Ambassador McNamara is President of the Diplomacy Center Foundation and Adjunct Professor at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.

A career diplomat, he retired, but returned after 9/11 as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State for terrorism and homeland security. He later served as Program Manager for Information Sharing, responsible for “connecting the dots” to bring government into the 21st C. by transforming its information management. He previously served as Assistant Secretary of State, Ambassador to Colombia, Special Assistant to the President, Ambassador for Counter Terrorism, and in other senior positions. He was President of the Americas Society and Council of the Americas from 1998 to 2001.

His expertise is politico-military affairs, including counter terrorism; arms control, non-proliferation; and regional (Latin America, Middle East, Europe, and Russia) politico-military issues. His lectures, interviews and writings on security are extensive. He serves on several foreign affairs-related boards. His awards include the National Intelligence Distinguished Public Service Medal; State Department Distinguished Service Medal; the Gran Cruz de Boyaca (Colombia’s highest civilian honor), and the 2017 Foreign Service Cup award, for his career service.