NTI Experts Available for 2016 Nuclear Security Summit

More than 50 world leaders will gather in Washington, DC on March 31- April 1 for the fourth and final 2016 Nuclear Security Summit.  

While the three previous Nuclear Security Summits have resulted in significant progress to secure the world’s vulnerable nuclear materials, significant security gaps remain.  As the summit process draws to a close, nuclear security policy experts are looking to this final meeting to chart a clear path for continued progress in the years to come.

NTI has experts available for media covering the summit:

Joan Rohlfing, President and Chief Operating Officer, NTI
Rohlfing plays strategic roles in all NTI programs, including the Nuclear Security Index, a unique public assessment of nuclear security conditions globally. She also co-leads an international, cross-sector dialogue on priorities for global nuclear security. Earlier, she held senior positions with the U.S. Department of Energy, as advisor to the U.S. ambassador to India on nuclear security issues, on the staff of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee and at the U.S. Department of Defense.

Andrew Bieniawski, Vice President, Material Security and Minimization, NTI
Bieniawski leads key NTI projects related to nuclear materials security and minimization, including the Global Dialogue on Nuclear Security Priorities, the IAEA/NTI Nuclear Fuel Bank and NTI’s Verification Pilot Project. He joined NTI after 25 years serving in senior-level positions with the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration. During that time, Bieniawski provided direct oversight to ensure the safe and successful completion of 21 highly complex operations to remove vulnerable nuclear material in more than 15 countries, including Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine, Mexico and Hungary. He is also an expert in radiological threat reduction.  He is on the steering committee of the NGO summit, Solutions for a Secure Nuclear Future, held March 30-31, 2016. 

Page Stoutland, PhD, Vice President, Scientific and Technical Affairs, NTI
Dr. Stoutland is responsible for NTI’s scientific and technically related projects designed to strengthen nuclear security around the world.  He is the co-lead of the Nuclear Security Index, which assesses the security of the world’s deadliest materials—highly enriched uranium and plutonium—in 176 countries.  He also leads an NTI project on strengthening nuclear security engagement between China, the United States and other countries as well as NTI’s work on cyber security. Prior to joining NTI, he held a number of senior positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where he was instrumental in developing and leading LLNL’s programs in support of the post-9/11 homeland security effort. He has also held positions with the U.S. Department of Energy and at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Samantha Pitts-Kiefer, Director, Global Nuclear Policy Program, NTI
Pitts-Kiefer co-leads the NTI Nuclear Security Index, which assesses the security of the world’s deadliest materials—highly enriched uranium and plutonium—in 176 countries. She plays a leading role in NTI’s Global Dialogue on Nuclear Security Priorities, a high-level, international dialogue among government officials, experts, nuclear security practitioners, and other stakeholders to advance key priorities in the Nuclear Security Summit. Pitts-Kiefer completed a master’s degree in public administration at the Harvard Kennedy School where she focused on foreign policy and national security. At the Kennedy School, Pitts-Kiefer received the Donald K. Price Award for academic excellence and community service.

Deborah Rosenblum, Executive Vice President, NTI
Prior to NTI, Rosenblum spent seven years as vice president of The Cohen Group. She served in several senior level positions with the U.S. Department of Defense in the areas of homeland defense, peacekeeping operations and support, nuclear forces and counter-proliferation policy. She represented the United States as negotiator with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on multi-year bilateral negotiations for their nuclear program.

Additional Resources 

NTI has a wide range of resources for media, including our Insider’s Guide to the Summit, with basics on key events and players, how the Summit works and what to expect, and a feature on decoding “Summit speak”.  NTI’s website also offers longer reports delving into concerns around military materials and how to secure radiological materials (to be released March 23rd).  

CONTACT: 
Cathy Gwin
[email protected]
202-454-7706 (office)
202-270-5942 (mobile)