Suzanne Spaulding
Principal, Bingham Consulting Group

Suzanne Spaulding is a recognized expert on national security issues, including homeland security, terrorism, biodefense, critical infrastructure protection, cyber security, intelligence, law enforcement, foreign investment, crisis management, and issues related to the threat from chemical, biological, nuclear, or radiological weapons. She works with clients to develop and implement strategies to achieve objectives related to these and other issues, particularly as they involve governments and legislatures at all levels.

Ms. Spaulding developed this expertise over of a career spanning 20 years, working national security issues in the Executive Branch and for Congress. Ms. Spaulding was the Executive Director of two Congressionally-mandated commissions: the National Commission on Terrorism, chaired by Amb. L. Paul Bremer III, and the Commission to Assess the Organization of the Federal Government to Combat the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, chaired by former Deputy Secretary of Defense and CIA Director John Deutch, and advised both the Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction (“Gilmore Commission”) and President George W. Bush’s Commission on the Intelligence of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction (“Robb/Silberman Commission”).

On Capitol Hill, Ms. Spaulding served as Legislative Director and Senior Counsel for Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), Deputy Staff Director and General Counsel for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and, most recently, Minority Staff Director for the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Ms. Spaulding also spent time at the Central Intelligence Agency, where she was Assistant General Counsel and the Legal Adviser to the Director of Central Intelligence’s Nonproliferation Center.

In 2002, she was appointed by then-Virginia Governor Mark Warner to the Secure Commonwealth Panel, established after the attacks of September 11 to advise the Governor and the legislature regarding preparedness issues in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In addition, she has chaired and served on numerous task forces, working groups, and committees related to national security, is a frequent lecturer, and has been quoted regularly in media outlets around the country, offering analysis and insight into issues related to national security.

Ms. Spaulding received her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Virginia.. She is the immediate past Chair and current Advisory Board Chair of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Law and National Security. In addition, Ms. Spaulding is a member of the ABA President’s Task Forces on Enemy Combatants and Domestic Surveillance, the ABA Working Group on CFIUS reform, and the Gavel Award Screening Committee.