Institute for National Strategic Studies

Mr. Lawrence R. Chalmer, Deputy Director
NATO, European Affairs

Media:     202-685-3830
Email:     Lawrence R. Chalmer

Lawrence Chalmer is the Director of the NATO Orientation Programs and Deputy Director of the Center for Transatlantic Security Studies, Institute for National Strategic Studies, at the National Defense University (NDU), Washington, D.C. A retired U. S. Air Force officer, he served in both national and international flying assignments, and in national operations and NATO policy assignments in Europe.  As part of his support to the U.S. Joint Staff and NATO Headquarters, he is a national member of the NATO directing staff during crisis management exercises at Headquarters NATO in Brussels.

Dr. Isabelle Francois
Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow, ctr

Media:  202-685-2433
Email: Isabelle Francois

Isabelle Francois joined the Center for Transatlantic Security Studies at the National Defense University in May 2011. She is working as a consultant for CTSS and brings to the Center her NATO expertise, having worked 13 years for the Organization and 5 years for the Department of National Defense (DND) in Ottawa, Canada.

Within NATO, from 1998 to 2011, Isabelle held a number of positions and worked within three divisions of the International Staff. For the past two years (2009-2011) she worked within the Political Affairs and Security Policy division, as Head of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership and Integration section dealing mostly with NATO partnerships with countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as Balkans and Western European partners. She oversaw the NATO Liaison office from Tbilisi (Georgia) and the liaison
officer for Central Asia, and supported the work of the Secretary General Special Representative for Central Asia and the Caucasus. She was part of the effort NATO led in the past couple of years, before and after the Lisbon Summit, in developing the new NATO partnership policy agreed in Berlin, in April 2011.

From 2004 to 2009, she was the NATO representative in Moscow, as Director of the NATO Information Office, in charge for the Public Diplomacy division of outreach in Russia, with a particular focus on civil society. She was also responsible for cooperation with Russian authorities. In this capacity, she led a major Public diplomacy campaign throughout Russia – the NATO-Russia Rally in 2006 – and coordinated several key political events, such as the 5th Anniversary of the NATO-Russia Council in Moscow and Saint Petersburg ensuring coordination between NATO Headquarters and Russian authorities.

From 1998 to 2004, Isabelle worked within the NATO Defense Planning and Operations division in Brussels. She was responsible for the development of the defense cooperation between NATO and Russia, and served as country officer for Finland in its cooperation with NATO. In that position, she coordinated over 16 defense ministerial meetings within the framework of the Permanent Joint Council (PJC) and subsequently the NATORussia
Council (NRC). She contributed to the development of the NRC, with regard to defense relations in particular, and worked closely with Russian officials from the MOD and the General Staff. She also contributed to the development of Partnership for Peace and its defense cooperation elements in the context of her Finnish portfolio.

Prior to 1998, Isabelle held a few positions within the Department of National Defense (DND) in Ottawa, Canada. She served as desk officer for the NATO directorate in the Policy and Operations division within the Policy Group (1996-98) after spending three years in the Strategic Analysis directorate within the Policy and Planning division in the same Policy Group, where she started her career as an analyst responsible for Africa and Europe. She published extensively during her first three years as analyst on defense issues relating to Africa and Europe before she took a more operational assignment as part of the team in charge of drafting the 1994 Canadian Defense White Paper. She subsequently took assignments relating to NATO Defense ministerial preparations, and ultimately moved to the development of Canadian policy towards NATO. She was part of the interdepartmental team within Canada which developed the Canadian position visà-vis the 1999 NATO Strategic Concept before taking her first position in NATO.

Isabelle was educated in France with a law degree from the Sorbonne, and in Canada with a Masters degree in Political Science from Carleton University in Ottawa, and a PhD from the University of Montreal in Quebec. By background, she is an African specialist and worked throughout her studies as a consultant for the Canadian International Development Agency. She also worked as a consultant for the Department of National Defense on African issues, as the Canadian forces were called upon to deploy to East Africa with major operations first in Somalia and subsequently in Rwanda and Burundi in the early nineties.                                   

Stefano Santamato
Senior Visiting Research Fellow, ctr

Media:  202-433-9661
Email:   Stefano Santamato

Stefano is a Senior Research Fellow for the Center for Transatlantic Security Studies (CTSS) at National Defense University’s Institute for National Strategic Studies (NDU-INSS). His work focuses on US-NATO relations through research, publications and education.

Stefano Santamato has a long-standing career at NATO, where he has served as the senior civilian staff officer in the Strategic Analysis Capability (SAC) and worked for the Operations Division, dealing with various aspects of crisis management and planning, respectively, in the Civil Emergency Planning and Crisis Management Planning sections.

Throughout his experience at NATO, Stefano Santamato has promoted an innovative and forward-looking approach to the Alliance’s crisis management. This includes the development of the concept for the Strategic Analysis Capability, a joint civil-military structure providing NATO’s Secretary General with comprehensive analysis in regards to potential and emerging crises, and of the COMPASS Database for the identification and use of civil experts in NATO planning and operations.

Other responsibilities included being in charge of the CEP dimension of NATO Crisis Management Exercises (CMX); lectures on NATO Crisis Management Arrangements at the NATO School in Oberammergau (Germany); the follow-up of the CEP-related aspects of the Katrina and Pakistan relief operations; and the implementation of NATO’s Lessons Learned policy. In September 2008, Stefano Santamato has led a CEP Advisory Support Team mission to Georgia.

Stefano Santamato joined NATO in 2000, as staff officer for the Military Common-funded Resource Policy Unit were he carried out analyses and assessments of NATO’s common-funded requirements.

His international experience includes working for the European Commission where he has been in charge of identifying, preparing and overseeing various co-operation projects with Chile; and collaboration with the Directorate General for Research and Studies of the European Parliament.

Stefano Santamato served in the Italian Air Force between 1993 and 1994. He is a graduate in Political Sciences and International Public Law at the University of Milan and holds a Master degree in International Politics.
Stefano Santamato is an Italian native speaker and is fluent in English, French and Spanish. He is married to Karin Hundebøll.  They have two daughters.

Mr. Mark Ducasse
Research Fellow, ctr

Media:      202-685-8280
Email:       Mark Ducasse

Mr. Ducasse holds a Master of Science degree in Global Security from the University of Southampton (UK), and received his Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors in International Relations and Global Politics from the Nottingham Trent University (UK).

His research focuses on transatlantic policy developments and regional / international security, with a special emphasis on NATO and the European Union. His publications have appeared on the Center for Advanced Defense Studies’ internet notification service, Global Security Monitor.

Ms. Kathryn Moss,
Outreach Coordinator, ctr 

Media:      202-685-3828
Email:       Kathryn Moss

Ms. Kathryn Moss is a consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton, and currently works with CTSS as their Outreach Coordinator.

Kathryn received a Bachelor’s degree from Utah State University in International Studies, also completing a study abroad program in French language training in Annecy, France.