Dr. Jennifer Staats
Senior Political Scientist and Associate Director of the China Research Center, RAND Corporation, U.S.
Dr. Jennifer Staats is a Senior Political Scientist and Associate Director of the China Research Center at the RAND Corporation. Prior to joining RAND, she was the Director of East Asia and Pacific Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace, where she led the Institute’s work on China, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Staats previously served as Director for Advanced Capabilities on the U.S. National Security Council staff at the White House. She also spent several years in the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon, where she coordinated Department-wide strategic initiatives on Asia, served as a director in the Cyber Policy Office, and managed the Asian and Pacific Security Affairs legislative portfolio. She received her PhD from Harvard University, her MPA from Princeton University, and her BA from the University of the South (Sewanee). She studied in Beijing and Taipei, was a Fulbright Scholar in Germany, and is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
