Kiron Skinner

Kiron Skinner is a political scientist currently serving as the Taube Professor of International Relations and Politics at Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy. She previously held the same endowed chair at Carnegie Mellon University, where she also founded the Institute for Politics and Strategy. During the first Trump administration she served as Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. Department of State.

Skinner’s tenure shaping long-range strategic policy at State, combined with her academic focus on national security, positions her as a key voice on how the United States frames doctrine around emerging military technologies and great-power competition.