Dr. Janet Breslin-Smith

Professor of National Security StrategY National War College

Keynote address - Tongue-tied: Implications and Explanations for America’s Resistance to Language and Culture Learning

For the past 14 years, Dr. Breslin-Smith has been Professor of National Security Strategy at the National War College, part of the National Defense University in Washington, DC. She was appointed Chair, Department of National Security Strategy from 2000-2004. She teaches courses on the “Foundations of Strategy”, “The National Security Policy Process” and “Congress, Politics and National Security”. She also taught courses on trade policy, geopolitics, and military campaign planning. Between 1998 and 2000, Dr. Breslin-Smith was on the faculty at the Marine University Command and Staff Course in Okinawa, Japan. She is currently mentoring an anthology on the Iraq war written by students in the War College class of 2005, titled Fresh from the Fight.

Dr. Breslin-Smith began her professional career in Congress, serving for over 17 years in the United States Senate on the staffs of Senator Lloyd Bentsen, Donald Stewart, and Patrick Leahy. During 1980-1992, she was Legislative Director for Senator Leahy and then became Deputy Staff Director of the Senate Agriculture Committee under his chairmanship. Her legislative portfolio included defense and foreign operations appropriations.

She earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California. She lived in Santiago, Chile in 1973 and in Okinawa, Japan during 1998-2000. She has traveled extensively with Congressional international delegations as well as leading field studies with the National War College.