Rebecca Friedman Lissner

Rebecca Lissner is an American political scientist and foreign policy analyst who served as Deputy National Security Adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris from 2022 to 2025. Previously, she was Acting Senior Director for Strategic Planning on the National Security Council, where she oversaw the creation of the Biden administration's National Security Strategy and directed the Russia Strategy Group. During the Obama administration, Lissner served as Special Advisor to Deputy Secretary of Energy, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall.

Education

Lissner holds a BA in social studies from Harvard University and a MA and PhD in government from Georgetown University.

Career

Lissner was previously on the faculty of the Center for Naval Warfare Studies at the Naval War College. Prior to that, she held a number of research fellowships and teaching positions, including at Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Personal life

Lissner's husband, Samuel Lissner, is a principal at Ridgewood Infrastructure, a private equity firm specializing in water, energy transition, utilities, and transportation infrastructure investments. He is also a managing partner at Ridgewood Energy, a private equity firm focused on oil and gas investments in the U.S. deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

Publications

Lissner has published articles in Foreign Affairs, The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, and The Atlantic.
She has also authored two books:Wars of Revelation: The Transformative Effects of Military Intervention on Grand Strategy.An Open World: How America Can Win the Contest for 21st Century Order, with Mira Rapp-Hooper.