Elaine K. Dezenski

Elaine K. Dezenski serves as senior director and head of the Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP) at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a non-partisan and fiercely independent think tank focused on national security and foreign policy. CEFP produces actionable research and policy proposals to address global economic threats, illicit finance, and supply chain vulnerabilities while promoting the forceful use of economic power to advance American interests.

With more than two decades of leadership in government, industry, academia, and international organizations, Elaine is a globally recognized expert and thought leader on geopolitical risk, economic statecraft, supply chain resilience, illicit finance, anti-corruption, and national security.

Within the public sector, Elaine has held both political and career positions at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, including deputy and acting assistant secretary for policy and director of cargo and trade policy. She served on the Transportation Security Administration’s Aviation Security Advisory Committee and chaired its Air Cargo Security Subcommittee. She also served on the Chairman’s Council on China Competition at the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

Elaine has held senior positions at multilateral organizations, including the World Economic Forum, where she launched the Forum’s Global Risk Response Network and led the Partnering Against Corruption Initiative, and INTERPOL, where she launched programs to increase law enforcement capacity and improve border security.

In the private sector, Elaine held various managerial roles at the Transportation Division of Siemens Corporation and at Cross Match Technologies (now HID). She also founded a risk advisory practice, LumiRisk, LLC.

Elaine has also served as a senior fellow at the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs at Yale University and as a lecturer of business ethics in Yale’s Program on Ethics, Politics, and Economics.

Elaine hosts the Coercive Capital podcast on the Illicit Edge network and has been published widely, including in The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, New York Post, The Washington Post, Newsweek, National Review, Euronews, Barrons, The Hill, and The National Interest. Elaine holds an M.A. in public policy from Georgetown University and a B.A. in international relations from Wheaton College.