Sina Beaghley is a senior international and defense policy researcher at RAND. Her work focuses on national security policy, including security clearance vetting, counterintelligence, counterterrorism, artificial intelligence (AI) policy, cyber strategy, and surveillance and privacy. She serves as coordinator and senior facilitator for a simulation exercise series that explores critical inflection points where AI capabilities intersect with national, economic, and geopolitical security. She is the Personnel Vetting Portfolio Coordinator in the National Security Research Division and previously was associate director of the Cyber and Intelligence Policy Center.
Beaghley joined RAND after more than a decade in federal service. She served as director for Intelligence and Information Security on the National Security Council staff, leading the intelligence capabilities review following 2013–2014 unauthorized NSA disclosures and advising the President and National Security Advisor. Previously, she was chief of Near East and Africa Planning at the National Counterterrorism Center, directing development of national-level counterterrorism plans. At the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), she developed policy for special operations, counterterrorism, cyberspace operations, and activities in the Middle East. She also deployed to Iraq as a planner with a Joint Task Force supporting Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Before OSD, she worked at the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Science and Technology and the Treasury Department’s Office of Terrorism and Violent Crimes.
Beaghley earned an M.A. in international affairs from The George Washington University and a B.A. in political science and media communication from the University of San Diego.
M.A. in international affairs/international security, George Washington University; B.A. in political science/media communications, University of San Diego
