Chris Harnisch has served in a range of roles focused on defending America’s security, promoting its values, and furthering its international partnerships. He specializes in counterterrorism, the Middle East, and South Asia.

From 2018 to 2021, Chris served as the Deputy Coordinator (Deputy Assistant Secretary) for Counterterrorism at the State Department. In that capacity, he led the State Department’s efforts to identify disposition options for captured ISIS foreign terrorist fighters in Syria as ISIS’s so-called caliphate was defeated. He also oversaw the State Department’s countering violent extremism (CVE) efforts, which aimed to promote resilience amongst populations vulnerable to terrorist recruitment and radicalization.

Immediately prior to his work at the State Department, Chris served as a Director for Transnational Threats and as a Director for Afghanistan at the National Security Council. In those roles, he focused on strategies to combat human trafficking and counter terrorist financing in Afghanistan.

Chris is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan and continues to serve as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve. From 2007 to 2009, he served on the staff of Vice President Dick Cheney. He also spent time working at the American Enterprise Institute, where he researched and wrote about emerging terrorist safe havens.
In the private sector, Chris worked as an operations manager for Apple, and has also worked as a consultant focused on emerging and disruptive technologies. He has published pieces on foreign policy in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Hill, and National Review Online, and he has appeared as a guest on various television, podcast, and radio programs. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international studies from Middlebury College and an MBA and master’s in international relations from Yale University.