Erik Leklem - Defense Security Cooperation University

Faculty

Regional Advising

Mr. Erik Leklem joined the Institute for Security Governance (ISG) in June 2017 as an Indo-Pacific Regional Program Lead within the Regional Advising Division. Mr. Leklem manages security sector advisory and consulting teams conducting Institutional Capacity Building (ICB) projects with Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, and other countries in Asia.

Prior to joining ISG, Mr. Leklem was a civil servant in the US Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations for over 17 years. At OSD, he focused on Security Cooperation, Asia-Pacific security affairs, strategy and planning, cyber capacity building, and homeland defense issues. He was involved in numerous human capital improvement and organizational reform efforts within OSD. Mr. Leklem has worked at US Pacific Command (J-3) and US Southern Command (J-9), and was a Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of State to support the 2009 Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review. While with the Navy, Mr. Leklem served in Deep Blue, an innovation cell focusing on red teaming and rapid adaptation of new technologies for improved maritime operations. As a Navy civil servant, he focused on maritime strategic planning, naval readiness analysis, and maritime counterterrorism. He also worked in the Office of the US Trade Representative and at the Arms Control Association.

Mr. Leklem was previously posted to the US Embassy in Indonesia, in the Office of Defense Cooperation. There, he oversaw defense management programs and conducted advisory efforts with the Indonesian Ministry of Defense and military services. In his other overseas assignment, he volunteered to serve as the Senior Advisor to the Assistant Minister of Defense for Strategy and Policy in the Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan, as part of NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan. Mr. Leklem was also a policy director and business designer in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Security Cooperation.

Mr. Leklem has served as an Adjunct Professor at the George Washington University and lectured at numerous foreign and US military war colleges and universities. He has written for Task & Purpose, the San Jose Mercury News, Jane’s Intelligence Review, Jane’s Pointer, Arms Control Today, and Real Clear World. He has also written articles on Security Cooperation for the Handbook for International Negotiation (2015) and the National Defense University in Effective, Legitimate, Secure: Insights for Defense Institution Building (2017). Mr. Leklem is a Fellow of the US-Japan Leadership Program and Truman National Security Project. He is also an alumnus of Swiss, Spanish, German, and European oriented leadership programs. Mr. Leklem is an advocate for design thinking in Security Cooperation and received his human-centered design training via the Luma Institute and the Office of Personnel Management. He holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science/English from the University of Oregon, Robert D. Clark Honors College. His recent professional development has involved artificial intelligence and its use in improved organizational performance. He lives in Oakland, California.