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Scott Nathan (Associate Director at the Office of Management and Budget, 2015-2017; Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress)
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Tom Nides (Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, 2011-2013)
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Jim O’Brien (Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, 2015-2017)
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Matt Olsen (Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, 2011-2014)
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Maria Otero (Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, 2009-2013)
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Tom Perriello (Member of Congress, 2009-2011; Special Envoy for the African Great Lakes and the Congo-Kinshasa, 2015-2016)
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Samantha Power (U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, 2013-2017)
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Jen Psaki (White House Communications Director, 2015-2017; Vice President for Communications and Strategy at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)
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Penny Pritzker (Secretary of Commerce, 2013-2017; Chairman and Founder of PSP Partners)
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Steve Ricchetti (Chief of Staff to Vice President Joe Biden, 2013-2017; Managing Director of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement)
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Susan Rice (National Security Advisor, 2013-2017; Visiting Distinguished Research Fellow at American University; Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center)
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Cathy Russell (Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues, 2013-2017)
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Dan Shapiro (U.S. Ambassador to Israel, 2011-2017)
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Wendy Sherman (Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, 2011-2015; Senior Fellow at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs)
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Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall (Deputy Secretary of Energy, 2014-2017; Senior Fellow at Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs)
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Anne-Marie Slaughter (Director of Policy Planning for the State Department, 2009-2011; President and CEO of New America; Bert G. Kerstetter '66 University Professor Emerita of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University)
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Julie Smith (Deputy National Security Advisor to Vice President Joe Biden, 2012-2013; Director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security)
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Jim Steinberg (Deputy Secretary of State, 2009-2011; Professor at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School)
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Mona Sutphen (White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, 2009-2011)
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Linda Thomas-Greenfield (Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs, 2013-2017)
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Richard Verma (U.S. Ambassador to India, 2014-2017)
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Ben Wikler (Washington Director of MoveOn.org)
Note that the organization also had operational staff and senior advisors, but the core board-level involvement was through the co-chairs and advisory council.
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was maggie goodlander ever involved with this outfit? and what are any of these people still working for the government
Maggie Goodlander was not involved with National Security Action. No records or mentions of her participation appear in the organization's documented history, member lists, or related sources.
As of December 2025, following the end of the Biden administration in January 2025 and the transition to the Trump administration, none of the listed advisory council members appear to hold current positions in the U.S. federal government. Many served in high-level roles during the Obama and Biden administrations but have since transitioned to positions in academia, think tanks, private consulting, or other non-governmental work. For example:
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Jake Sullivan, former National Security Advisor (2021-2025), is now a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and a senior fellow at the University of New Hampshire's Carsey School of Public Policy.
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Tony Blinken, former Secretary of State (2021-2025), has no listed current government role and is referenced in post-administration contexts without active federal employment.
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Avril Haines, former Director of National Intelligence (2021-2025), is now a visiting fellow at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.
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Alejandro Mayorkas, former Secretary of Homeland Security (2021-2025), left office with the administration change and has no ongoing federal position.
National Security Action itself disbanded after the 2020 election, with its mission focused on opposing the Trump administration's policies during his first term.