Speaker Bio
Dr. Liz Sherwood-Randall is a Belfer Center senior fellow and director of the Initiative on Bioconvergence, Biosecurity, and Bioresilience (IB3) situated within the Program on Emerging Technology, Scientific Advancement and Global Policy.
From January 2021 to January 2025, Sherwood-Randall served as the White House homeland security advisor and deputy national security advisor, spearheading federal crisis management for a wide range of challenges including mass shootings, domestic and international terrorist attacks, extreme weather events and critical infrastructure disruptions. She drove federal efforts to strengthen national preparedness for and resilience to future threats. She guided the development and implementation of new strategies to counter terrorism at home and around the world. She innovated new policies to prevent, prepare for and respond to natural and pernicious biological risks, including mpox, avian flu and the convergence of advances in biotechnology and artificial intelligence. To disrupt the synthetic opioid supply chain and save American lives, she built a counter-fentanyl campaign involving Mexico, Canada and China, and mobilized a global coalition of more than 80 partner countries.
During the Obama administration, Sherwood-Randall served in three roles: deputy secretary of energy (2014-2017); White House coordinator for defense policy, countering weapons of mass destruction and arms control (2013-2014); and senior director for Europe on the National Security Council (2009-2013). She served in the Clinton administration as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia (1994-1996). At the beginning of her career, she served as chief foreign affairs and defense policy advisor to then-Senator Joe Biden.
Sherwood-Randall has taught and conducted research at universities and think tanks including Harvard, Stanford, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Council on Foreign Relations. She has been involved with the Kennedy School over many years, including as a founding principal of the Harvard-Stanford Preventive Defense Project (with Ash Carter) and as associate director of the Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project (with Graham Allison). She has also advised national laboratories, power grid and cybersecurity startups and energy investment funds.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Sherwood-Randall graduated from Harvard College and received her doctorate in international relations as a Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College of Oxford University. She is married to Dr. Jeffrey Randall, a neurosurgeon in the California Bay Area, and they have two sons.
Honoring Catherine M. Kelleher
Each year, during Women's History Month, we host a special forum dedicated to honoring CISSM's founder, Dr. Catherine Kelleher, for her contributions to the field of international security policy. Kelleher was a champion for women in the field through mentorship and the establishment of Women in International Security (WIIS).
Kelleher is also the inspiration for the Catherine M. Kelleher Fellowship Fund for International Security Studies, which supports an exceptional graduate student pursuing her master’s or doctoral degree at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. Contribute to the Catherine M. Kelleher Fellowship Fund for International Security Studies.
In remembrance and deep admiration for Kelleher's enduring legacy, we extend an invitation to explore more about her extraordinary life and contributions. Take a closer look into her story.