Kick-Off Meeting
4/23/20
The meeting featured brief presentations that delved deeper into these and other developments to examine how current security classification policies are impacting America’s national security
Increasing Lack of Historical Documentation
5/27/20
This meeting delved deeper into one of the key problems facing national security planners in our government — the increasing lack of historical documentation relating to important national security decisions.
Excessive Secrecy and Cybersecurity
6/24/20
Harvey Rishikof with the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security gave a presentation on how excessive secrecy harms the cause of cybersecurity.
Space Secrecy
8/10/20
This meeting focused on Simon “Pete” Worden’s memo and recommendations, and Dennis Blair and Robert Work’s piece “Stovepipes in Space.”
Keeping Atoms for Peace from Being Overshadowed by Secrecy
10/28/20
The increasing opacity of U.S. nuclear export licensing, intangible nuclear technology transfers, nuclear cooperative agreement negotiations, and nuclear proliferation intelligence.
National Security and Secrecy
12/2/20
This meeting featured Kenneth Wainstein, longest-serving member of the Public Interest Declassification Board.
Security Clearances: Barriers to Entry and Defense Innovation
1/21/21
Paul Bracken described how security clearances can deter small innovative firms from being able to successfully bid on defense contracts.
Are Australia's Classification Reforms a Model to Follow?
2/18/21
Ambassador Paul Myler briefed the group on how Australia has streamlined and reformed its classification system and how this has worked during the covid crisis.
ITAR: A Security Clearance Barrier to Military Innovation
3/16/21
Bill Greenwalt briefed the group on the barriers to technical innovation and collaboration the U.S., ITAR, & related technology transfer restrictions impose on domestic & foreign high-tech firms.
9/23/21
The Information Security Branch in the Office of Security at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency detailed how the Agency manages the classification of the information it uses.
1/26/22
This meeting focused on Congressional oversight of classified matters & on the disparate access to classified information between similarly cleared Legislative & Executive Branch staff.
2/23/22
Lecture for the University of Southern California on tight secrecy protocols that served us during the Cold War, today, are becoming less of a national security fix than a problem.
1/26/23
Richard Lawless discussed challenges faced clearing his book manuscript through the CIA, removing Pentagon’s redactions, & implications of Pentagon’s classification policies for US nuclear nonproliferation policy.
5/11/23 – NPEC & ABA cohosted event featuring Senator Mark Warner, chairman of Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), Senator Mike Rounds, member of SSCI, and Ben Powell, Public Interest Declassification Board.
9/21/23 A declassification workshop, featuring comments from intelligence committee staffers Jon Rosenwasser, the committee’s Budget & Policy Director, and Nicolas Adams, Professional Staff Member and committee designee to Sen. Cornyn.
11/16/23 This workshop features two brief presentations by Brad Gates, who worked at the National Geospatial-Intelligence agency to consolidate their classification guides, and Mike Brundage, associate research engineer at ARLIS.
1/10/24 This over-classification workshop features a brief presentation by Mark Zaid, one of the nation’s leading legal experts on classification, and comments by Ezra Cohen, who has served as the chairman of the Public Interest Declassification Board.
3/20/24 A workshop featuring presentations from Mike Rutka and Steve Vogel of the NGA and Brad Gates, who previously worked at the NGA to consolidate their classification guides.
6/11/24 A workshop featuring a presentation from Dr. Jacquelyn Schneider, Hoover Fellow and Director of the Hoover Wargaming and Crisis Simulation Initiative.
7/2/24 A workshop featuring a presentation from presidential historian Tim Naftali.
A 9/18/24 workshop featuring Paul Bracken speaking about how over-classification is killing our military’s ability to work with innovators
10/24/24 A workshop featuring a presentation Ezra Cohen and John Fitzpatrick.
11/25/24 A workshop featuring a presentation by David Reese.
1/13/25 A workshop featuring remarks by Emily Manna and Nic Adams.