Tressa Guenov is the director for programs and operations and a senior fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council. She helps spearhead the Center’s core mission, programs, and operations, which include the Scowcroft Strategy Initiative, Forward Defense, Indo-Pacific Security Initiative, Transatlantic Security Initiative, and Adrienne Arsht National Security Resilience Initiative.

From 2022-2024, Guenov served as the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense (PDASD) for international security affairs in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. In that role, she served in a range of policy, leadership, management, and advisory capacities for a portfolio covering over 120 countries in Africa, Europe/NATO, the Middle East, and Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia. Guenov also served as a senior adviser to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks.

From 2015-2017, Guenov served as acting assistant secretary of defense and PDASD for legislative affairs, where she was responsible for the full scope of the Department’s interactions with Congress. She also served in the State Department’s Political-Military Affairs Bureau as a presidential management fellow, as a special assistant to the under secretary of defense for policy (USDP) and the principal deputy USDP, and as a country director for Central Asia issues. 

Guenov served as professional staff on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, where she was the designee to former Senator Barbara Mikulski. She was also national security adviser to Senator Claire McCaskill in support of her capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Guenov has worked on strategy development at Lockheed Martin and served in various roles at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, including deputy director/research associate for the Commission on Science and Security.

Guenov holds master’s degrees from the University of Oxford (St. Antony’s College) and Washington University in St. Louis. She holds a BA from the University of Oregon, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Truman National Security fellow, and has served as a member of the honorary advisory committee of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security. Guenov has twice received the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.