Maren Leed

Maren Leed is a senior fellow in the CSIS International Security Program, where she works on a variety of defense issues. She previously served as an analyst at the RAND Corporation, where she led projects concerning intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and countering improvised explosive devices (IEDs). From 2005 to 2008, she was assigned as a special assistant to the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and was responsible for a range of issues including IEDs, ISR, cyber operations, biometrics, rapid acquisition, and Iraq policy. From 2001 to 2005, she was a professional staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, where she handled the operation and maintenance accounts and conducted oversight of military readiness, training, and logistics and maintenance for committee members. She was an analyst in the Economic and Manpower Analysis Division of the Office of Program Analysis and Evaluation in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 2000 to 2001, where she conducted macroeconomic analyses relating to military manpower and coordinated Department of Defense performance contracts with its defense agencies. She was a doctoral fellow at RAND from 1995 to 1999, analyzing military manpower issues, training for operations other than war, and leader development, and providing strategic planning support for the military and private-sector organizations. She received her A.B. in political science from Occidental College, and her Ph.D. in quantitative policy analysis from the RAND Graduate School.