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Senator Ayotte served in the United States Senate from 2011-2017, where she chaired the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and the Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation Operations. She also served on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and Aging Committees.

Senator Ayotte has been named by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the top 50 Republicans on national security affairs in the country. During her tenure in the Senate, she helped pass legislation to improve the nation’s military readiness and took a lead role in addressing the nation’s opioid epidemic.

Prior to serving in the Senate, Ms. Ayotte served as New Hampshire’s first female Attorney General from 2004-2009. She also served as the Deputy Attorney General, Chief of the Homicide Prosecution Unit—New Hampshire’s top murder prosecutor.

Senator Ayotte currently serves on the boards of several companies, including News Corp and The Blackstone Group, Inc. She also serves on the non-profit boards of the International Republican Institute, the McCain Institute and NH Veteran’s Count.

Senator Ayotte graduated with honors in 1990 from the Pennsylvania State University and earned a Juris Doctor degree in 1993 from the Villanova University School of Law.   

Dr. Hamre was elected president and CEO of Center for Strategic and International Studies (“CSIS”), a non-profit, non-partisan, centrist think tank located in Washington, D.C., in January 2000. Before joining CSIS, he served as the 26th U.S. deputy secretary of defense. Prior to holding that post, he was the undersecretary of defense (comptroller) from 1993 to 1997. In 2007, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates appointed Dr. Hamre to serve as chairman of the Defense Policy Board, a post he continued to hold under Secretary Leon Panetta and holds today under Secretary Ashton Carter.

Before serving in the Department of Defense, Dr. Hamre worked for 10 years as a professional staff member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. From 1978 to 1984, Dr. Hamre served in the Congressional Budget Office, where he became its deputy assistant director for national security and international affairs.

Dr. Hamre received his Ph.D., with distinction, in 1978 from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.