James Jay Carafano, a leading expert in national security and foreign policy challenges, is The Heritage Foundation’s Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, E. W. Richardson Fellow, and Director of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies. Carafano is an accomplished historian and teacher as well as a prolific writer and researcher.

Carafano, a 25-year Army veteran, joined Heritage in 2003 as a senior research fellow in homeland security and missile defense. Carafano now directs Heritage’s team of foreign and defense policy experts in three centers on the front lines of international affairs: the Allison Center, the Asian Studies Center, and the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom.

A graduate of West Point, Carafano holds a master’s degree and a doctorate from Georgetown University as well as a master’s degree in strategy from the US Army War College. Carafano is a member of Spirit of America’s Advisory Board.