Mr. Brad Clark, JD, (USA, Ret.)

Office of the Secretary of Defense Chair/Visiting Professor

Brad Clark began serving in the Office of the Secretary of Defense in 2003. He was most recently the Principal Director for Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy, under the Assistant Secretary for Plans, Strategy, and Capabilities. He was responsible for policy development and implementation related to nuclear deterrence, nuclear and missile defense posture, nuclear employment and planning, and nuclear and missile defense force development. Mr. Clark also had responsibility for strategic arms control and related strategic stability issues, extended deterrence and allied assurance, and missile defense cooperation.

Mr. Clark previously served as the Director for Detainee Policy and Strategy in the Office of Rule of Law and Detainee Policy. In this position he developed and supervised complex policy initiatives designed to align evolving military operations with national security policy objectives and with principles of international law. Before joining the Detainee Policy office, Mr. Clark served in Iraq with the Department of Defense’s Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance and later the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) as the Deputy Director for the CPA’s Office of Human Rights and Transitional Justice. A lawyer by training, prior to joining the Department of Defense Mr. Clark was a trial attorney for Mills Shirley, LLP, in Galveston, Texas. Before joining Mills Shirley, he served for many years as a prosecutor in Brazos County, Texas.

Mr. Clark is a distinguished graduate of the National War College, receiving several writing awards. He earned his JD with distinction from the University of Iowa College of Law. He is a retired Army Reserve Judge Advocate, with diverse assignments including as a Civil Affairs International Law Officer, as a Pol-Mil Planner in the Joint Staff J37, Deputy Directorate for Special Operations, and as an Associate Dean and Adjunct Professor of International and Operational Law at the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia.