Theresa Luetkefend is an assistant director in the Atlantic Council’s Forward Defense program, where she leads the initiative’s work on defense strategy and military operations. Originally from Germany, Luetkefend previously worked at the Berlin-based Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) on a number of security related issues, including the use of chemical weapons in Syria and reintegration of veterans in Ukraine. Prior to her time at GPPi, she spent several months at the United Nations Secretariat in New York.

Luetkefend holds master’s degrees in Russian and East European Studies from the University of Oxford and in international relations with a focus on strategic studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She received a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from Humboldt-University in Berlin.