Erin D. Dumbacher

Erin D. Dumbacher is Stanton nuclear security senior fellow and director of the Defense and National Security program at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Her research interests include the intersection of emerging technologies with nuclear weapons and security, nuclear force posture, and space systems. Her work has appeared in outlets including The New York Times, Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Policy, among others.

Dumbacher most recently served in the Department of Defense in the Office of the Under Secretary for Policy’s force development and emerging capabilities office as a CFR international affairs fellow, where she was the principal force development advisor for nuclear weapons, space, and non-kinetic capabilities. Dumbacher authored and coordinated Defense Planning Guidance; led force development work to address counterspace threats; and facilitated the responsible adoption of new technologies, including drafting the Joe Biden-Xi Jinping commitment to reduce risks at the intersection of artificial intelligence and nuclear weapons. In 2025, she received the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service.

Previously, Dumbacher led nuclear, space, cyber, and energy technology policy research at In-Q-Tel and the Nuclear Threat Initiative. At In-Q-Tel, as director for strategic policy analysis, Dumbacher made recommendations to policymakers for harnessing venture-backed technologies. At the Nuclear Threat Initiative, her report, U.S. Nuclear Modernization: Security & Policy Implications of Integrating Digital Technology, led to a National Defense Authorization Act requirement for a failsafe review of U.S. nuclear weapons. She was also the staff lead for a U.S.-Russia Track II dialogue, an open-source experiment to apply machine learning tools to nonproliferation, and author of the 2018 Nuclear Security Index.

Originally from Huntsville, Alabama, Dumbacher started her career as a strategy analyst and market researcher at Atlantic Media and Corporate Executive Board. She was a Fulbright research fellow in Tallinn, Estonia. She holds a BA from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.