Around the Table with Anna Pederson

Around the Table is a three-question interview series from the Make Room email newsletter. Each edition features a conversation with a peer in the national security community to learn about their expertise and experience in the sector.

Anna Pederson is the associate director of communications and director of the Shawn Brimley Next Generation National Security Leaders Fellowship at the Center for a New American Security. Pederson was previously the digital communications officer, where she managed the digital footprint of the Center, including social media, email, website content, and general strategic communication support. Pederson is also the author of the CNAS Sharper series.

Your path to national security isn’t the most traditional. What advice would you give to someone who’s hesitant to pivot careers because their current experience doesn’t "match" their desired field?

I’ve always been a communicator, but I took a winding path through various industries before landing in national security. In addition to years of bar and restaurant work during and after college, I worked for several years as the marketing manager for an independent comic book publisher. During this time the digital media landscape started to shift dramatically, and folks were only just realizing the social and political effects social media was having on the world. As a former speech and debate kid I always had an interest in policy, so it was that passion combined with my comms background that drew me into wanting to communicate ideas and not just products.

Coming from the West Coast and a fairly low-income family, I didn’t know where to begin this journey, but I took a leap into graduate school at University of Southern California, which gave me the safety net of doing internships, networking, and exploring my interests and passions.

For those interested in working on issues of national security, foreign policy, or international affairs, especially if you have held most of your experience in a different field, focus on your story of why you want to pivot, and lean into the differences you can bring to a new job. Private sector, military, or even a medical background means you’ve had experiences on a practical and even world-view level. This diversity of background can help shake up the conventional wisdom in how national security is communicated and to whom we communicate.

What are some of the biggest challenges around making national security more diverse, and how can the next generation address them?

Not exclusive to national security, but the policy world could benefit from recruiting and generating interest in public service as a career field in high schools around the country. There are so many practical barriers to getting talented folks into the policy pipeline and realizing their potential in these areas, simply because they don’t even know it’s a pathway open to them.

The security clearance process, low/no pay internships, the preference for advanced degrees from prestigious universities, can make national security careers feel a million miles away for folks who graduated high school without this career map in mind.

I think it’s incumbent on current policy professionals at all levels and jobs to reach back and offer their time to speak at high schools, colleges, and community groups about opportunities in national security and government writ large.

What makes you hopeful about the next generation of leaders in
national security?

Passion for service. Most national security leaders will not be on television, written about in articles, or even be able to share their work with friends and family. I have been privileged to meet so many early and mid-career professionals who are driven to protect and serve the public through whatever avenue calls to them. Military, public sector, think tank, or business.

The integrity of these folks to give their all for a mission that is much bigger than themselves inspires me every day.