Joan
Rohlfing
Joan is president and COO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI). Prior to joining NTI, she held senior positions with the US Department of Energy and worked in New Delhi as an advisor to the US ambassador in the wake of nuclear tests in India and Pakistan. Earlier, she worked as a professional staff member of the House Armed Services Committee, where she oversaw Department of Defense nuclear programs and the Department of Energy’s national security programs. Joan began her career in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where she was awarded a Presidential Management Internship, and later worked in the Office of Strategic Forces Policy. She is a member of the US Department of Defense Threat Reduction Advisory Committee and chairs the Directorate Advisory Committee of the National Security Directorate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. She holds a master’s degree in public management and a bachelor’s degree in political science.
I am most excited to work on projects that… challenge me to adopt new ways of defining problems, and new approaches to solving them.
I am looking for partners that can help me… exponentially expand public awareness of the nuclear threat, and empower people to take actions that reduce the threat.
A moment when I felt most inspired in my work was… when our efforts resulted in a UN Security Council Summit where global leaders pledged to work to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.
Innovations in my field that I am most excited to work on… include learning how to apply design thinking to inspire greater nuclear threat awareness and engagement.