Erik R. Peterson

Senior Vice President; William A. Schreyer Chair in Global Analysis; Director, Global Strategy Institute

Erik Peterson is senior vice president at CSIS. In 2003, he established the Global Strategy Institute at CSIS with the mandate of assessing long-range trends. To that end, he spearheads the Seven Revolutions Initiative—an internationally recognized effort to identify and forecast global drivers of change out to the year 2025 and beyond. In addition, the Institute has carried out several projects relating to the global water challenge. Erik also holds the William A. Schreyer Chair in Global Analysis at CSIS. For his contributions to the Center, he received the 2006–2007 CSIS Trustees Award.

Prior to assuming his role as Director of the Institute, Erik served as Director of Studies at CSIS. In that capacity, from 1993 to 2002, he oversaw programs, projects and publications across the organization. Before joining CSIS, Erik was director of research at Kissinger Associates, the international consulting firm chaired by former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger.

Erik serves on several advisory boards, including the X Prize Foundation, the Center for Global Business Studies at Pennsylvania State University, and the Center for the Study of the Presidency. He was a fellow of the World Economic Forum and has served on its Global Risk Network. The author of several publications, he is now completing a book on global strategic trends and their effects on governance structures in societies across the world. He recently contributed a chapter entitled “Scanning the More Distant Future” to For the Common Good: The Ethics of Leadership in the 21st Century (Praeger, 2006). A highly sought-after public speaker, he has spoken before numerous groups and lectured in 48 U.S. states and 22 countries.

Erik received his M.B.A. from the Wharton school at the University of Pennsylvania, his M.A. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and his B.A. from Colby College. He holds the Certificate of Eastern European Studies from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) and the Certificate in International Legal Studies from The Hague Academy of International Law (The Netherlands).

Telephone: (202) 775-3258

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Rachel Posner

Assistant Director, Global Water Futures Project and Research Associate, Global Strategy Institute

Rachel Posner is the assistant director of the CSIS Global Water Futures Project, an initiative that seeks to identify policy solutions for the world’s growing challenges of water scarcity and quality. Rachel coedited the report Water and Energy Futures in an Urbanized Asia: Sustaining the Tiger (CSIS, 2007) and also coauthored with Erik Peterson Global Water Futures: A Roadmap for Future U.S. Policy (CSIS, 2008). Ms. Posner also serves as a research associate in the CSIS Global Strategy Institute, where she works on issues related to long-range global trends. She has been engaged in the Institute’s Executive Education Initiative, an effort to bring the people and ideas of CSIS to academic, business, and membership groups, trade associations, foreign governments, and the U.S. government.

Prior to joining CSIS in January 2006, Rachel served as an intern at the U.S. mission to the United Nations and as a Brent Scowcroft Award Fellow with the Aspen Strategy Group. She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and earned her M.Phil in modern society and global transformations at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Telephone: (202) 775-3296

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Scott Aughenbaugh

Research Associate, Global Strategy Institute

Scott Aughenbaugh currently works on GSI's Higher Education initiative and produces the Seven Revolutions Video Interview series. Previously, he worked for the Center's External Relations department as a Web and Multimedia Associate. Mr. Aughenbaugh holds a B.A. in history, politics, and government from Ohio Wesleyan University and an M.A. in history, with a focus on the Cold War, Europe, and China, from Kent State University. He has also worked at the Lyman L. Lemnitzer Center for NATO and EU Studies at Kent State University and studied at Beijing University.

Telephone: (202) 775-3157

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Owen Sanderson

Program Coordinator, Global Strategy Institute

Owen Sanderson is a program coordinator in the CSIS Global Strategy Institute, where he plans and organizes the activities of the Seven Revolutions Initiative. He also supports the research and technical aspects of the Seven Revolutions, Seven Futures, and Class of 2025 presentations.

Prior to joining the Global Strategy Institute in September 2008, Owen served as an intern for the Post-Conflict Reconstruction Project at CSIS, where he was engaged in the Project’s study of failed and fragile states. He also interned at the U.S. Department of State and the Brookings Institution. Owen graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University in 2008 with a B.A. in government and a concentration in international development. As part of his course of study, he spent a semester at King's College London and conducted research in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Telephone: (202) 775-3232