Celina Realuyo
Areas of Expertise:
•U.S. National Security Decision Making Process
•U.S. Foreign Policy and the Diplomatic Instrument of National Power
•Economic Security and the Economic Instrument of National Power
•Illicit Networks and the Dark Side of Globalization
•Transnational Organized Crime in the Western Hemisphere
•Counterterrorism and Homeland Security
•Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Terrorist Financing
•Geopolitical Risk Management
•Global Supply Chain Management and Critical Infrastructure Protection
•Regional Expertise in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia
Biography:
Celina Realuyo is Assistant Professor of National Security Affairs at the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies at the National Defense University where she focuses on U.S. national security, illicit networks, transnational organized crime, and counterterrorism issues in the Americas. As a former U.S. diplomat, international banker with Goldman Sachs, U.S. foreign policy advisor under the Clinton and Bush Administrations, and professor of international security affairs at the National Defense, Georgetown, and George Washington Universities, Professor Realuyo has over two decades of international experience in the public, private, and academic sectors. She has developed and delivered graduate-level courses on "Combating Transnational Organized Crime and Illicit Networks in the Americas," "Globalization and National Security," "The Nexus between Terrorism and Crime," "Illicit Economies, Narcotics and National Security," and "Strategies and Policies to Combat Terrorism." She speaks regularly in English and Spanish on "Managing National Security Crises in the New Global Security Environment," "The U.S. National Security Decision Making Process," and "Combating Illicit Networks in an Age of Globalization." Professor Realuyo is cited and appears regularly in the media, including CNN en Espanol, Voice of America, Univision Radio, Radio Bilingue, Reuters, and el Universal.
Throughout her career, Professor Realuyo has been a trusted strategic advisor to the most senior leaders in U.S. government, military, business, and academic circles on international issues. As Assistant Professor at the National Defense University since 2007, she has educated top U.S. and foreign military and civilian leaders on counterterrorism, illicit networks, and national security affairs. From 2002-2006, Professor Realuyo served as the State Department Director of Counterterrorism Finance Programs in the U.S. Secretary of State's Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism in Washington, D.C. In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, she returned to government service to apply her international banking skills to the financial front of the war on terror. She managed a multimillion dollar foreign assistance program aimed at safeguarding financial systems against terrorist financing. Under her stewardship, the U.S. delivered training and technical assistance to over 20 countries across four continents (including Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia), training over 1800 foreign counterparts, and her team received an "A-" from the 9/11 Commission for their efforts to combat terrorist financing in 2005. Prior to returning to Washington, Professor Realuyo was a private banker in London with Goldman Sachs International providing strategic wealth advisory services to the most prominent families in the world. Previously, she had a distinguished career as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer serving as a political officer abroad in Madrid, Panama, and the U.S. Mission to NATO, Brussels. In Washington, Professor Realuyo served at the highest levels of government, in the State Department Operations Center, National Security Council's White House Situation Room, and as Special Assistant to the Secretary of State.
Professor Realuyo holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, MA from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), BS from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and Certificate from l'Institut d'Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po) in Paris, France. She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Women in International Security, Global Summit of Women, and the Professional Risk Managers' International Association. She was an Aspen Institute Young Leaders Socrates Scholar in 2004, French-American Foundation Young Leader in 2006, and Atlantik-Brucke German-American Young Leader in 2007. Professor Realuyo has traveled to over 70 countries, speaks English, French, and Spanish fluently, and is conversant in Italian, German, Filipino, and Arabic.
Publications:
•“Collaborating to Combat Illicit Networks: Interagency and International Efforts,” Chapter 15 in Convergence: Illicit Networks in an Age of Globalization, NDU Press, 2012
•“Threat Finance: A Critical Enabler for Illicit Networks,” Chapter 8, co-authored with Danielle Camner Lindholm Chapter 15 in Convergence: Illicit Networks in an Age of Globalization, NDU Press, 2012
•“It’s All about the Money: Advancing Anti-Money Laundering Efforts in the U.S. and Mexico to Combat Transnational Organized Crime," The Mexico Institute, Wilson Center for International Scholars, May 2012, http://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/it%E2%80%99s-all-about-the-money-advancing-anti-money-laundering-efforts-the-us-and-mexico-to
•“Assessing Our Counterterrorism Investment,” Journal for International Security Affairs, Fall/Winter 2011, http://www.securityaffairs.org/issues/2011/21/realuyo.php
•“Securing Global Supply Chains in an Age of Uncertainty: Focus on Food Safety,” CIP Report, George Mason University Center for Homeland Security and Critical Infrastructure Protection, July 2011 http://cip.gmu.edu/archive/CIPHS_TheCIPReport_July2011_SupplyChain.pdf
•“Proven Paths to Success for Women in Defense and Security,” Security and Defense Studies Review: Interdisciplinary Journal of the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, Volume 10, Fall-Winter 2010, p. 163
•“Following the Money Trail,” Chapter in Toward a Grand Strategy against Terrorism, Chris Harmon, Andrew Platt, Sebastian Gorka (eds.), McGraw Hill, 2010
•“Responding to Resource Attacks: Protecting Critical Infrastructure,” Unrestricted Warfare Symposium Proceedings 2009, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, September 2009, http://www.jhuapl.edu/urw_symposium/proceedings/2009/Authors/Realuyo.pdf
•“U.S. Interagency Efforts to Combat International Terrorism Through Foreign Capacity Building Programs,” Project for National Security Reform Case Studies, co-authored with Mike Kraft, October 2008, http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB1100.pdf
•“Building a Counterterrorist Finance Regime” and co-authored with Scott Stapleton “Response to Bali: An International Success Story” U.S. Department of State E-Journal Economic Perspectives on The Global War on Terrorist Finance, September 2004, http://photos.state.gov/libraries/korea/49271/dwoa_120909/ijee0904.pdf