Dr. Amy Zegart

Amy Zegart is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and an affiliated faculty member at the Center for International Security and Cooperation. She previously served on the Clinton administration’s National Security Council staff and as a foreign policy advisor to the Bush-Cheney 2000 presidential campaign. Her wide ranging experience over more than 20 years has led to her recognition by the National Journal as one of the ten most influential experts in intelligence reform.

Amy Zegart is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and an affiliated faculty member at the Center for International Security and Cooperation.

She has previously served on the Clinton administration’s National Security Council staff and as a foreign policy advisor to the Bush-Cheney 2000 presidential campaign. She has testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee, provided training to the Marine Corps, and advised officials on intelligence and homeland security matters. Before her academic career, Zegart spent three years at McKinsey & Company advising leading global companies on strategy and organizational effectiveness.

She serves on the FBI Intelligence Analysts Association National Advisory Board and the Los Angeles Police Department’s Counter-terrorism and Community Police Advisory Board and is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She has also served on the National Academies of Science Panel to Improve Intelligence Analysis.

Zegart’s expertise are focused on the organizational deficiencies of American national security agencies. She was featured by the National Journal as one of the ten most influential experts in intelligence reform.

Her commentary has been featured on national television and radio shows and in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times. Her most recent publication is Eyes on Spies: Congress and the United States Intelligence Community and she is the author of two award-winning books: Flawed by Design and Spying Blind. She has also been published in International Security, Political Science Quarterly, and other leading academic journals. She serves on the editorial boards of Terrorism and Political Violence and Intelligence and National Security.   

A former Fulbright scholar, Zegart received an A.B. in East Asian Studies magna cum laude from Harvard University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University.