Join Steven Cash ’84, Executive Director of The Steady State and former national security official, for a compelling discussion on the threats facing American democracy today. Drawing on a distinguished career spanning the CIA, U.S. Senate, and Department of Homeland Security, he will share why many in the national security community believe the U.S. is at a pivotal and perilous moment—and what can be done to protect our constitutional system. The event will also provide insight into internships and career opportunities in Washington, D.C., and how students can get involved in this critical work.

Steven will open his session with a brief presentation, but the majority of the time will be reserved for a Q&A between him and the audience members.

Steven Cash is the Executive Director of The Steady State, a non-profit advocacy organization whose members are former senior national security officials, drawn from across the intelligence, diplomatic, homeland security and defense communities.

Cash most recently served in government at the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence & Analysis as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary, he concurrently served Deputy Chief Intelligence Officer and Acting Executive Director of the Intelligence Enterprise Program Office, which manages the Department-wide intelligence program, and assisted the Under Secretary in his role as the Department’s Chief Intelligence Officer.

Cash began his career in local law enforcement, serving in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office prosecuting street crime and industry-wide corruption. He joined the CIA’s Office of General Counsel in 1994 as an assistant general counsel, focusing on the interaction between CIA and law enforcement, particularly in terrorism matters. In 1996, he transferred to the CIA's Directorate of Operations, serving as a headquarters-based operations officer. His work in operations involved counterterrorism, counterproliferation and special operations, as well as counterintelligence responsibilities. He was awarded the CIA’s Medal of Merit for his work on a sensitive project.

In 2001, Cash joined the professional staff of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, where he served as the lead counterterrorism staffer, counsel, and designee staffer for the late Senator Dianne Feinstein of California. He worked on post-9/11 legislation, such as the establishment of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the USA-Patriot Act, and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, including the provisions which established what is now the Intelligence and Analysis office.

Cash left the Senate committee in 2003 to serve as the first minority staff director for the newly established Select Committee on Homeland Security in the U.S. House of Representatives. He then served as chief of staff for the Office of Intelligence at the Department of Energy.

He later returned to the Senate, where he was the chief counsel and minority staff director for the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology & Homeland Security, and Chief Counsel to Senator Feinstein. In that position, he worked closely with state and local law enforcement on terrorism and gang issues.

Cash entered the private sector in 2006 as a consultant focusing on intelligence issues, particularly those at the intersection of technology, intelligence, national security, and homeland security. He was a member of the Director of National Intelligence’s Biological Sciences Experts Group, He also practiced law, including as Counsel with the law firm Day Pitney, where he focused on national security, white collar defense, and general litigation. He served as co-Chair of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia’s National Security Law Committee. Cash has been a frequent commentator on issues related to national security, intelligence and law enforcement.

Cash is a graduate of Vassar College and Yale Law School.

This event is open to the public.