Lindsey W. Ford is a leading expert on Indo-Pacific security issues with two decades of experience across senior roles in government and the policy community, including positions at the White House, Department of Defense, and several major research institutions.
Most recently, Ms. Ford served as the Senior Fellow for Security and Defense at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) America, where her work focused on Indo-Pacific strategy, U.S.–India relations, and regional defense cooperation.
Prior to her time at ORF America, Ms. Ford served as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for South Asia at the National Security Council where she oversaw efforts to expand strategic trade and supply chain cooperation between the United States and India, including new bilateral frameworks on pharmaceuticals and green energy cooperation.
Before joining the National Security Council, Ms. Ford served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia, managing all aspects of bilateral defense relations with nineteen Indo-Pacific nations. In this role, she established the Department’s first Indo-Pacific defense innovation initiatives, including a US-India defense incubator and a Quad maritime technology program. She was instrumental in expanding Indo-Pacific defense industrial cooperation and managed negotiations on the first bilateral defense industry framework between the United States and India. Ms. Ford also oversaw the Department’s maritime policy and capacity-building programs in the South China Sea and led early efforts to expand unmanned technology cooperation with Southeast Asian partners. Throughout her government career, Ms. Ford advised five Secretaries of Defense and has been awarded multiple recognitions, including the Medals for Outstanding Public Service and Exceptional Public Service.
Ms. Ford has also held senior research roles at the Brookings Institution, and the Asia Society Policy Institute. Her analysis has been featured in multiple outlets, including the New York Times, Foreign Affairs, the Economist, the Wall St. Journal, CNN, MSNBC, and Bloomberg.