Stephen Rodriguez is a senior advisor with the Forward Defense practice at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and the founding partner of One Defense, a next-generation strategic advisory firm that leverages machine learning to identify advanced software and hardware commercial capabilities and accelerate their transition into the defense industrial base. He is also a venture partner at Refinery Ventures, an early-scale fund investing in dual-use technologies across the country.

Rodriguez began his career at Booz Allen Hamilton supporting their national security practice. In his capacity as an expert on game-theoretic applications, he supported the United States intelligence community, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security as a lead architect for the Thor’s Hammer, Schriever II/III, and Cyber Storm wargames. He subsequently was a vice president at Sentia Group, an artificial intelligence company, and served as chief marketing officer for NCL Holdings, an international defense corporation.

Rodriguez serves as a board director or board advisor of ten venture-backed companies, including Duco, Edgybees, HatchApps, HighSide, Omelas, Uniken, Ursa Major Technologies, Vantage Robotics, WarOnTheRocks, and Zignal Labs, as well as the non-profit organizations Public Spend Forum and Training Leaders International. He is also the senior innovation advisor at the Naval Postgraduate School.

Rodriguez received his B.B.A. degree from Texas A&M University and an M.A. degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He is published in Foreign Policy, WarOnTheRocks, National Review, and RealClearDefense.

Rodriguez resides in Washington, DC with his wife, Laura, who is a venture capitalist with Bulldog Innovation Group, and their children, Fletcher, Violet, and Pierce.