Cindy Lersten is the Director of NNSA’s Office of Policy and Planning, which serves as a central resource to the NNSA Administrator and senior leadership on cross-cutting national security policy issues and enterprise planning. In this role, she oversees high-level policy initiatives to advance the NNSA mission, leads analytical efforts to identify long-term risks and opportunities, and leads planning and integration to drive enterprise priorities.
Prior to joining the Office of Policy and Planning, Ms. Lersten served as the Department of Energy Faculty Chair at the National Defense University where she was responsible for developing and executing curricula in the areas of the nuclear triad, energy, and strategic leadership. She joined DOE in 1995 and has held numerous positions in both the United States and overseas, including Russia and the United Arab Emirates. Ms. Lersten has served in key departmental leadership positions, including the Associate Administrator for Management and Budget and Associate Deputy Administrator within the Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation.
Ms. Lersten was twice awarded the Office of Personnel Management Presidential Meritorious Rank Award for her work in nuclear security, globally reducing weapons of mass destruction, and developing the next generation of nuclear security experts, and more recently, the Department of Defense Joint Chiefs of Staff Civilian Service Commendation Award.
She graduated from University of Wyoming with a bachelor’s degree in international studies and minor in economics and obtained her master’s degree from George Washington University in security policy studies.