Dr. Kiron Skinner is an expert in U.S. foreign policy, international relations, and national security strategy. She currently serves as the Taube Family Chair of International Relations and Politics at Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy, where she founded both the Grand Strategy Program and the Institute for Diplomacy, Security, and Innovation. She is also a research fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution and a senior advisor to the president of the Heritage Foundation.
In government, Skinner served as Director of the Office of Policy Planning and Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State from 2018–2019. There, she led strategic initiatives on U.S.-China policy, NATO engagement, and interagency collaboration. She played a key role in launching the Commission on Unalienable Rights and rechartering the Foreign Affairs Policy Board. Her prior service includes appointments to the Defense Policy Board, the National Security Education Board, and the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel.
Dr. Skinner is also recognized for her scholarship on Ronald Reagan, coauthoring multiple New York Times bestsellers including Reagan, In His Own Hand and Reagan, A Life in Letters. She has contributed to The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Foreign Policy, National Review, and regularly appears on FOX News as a foreign policy commentator. Her work bridges academia, public service, and media influence.
She is a board member of the Atlantic Council, Grove City College, and the Pacific Council on International Policy, and a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. A recipient of the Navy’s Superior Public Service Award and an honorary Doctor of Laws, Dr. Skinner has left a distinguished mark on national strategy, education, and diplomacy.
