Sponsored by the Alumni Association of Princeton University

Moderator:

Jacob N. Shapiro
Vice Dean for Strategic Initiatives, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs; John Foster Dulles Professor in International Affairs

Panelists:     

Jim Timbie ’66
Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University

Tensai Asfaw ’01

Mike Gallagher ’06
Head of Defense, Palantir Technologies

Cara Abercrombie *03
Senior Adviser, The Cohen Group

MODERATOR

Jacob N. Shapiro
Jacob N. Shapiro co-founded the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project and leads Princeton’s Accelerator initiative to advance research on the information environment. Shapiro has published extensively on conflict, economic development, security and technology, including “The Terrorist’s Dilemma” (2013) and “Small Wars, Big Data” (2018). His fieldwork spans Afghanistan, Colombia, India and Pakistan. A recipient of the 2016 Karl Deutsch Award from the International Studies Association, he has advised government agencies, NGOs and tech companies on security policy and foreign influence. Shapiro holds a Ph.D. in political science and an M.A. in economics from Stanford University, and a B.A. from the University of Michigan. He is also a U.S. Navy veteran and recently served in the U.S. government.

PANELISTS

Jim Timbie ’66
As a scientist and senior adviser at the State Department from 1971 to 2016, Jim Timbie played a central role in negotiating the nuclear arms reductions agreements with the Soviet Union and Russia, and the nuclear agreement with Iran. In 2016, he retired from the State Department and joined the Hoover Institution to work with former Secretary of State George Shultz ’42, and he now co-manages the Global Policy and Strategy (GPS) Initiative that continues to explore issues that mattered to Shultz. Timbie is also chair of the National Academy of Sciences’ Track II dialogue with the Russian Academy. He has a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University.

Mike Gallagher ’06
Mike Gallagher is head of defense for the software company Palantir Technologies and a distinguished fellow at the Hudson Institute. He represented Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District (2017-24) and was chairman of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation, and a member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. From 2019 to 2021, he served as co-chairman of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission.

Cara Abercrombie *03
Cara Abercrombie is a national security expert and senior adviser at a Washington, D.C.-based strategic advisory firm. Previously, she held numerous senior positions in the Pentagon and White House during a two-decade civil service career. During the Biden administration, she served as acting deputy under secretary of defense for policy, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as assistant secretary of defense for acquisition. From 2021 to 2023, she served as deputy assistant to the president and coordinator for defense policy and arms control at the White House National Security Council. Throughout her time in government, Abercrombie worked to advance U.S. relations with partners across the Indo-Pacific, strengthening alliances and initiating groundbreaking defense cooperation with India. Abercrombie is a passionate advocate for epilepsy awareness and research. She is a member of CURE Epilepsy’s research committee and co-chair of the KPTN Alliance.