Current Position: State Department’s coordinator for threat reduction programs (since July 2009)
Boss: Ellen Tauscher, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security affairs
Why She Matters
As threat-reduction programs guru, Jenkins is responsible for coordinating the nonproliferation efforts among different federal departments, in particular the departments of Defense, Energy and State, and within the various State agencies. She was also one of the State Department’s chief representatives at the two-day nuclear summit hosted by President Barack Obama in April 2010.
Nuclear nonproliferation has been an important issue for Obama since he was in the Senate and, given the geopolitical environment, will in all likelihood continue to be for the remainder of the Obama administration. Jenkins is one of the key diplomats working on this area of international security.
Path to Power
Since receiving her B.A. from Amherst College, Jenkins has gone on to earn a number of advanced degrees. She received her J.D. and M.P.A. from Albany Law School and SUNY Albany, respectively; she received an L.L.M. in international and comparative law from Georgetown University; and she received her Ph.D. in international relations from the University of Virginia.
Jenkins then launched a long career in government, academia and the military. Before serving in her current role, Jenkins was a program officer for U.S. foreign and security policy at the Ford Foundation. Her work there focused on strengthening public participation in U.S. foreign and security policy debates, as well as promoting multilateralism, the peaceful resolution of disputes and the international rule of law.
Jenkins has served as legal counsel for a number of different national security-related offices and committees. She served as counsel on the 9/11 Commission, as well as general counsel of group aimed at assessing the organization of the federal government to combat proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. She was also a consultant to the 2000 National Commission on Terrorism.
For nine years, Jenkins was a legal adviser to U.S. ambassadors and delegations negotiating arms control and nonproliferation treaties during her time as a legal adviser in the Office of General Council at the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.
Jenkins was also the lead commission staff member on counterterrorism policy in the defense secretary’s office and on U.S. military plans targeting al-Qaida prior to 9/11 and worked at the RAND Corporation in its national security division.
Jenkins is a retired Naval Reserve officer and prior to joining the Obama administration had completed a year-long deployment to US Central Command.
In Her Own Words
“While it is impossible to predict the likelihood of a nuclear attack by terrorists, they have openly declared their desire to launch mass casualty attacks on civilian population centers. The bombings in Bali, London, Madrid, Mumbai, Islamabad and recently Moscow show that the target set is truly a global one. Given the catastrophic and perhaps existential political and economic repercussions of a nuclear strike anywhere in the world, nations everywhere share a common interest in establishing the highest levels of security and protection for nuclear weapons-usable material.” – Amb. Bonnie Jenkins testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in April 2010.
The Issues
Jenkins’ work is primarily concerned with limiting the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Jenkins perceives the problem to be global and therefore favors a global solution: She is an advocate for the increased use of multilateralism and a robust international legal framework to halt the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
While testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in April, Jenkins noted the inherent difficulty in American nonproliferation efforts, saying, “In an increasingly globalized world, today’s threats are indeed diffuse, adaptable, and evolving; all of which makes confronting them even more essential.”
In an interview in May, Jenkins said that she is working to extend the the G8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction through 2022. The partnership, a 10-year commitment established in 2002, originally focused on locating and destroying weapons of mass destruction in post-Soviet Russia. Jenkins said the renewed partnership will be less focused on Russia and more concerned with global problems such as issues of bio-security and nuclear smuggling.
The Network
Jenkins cited former Ford Foundation Director Michael Edwards and Alexis Albion, assistant to the president of the World Bank, as former colleagues whom she has been greatly influenced by.
Her boss at the State Department is Ellen Tauscher and she also will work closely with White House aide Gary Samore and nonproliferation experts Robert Einhorn and Rose Gottemoeller on nuclear safety.
Campaign Contributions
Jenkins contributed $800 to Barack Obama’s campaign for the presidency in 2008.
At a Glance
Current Position: Coordinator for Threat Reduction Programs, based in the State Department (since July 2009)
Career History: Program officer for U.S. Foreign and Security Policy at the Ford Foundation (2005-2009); Counsel for 9/11 Commission (2003-2004); Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (2002-2005).
Birthday: June 4, 1960
Hometown: The Bronx, New York
Alma Mater: Amherst College, B.A., 1982; Albany Law School, J.D., 1988; SUNY Albany, M.P.A., 1988; Georgetown University, L.L.M., 1994; University of Virginia, Ph.D., 2006.
Spouse: Single
Religion: Baptist
DC Office: 2201 C St. NW, Washington D.C. 20520, 202-647-6643
Email: JenkinsBD@state.gov
Web site: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/126045.htm