Frances Tilney Burke

Next Generation National Security Fellow, 2011-2012

Foreign Affairs Specialist, Office of Rule of Law & Detainee Policy, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy

  • Press: cstevens@cnas.org

Frances currently serves as a Foreign Affairs Specialist in the Office of Rule of Law & Detainee Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.  Her portfolio items include: liaison work with the International Committee of the Red Cross and identity management/biometrics policy among other detention-related policy issues. 

Previously she served as a Counter-Terrorism Analyst at the Joint Intelligence Task Force-Combating Terrorism at the Defense Intelligence Agency, focusing on foreign fighters and the Levant region.

Frances was also a Special Assistant to two Deputy Secretaries of Defense where she worked on a wide range of issues, including: Iraq policy, detention, biometrics, DoD personnel reform, and counter-improvised explosive device initiatives.

Frances is an officer in the United States Navy Reserve and is married to an active-duty Army officer.  She received her A.B. in History and Literature from Harvard University and her M.Phil from Oxford University.