Amy J. Nelson is Director of New America's Future Security Scenarios Lab and a Senior Fellow in the Future Security Program. Combining policy experience at the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Defense’s National Defense University with a rich academic background that spans philosophy, intellectual history, cognitive neuroscience, and political science, Nelson brings a theory-driven, policy-driven, and data-driven mindset to the project. She is motivated to build the Futures Security Scenarios Lab based on the collaborative and dynamic experiences of labs where she worked previously.
Nelson holds a PhD in political science (international relations) from the University of California, Berkeley, an MA in French Studies (intellectual history) from Columbia University, and an AB in Philosophy with honors from Stanford University. Her forthcoming book, The Arms Control Paradox: Managing Uncertainty in an Insecure World, incorporates decision theory and international relations theory to rethink the project of arms control for the information age—an era of high complexity and uncertainty. She is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, where she teaches the “Weapons Proliferation and Emerging Security Challenges” course.