Cara Abercrombie is a Senior Advisor with The Cohen Group, a Washington, DC-based strategic advisory firm, and an Adjunct Senior Fellow with the Center for a New American Security. She is a national security expert who held numerous senior positions in the Pentagon and White House over a two-decade civil service career. During the Biden Administration, she served as Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and was confirmed by the Senate as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition. From 2021-2023, she served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Defense Policy and Arms Control at the National Security Council. Throughout her time in government, Abercrombie worked to advance U.S. relations with partners across the Indo-Pacific, strengthening alliances and initiating ground-breaking defense cooperation with India. She is a passionate advocate for epilepsy awareness and is a member of CURE Epilepsy’s Research Committee. Abercrombie holds a BA from Dartmouth College and a Masters in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University.
Cara Abercrombie ’97
