security institutions, and security assistance in Africa. Through multiple positions and engagements across both departments, she honed her skills in driving interagency and multinational processes.

Moller is an associate professor at Georgetown University where she focuses on European security matters that include transatlantic and Indo-Pacific defense and security partnerships. Her mastery of European security will prove beneficial to wargames and workshops and will help further CNAS defense expertise.

Additionally, the Center is also happy to announce Becca Wasser, senior fellow for the Defense Program and lead of the Gaming Lab, as the new deputy director of the Defense Program. Wasser’s areas of research include defense strategy and operations, force posture and employment, and wargaming.

“Congratulations to Becca on her new role,” said Pettyjohn. “Her work at the Gaming Lab and within the Defense Program is to be commended and her advancement of great note.”

For more information or to request an interview, contact Alexa Whaley at [email protected].