Talk National Security with Dr. Phil Potter and CIA’s Casey Blackburn

Casey Blackburn | Dean, Sherman Kent School

Mr. Blackburn was recently named Dean of the Sherman Kent School, CIA’s flagship schoolhouse for intelligence analysis. From 2021-2025, he served as the Intelligence Briefer to President Joseph R. Biden, and concurrently as the founding director of the Office of Economic Security and Emerging Technology at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence—a startup designed to elevate the Intelligence Community’s collection and analysis relating to techno-economic competition. He also previously served as Assistant Director for National Intelligence and Chair of the National Intelligence Management Council, where he oversaw the integration and strategic planning for intelligence collection and analysis across all regions and functions for the Intelligence Community (IC).

Mr. Blackburn began his career in 2003 at the Central Intelligence Agency, where his work as a counterterrorism (CT) analyst and expert on the Middle East and South Asia, propelled him to the CIA’s executive ranks in 2015. Mr. Blackburn has led IC operations, including in CT and financial intelligence, and in 2007, he co-founded the CIA’s flagship publication and dissemination portal, the World Intelligence Review (WIRe). Mr. Blackburn is the recipient of the Presidential Rank Award, National Intelligence Medals for Superior Service and Exceptional Achievement, and the CIA’s Intelligence Medal of Merit. He earned a Bachelor’s in Environmental Design from the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University, and a Master’s in Public Service and Administration from the Bush School of Government and Public Service.

Dr. Philip Potter | Executive Director of the National Security Data and Policy Institute (NSDPI); Director of the National Security Policy Center (NSPC); Professor of Public Policy and Politics

Dr. Philip Potter is the founding director of the National Security Data and Policy Institute (NSDPI), the University of Virginia’s sixth university-level institute. A professor of politics and the founding director of the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy’s National Security Policy Center (NSPC), Dr. Potter’s decades of research have focused on US foreign policy, military affairs, data analysis, and international security. He has published dozens of articles, policy papers, and government reports on these topics as well as two books, and serves as a university expert for the Intelligence Community and a senior advisor in the Department of Defense. An active voice in both academia and government on national security research and policy, Professor Potter launched the NSDPI to build collaborative networks of experts and practitioners across government, industry, and academia to address the country’s most pressing national security challenges.