About the Talk:
Frontier AI is reshaping the cybersecurity landscape, and defenders now have a critical window to prepare and protect the infrastructure that keeps communities running. This OpenAI Forum conversation convenes leaders across government, technology, and critical infrastructure to define concrete commitments that will help defenders uncover vulnerabilities, remediate them faster, and build lasting resilience across the essential services society depends on.
About the Speakers:
Sasha Baker is the Head of National Security Policy at OpenAI. Previously, Sasha served as the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, after being confirmed by the Senate as the Deputy Under Secretary in February 2022. Sasha joined the civil service as a Presidential Management Fellow at the Office of Management and Budget and held key roles across administrations over nearly two decades of government service, including as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Strategic Planning at the National Security Council; National Security Advisor for Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Deputy Policy Director on her 2020 presidential campaign; and Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter. Sasha holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Dartmouth College and a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a recipient of the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal with oak leaf cluster.
Naz Durakoğlu is the Minority Staff Director of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where she leads the Committee’s Democratic staff and oversees its legislative, oversight, and policy agenda across U.S. foreign policy and national security. Her work has focused on strengthening U.S. economic and national security, including advancing bipartisan initiatives on Russia and Ukraine, sanctions and economic statecraft, emerging technologies, and strategic competition with China. Previously, Durakoğlu was nominated by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs and has served as National Security Advisor to Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). A first-generation American, Durakoğlu speaks fluent Turkish and holds a B.A. from Rutgers University and a M.A. from the U.S. Naval War College.
Andy Baker is a Managing Director at American Global Strategies, where he advises clients on national security, foreign policy, geopolitical strategy, and the implications of a rapidly changing international environment for business and investment decisions. Prior to joining American Global Strategies, Dr. Baker served in the second Trump administration as Deputy National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump and National Security Advisor to Vice President JD Vance. He is the only U.S. official to have served concurrently in both positions and was closely involved in the development and execution of U.S. national security and foreign policy, including the administration’s National Security Strategy and major diplomatic and security initiatives around the world. Dr. Baker earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy in international relations from the University of Oxford. He is proficient in Russian, Bulgarian, and Persian.
Dmytro Kushneruk is the Consul General of Ukraine in San Francisco, a position he has held since July 2020, with a consular district spanning 11 states. Previously, Kushneruk served as Deputy Chief of Protocol to the President of Ukraine from 2014 to 2020 and as Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations in New York from 2012 to 2014. He joined Ukraine’s diplomatic service in 2006, holding several positions in the President’s Office. Kushneruk holds a master’s degree in international law and is a graduate of the Institute of International Relations at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and Odesa National Law Academy. He holds the diplomatic rank of Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Envoy of the First Class.
