Citizens as Instruments of National Power

About the Lecture: To achieve national security and foreign policy objectives, the United States must embrace new approaches and use all instruments of national power, including our citizens and private sector. This talk will discuss how private resources and new models of private-public collaboration are complementing U.S. government capabilities in Ukraine, Syria, Serbia, Laos, West Africa, and elsewhere.

About the Speaker: Mr. Jim Hake founded Spirit of America (SoA) in response to the attacks of 9/11. SoA is a citizen-funded 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian and economic assistance in response to needs identified by U.S. troops and diplomats serving abroad.

Prior to SoA, Mr. Hake was an Internet entrepreneur. He founded Access Media, one of the first Internet media companies, and sold it to SOFTBANK Forums. It was later incorporated into Ziff Davis. In 2000 and 2001, Mr. Hake was named a “Technology Pioneer” by the World Economic Forum. He has been honored at the Marines Evening Parade, and he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, an Honorary Member of the US Army Civil Affairs Regiment, and a member of State Department’s Stabilization Advisory Council. Additionally, Mr. Hake is a contributing author to Warriors and Citizens, and he has lectured on entrepreneurship at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, the SMU Cox School of Business, and USC’s Annenberg School for Communication. He has given talks at the TED Conference, the Aspen Institute, the Bush School at Texas A&M, and the Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Mr. Hake received a B.A. and graduated with distinction in Economics from Dartmouth College. He earned an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.