CNAS Welcomes New Adjuncts Lynne Parker and Hamzeh Hadad

Washington, October 26, 2022—The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is pleased to welcome Dr. Lynne E. Parker and Hamzeh Hadad to its lineup of adjunct professionals. Parker joins CNAS as an Adjunct Senior Fellow in the Technology and National Security Program, while Hadad joins CNAS as an Adjunct Fellow in the Middle East Security Program.

Lynne E. Parker, Ph.D., is Associate Vice Chancellor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), and Director of the AI Tennessee Initiative. Prior to this role, she led national artificial intelligence (AI) policy efforts for four years (2018-2022) in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, serving as Deputy Chief Technology Officer of the United States, Founding Director of the National AI Initiative Office, and Assistant Director for AI. She also served as co-chair of the Congressionally-directed National AI Research Resource Task Force. She served for two years (2015-2016) at the National Science Foundation as Division Director for Information and Intelligent Systems. In these roles across three administrations, she led the development of numerous landmark national AI policies bolstering research, governance, education and workforce training, international engagement, and the Federal use of AI.

Parker's full bio is available here.

“Lynne brings extensive expertise in artificial intelligence and longstanding leadership experience in ensuring long term American competitiveness in artificial intelligence,” said Martijn Rasser, Senior Fellow and Director of the Technology and National Security Program. “I am excited about her engagement with the program’s research efforts and it is a pleasure to welcome Lynne to the team."

Hamzeh Hadad is an expert on government formation processes in Iraq, democratization, and federalism. His research focuses on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, with particular emphasis on U.S.-Iraqi relations. He has written for The Washington Post, Small Wars Journal, Al Jazeera English, 1001 Iraqi Thoughts and other outlets. His analysis has been featured in The Associated Press, Agence France Presse, The Christian Science Monitor, The Independent, PRI The World, France24, BBC World Service, and others. In 2021, Hadad was an advisor to the president of the Trade Bank of Iraq. In addition to his role as an adjunct fellow at CNAS, Hamzeh is a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Hadad's full bio is available here.

“Hamzeh has consistently delivered analysis on Iraq’s political challenges with clarity and vision," said Jonathan Lord, Senior Fellow and Director of the Middle East Security Program. "He’s a fresh voice with new ideas that cuts through tired, old tropes about what Iraq can and can never be. Hamzeh Hadad is the walking, talking embodiment of the promise and opportunity that exists in Iraq’s youth generation, and in seeking to build a Middle East Security program at CNAS that is young, a little brash, and enthusiastically speaking truth to power—like the modern Middle East itself—he was a perfect fit.”

For more information or to request an interview, contact Cameron Edinburgh at [email protected] or 202-457-9425.