Kathryn Insley is the Deputy Assistant Secretary (Acting) for International Security and Nonproliferation Programs at the U.S. Department of State. Prior to this position Ms. Insley served as the Director of the Office of Export Control Cooperation, which administers the Export Control and Border Security (EXBS) Program, in the International Security and Nonproliferation Bureau. The EXBS program operates in over 60 countries and is designed to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), their delivery systems, and advanced conventional weapons.
From 2015 – 2017 Ms. Insley served as the Director for Counterproliferation on the National Security Council (NSC) at the White House. Ms. Insley was responsible for coordinating interdiction activities related to priority countries, including the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Iran. She also had responsibility for UN Security Council Resolutions related to sanctions and nonproliferation.
Prior to serving at the White House, Ms. Insley was Director of the Office of Transnational Threats within the Countering WMD Directorate in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy (OSD/P) at the Pentagon. In this capacity she provided policy oversight for U.S. interdiction operations, WMD planning for the DPRK, and the nuclear nonproliferation control regimes.
From 2005-2011, Ms. Insley held several positions within the ISN Bureau at the Department of State, including Acting Director of the Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction. In this capacity she oversaw Department of State activities to reduce biological, nuclear, and chemical threats through the Global Threat Reduction program. During this period Ms. Insley served in various Embassies overseas and had extensive involvement coordinating U.S. and multilateral threat reduction activities.
Prior to joining the Department of State, Ms. Insley advised U.S. businesses on international trade regulations and export procedures at the U.S. International Trade Administration. Ms. Insley worked as an attorney in the private sector prior to her government service.
Ms. Insley earned a J.D and MPP from the University of Maryland Law School and School of Public Policy.