Steven Peterson - Defense Security Cooperation University

Director, Institute for Security Governance

Deputy Assistant Director, Institutional Capacity Building Directorate, DSCA

Mr. Steven (Steve) Peterson is the Director of the Institute for Security Governance (ISG) and the Deputy Assistant Director (DAD) for the Institutional Capacity Building Directorate within the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). He also served as the Director of ISG's predecessor organization (the Center for Civil-Military Relations - CCMR) beginning in March 2018. As Director, Mr. Peterson oversees ISG faculty and staff; plans and directs advisory, education, and development programs to support the mission of ISG and its core stakeholders; oversees the design and development of ISG's approach, methodology and curricula; monitors and evaluates program outcomes; drives research and publication; and teaches associated courses. He provides professional, theoretical, and applied advice and consultation to US Department of Defense (DoD) and US Department of State personnel on institutional capacity building (ICB) and governance, civil-military relations, security sector reform, security cooperation, and related topics.

Prior to becoming Director, ISG, Mr. Peterson was the program lead for CCMR's ICB programs (previously known as the Defense Governance and Management Team - DGMT). In this role, he led DGMT policy and programming development and monitoring, managed the DGMT leadership team to ensure ICB project and activity execution, and provided advice and expertise to US Government /DoD leadership and stakeholders on ICB and related issues. Mr. Peterson became a member of the CCMR faculty team in 2010.

Before joining CCMR, Mr. Peterson supported the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) for Policy in the Eurasia and Partnership Strategy and Stability Operations offices. As Warsaw Initiative Fund Project Coordinator and Senior Analyst, he provided day-to-day oversight of the program, coordinated with and responded to OSD regional desks, US Combatant Commands, and NATO, and he helped drive OSD efforts to develop its global ICB programs. Mr. Peterson has also been a part of security sector reform and defense analysis teams, managed cooperative threat reduction programs, and led program guidance, budgetary, and legal authority reviews. Prior to supporting OSD Policy, Mr. Peterson worked in electoral politics as a professional Congressional campaign manager and staffer.

Mr. Peterson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a Master of Science in Defense and Strategic Studies from Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.