Andrew Semmel is the Executive Director of Partnership for a Secure America. In 2008, Dr. Semmel started AKS Consulting, representing international clients in Washington, D.C. He joined the Department of State in Spring 2003 as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Nuclear Nonproliferation in the Department’s Bureau of Nonproliferation and continued in that role in the newly formed Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. His primary responsibilities included the development and execution of policies and initiatives to stem the spread of nuclear weapons, associated technologies and know-how, including export controls. He represented the Department in inter-agency meetings, bilateral and multilateral international fora, conferences and negotiations on nuclear nonproliferation issues.

From September 2001 to January 2003, he served as the Executive Director of the U.S.-China Security Review Commission, a bipartisan government Commission of twelve private citizens appointed by the Congressional leadership. He was responsible for the Commission's public hearings, research, briefings, foreign travel, and the preparation of an annual report of findings and recommendations to the Congress on the security implications of economic and financial relations between the U.S. and China.

He served on the personal staff of Senator Richard G. Lugar from 1987 to 2001, where he was the Senator’s senior Legislative Assistant for Foreign Policy. He assisted Senator Lugar on political/economic/security issues in all regions of the world. Beyond current foreign policy/national security matters, he paid special attention to international exchange programs, trade, democracy promotion, sanctions policy, human rights, international organizations, and others.

He has authored or co-authored publications on diverse foreign policy and national security issues. He has served as President of the Comparative Foreign Policy Section of the International Studies Association and the Governing Board of International Studies Association.

He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and has been a Tenured Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Cincinnati. He has also been an Adjunct Visiting Professor in the Master of Science in Foreign Service Program (MSFS) at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. In 1981, he took a position with the Department of Defense as a Foreign Affairs Specialist in the Defense Security Assistance Agency (DSAA). He served as Chief of the Analysis Division of DSAA until he moved to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in February 1985, where he had primary responsibility for the U.S. security assistance legislation, arms sales, and related foreign policy and national security issues.

He has traveled to nearly forty countries, has been an official observer to national elections in a dozen countries, and has spoken and lectured to various domestic and foreign audiences.

In 1995, he received the Ohio University College of Arts and Sciences Significant Achievement Award, and in 1996 he received the Moravian College Comenius Alumni Award for outstanding achievement. He was inducted into the Pennsylvania Athletic Hall of Fame and the Moravian College Athletic Hall of Fame. He enjoys jogging, fishing, hiking, gardening, most sports, film, reading and cooking. He is married and has an adult son.

Nathan Sermonis is the Deputy Executive Director with Partnership for a Secure America. He manages PSA programming priorities and plays a key role in organizational development. Nathan comes to PSA with a diverse background in policy and politics. Prior to working at PSA, he served as a policy adviser in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressional campaign aide, and political writer. Nathan has a particular interest in global energy markets, trade, conflict resolution, and climate. He holds a B.S. from Cornell University.

Lori Shah is a Contractor with Partnership for a Secure America. Before coming to PSA she was a Research Assistant at the National Defense University and held Internships at G4S Security Solutions and the United Nations Association of Greater Boston. She received her BA in International Relations with a minor in Economics from Boston University and specializes in Security Studies, Foreign Policy, Economic Development, and the Middle East. Lori has a particular interest in Nuclear Security, Deterrence Theory, and Nonproliferation issues. Lori hails from Texas and is a Cowboys fan, equestrian, dancer, and cruciverbalist.

Laurie Dundon-Chevallereau is a Senior Fellow at the Partnership for Secure America. She comes to PSA from the Bertelsmann Foundation, the Washington arm of one of Europe's leading think tanks, where she directed foreign-policy projects on areas of common interest to the U.S. and Europe such as Iran, Afghanistan, and the Middle East peace process.

Laurie has worked across private, public, and non-profit sectors. She worked for seven years at The Albright Group LLC, a global strategic advisory firm founded by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. She advised major multinational corporations active in markets across Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Africa. She built strategic partnerships for clients and addressed political risks in emerging markets, covering sectors as diverse as global health, international media, consumer products, and heavy industry.

Laurie served at the U.S. State Department as a senior advisor to the Special Envoy of the President and Secretary of State for Democracy in the Balkans, the lead official for U.S. diplomatic, economic and security policy in the region. She worked on the ground at the newborn U.S. diplomatic mission in Kosovo immediately after the conflict, during the creation of a transitional government and the launch of UN and NATO missions.

Dundon-Chevallereau has also worked as an international policy advisor for the Save Darfur Coalition, a network of more than 180 non-governmental organizations advocating to end atrocities in Sudan. She was a Presidential Management Fellow. Laurie is a graduate of Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and the University of Portland.

Ken Cummings is a senior advisor to a leadership member of the U.S. House of Representatives. In his volunteer role with PSA Ken advises on matters relating to education programs, assists in coordinating input on all issues from the alumni of PSA's Congressional Partnership Program and provides senior-level advice and guidance on a wide array of PSA’s activities. Prior to his current position, he was director of international affairs for the Maryland Secretary of State. He has been a researcher and translator at the Woodrow Wilson Center and the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies and he is a veteran. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland, American University, the Culinary Institute of America and is the author of articles on organizational management and of a forthcoming book on American politics.