Preserving global leadership through economic and military strength.

John Rader is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution and a Senior Counselor at Palantir Technologies. He previously held various roles in the White House, including on the National Security Council and as advisor to Jared Kushner. Rader contributed to domestic and international policies, the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and the Middle East peace plan, including normalization talks with Israel and several countries. Before this, he advised on U.S. foreign policy in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and worked in Bill Haslam's administration in Tennessee.

Catherine Bondurant is the Director of Events at The 21st Century Policy Institute, where she leads the strategic planning and execution of the annual Cherry Blossom Policy Summit and Trilateral Executive Dialogue. Previously, Catherine worked on events teams for various committees and organizations throughout the Washington, D.C. area, gaining extensive experience in political, policy, and fundraising events. Her background spans large-scale conferences, intimate executive gatherings, donor events, and multi-day retreats.

Andrew has over fifteen years of experience working in politics including multiple campaigns, the Office of the Governor of Tennessee, and most recently eight years on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. As Deputy Chief of Staff for Congressman David Kustoff and Senator Bill Hagerty, his policy portfolio included agriculture, energy, and transportation. Andrew has worked in every facet of politics from elections and fundraising to senior staff management roles in both the House of Representatives and the United States Senate.

Joel Rayburn is a former U.S. diplomat and military officer who has served in national security and foreign policy roles for more than 30 years. He is also a military historian who co-authored the U.S. Army's official history of the Iraq war, among other works. He currently serves in advisory roles in academia and the private sector. From 2013–16, Mr. Rayburn directed the Army’s Operation Iraqi Freedom Study Group, where he led the writing of a history of the Iraq war and assembled operational lessons to be drawn from the conflict. In 2018, the group’s work was published in the two-volume study, The US Army in the Iraq War, for which Rayburn was coauthor and editor. Mr. Rayburn holds an MA in history from Texas A&M University and an MS in strategic studies from the National War College. He hails from Oklahoma and lives in Washington, DC, with his family.

Emma joined the 21st Century Policy Institute in 2026, where she supports the team across a range of initiatives. Previously, she spent five years at Senator Hagerty's office, where she started as an intern and rose to become Deputy Director of Operations and Scheduling. There, she helped manage the Senator's schedule and oversee day-to-day operations for the office.