The Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) is an advisory board established by Congress to promote the fullest possible public access to a thorough, accurate, and reliable documentary record of significant U.S. national security decisions and activities. The PIDB’s mandate includes advising the President and other government officials on policies deriving from the issuance by the President of executive orders regarding the classification and declassification of national security information. The current members are:
Alissa M. Starzak (Acting Chair)
Alissa M. Starzak was first appointed to the PIDB on February 27, 2018, by Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer. PIDB members elected her as Vice Chair in 2018, and she served as Acting Chair from June 5, 2020, to January 10, 2021. Authorizing legislation extended her term through February 15, 2022. On February 1, 2022, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer announced his intention to appoint Alissa M. Starzak to serve on the Board for a three-year term, which began on February 15, 2022, and will end on February 14, 2025. Ms. Starzak is currently Vice President and Global Head of Public Policy at Cloudflare, a web security and optimization company. Prior to joining Cloudflare, Ms. Starzak worked for the U.S government in a variety of national security positions. Most recently, she served as the 21st General Counsel of the U.S. Department of the Army, after confirmation by the Senate. As General Counsel of the Army, she was the primary legal counsel to the Secretary of the Army and the Army’s chief legal officer. Her appointment as Army General Counsel followed service as the Deputy General Counsel for Legislation at the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), where she advised on legal issues with a legislative or congressional component, and managed an office of attorneys responsible for developing the DoD’s legislative program. Prior to moving to the DoD, Ms. Starzak served as Counsel to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, focusing on legal issues relating to intelligence collection and covert action, and as an Assistant General Counsel at the Office of General Counsel of (CIA). She also worked in private practice in Washington, D.C., and clerked for The Honorable E. Grady Jolly, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She graduated from Amherst College and the University of Chicago Law School, where she served as an editor of the University of Chicago Law Review.
Presidential Appointees
Paul-Noel Chretien
On December 30, 2020, President Donald J. Trump appointed Paul-Noel Chretien to a three-year term on the PIDB. Mr. Chretien began his legal career in private practice at a Washington, DC, law firm and then moved to the U.S. Department of Justice, where he practiced Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act law. He represented federal agencies in court, adjudicated over 1,200 administrative appeals of FOIA determinations by Justice Department components, and taught classes on the FOIA and Privacy Act. From 2000 until 2019, Mr. Chretien worked at the CIA, where he held a variety of positions, including Chairman of the Publications Review Board and Liaison Representative to the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP) at the National Archives. In his role as Liaison Representative, Mr. Chretien was responsible for justifying either the declassification of CIA documents or their continued classification to protect national security. For his work at the ISCAP, the Information Security Oversight Office recognized Mr. Chretien with an honorary Notice for his significant contributions to the increased productivity of the panel. Mr. Chretien also served as a Senior Reviewer for the High-Value Detainee Prosecution Task Force; Associate Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer; Inspector in the Office of Inspector General; and Chief Policy Officer in the Office of Identity Management. Mr. Chretien retired from the CIA in 2019 and is now a management consultant and technical writer at Leidos. Mr. Chretien graduated with honors from Virginia Tech, with a B.A. in economics. He received his J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.
Ezra Cohen
On January 11, 2021, President Donald J. Trump appointed Ezra Cohen to a three-year term on the PIDB and designated him to serve as Chair for a two-year term that ended on January 10, 2023. Prior to his appointment to the PIDB, Mr. Cohen served in senior leadership positions at the DoD and in the Intelligence Community, most recently as the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and ecurity and Director for Defense Intelligence, Office of the Director of National Intelligence from November 2020 to January 2021. In this role, he exercised authority, direction, and control over the Defense Intelligence Enterprise and Combat Support Agencies. Additionally, he served as the principal civilian intelligence advisor to the Secretary of Defense on all military intelligence related matters, including signals intelligence, human intelligence, sensitive activities, geospatial intelligence, sensitive reconnaissance, counterintelligence, law enforcement, and security. His previous government positions include Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (SO/LIC); Principal Deputy Assistance Secretary of Defense for SO/LIC; Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Counter-Narcotics and Global Threats; Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Intelligence Programs on the National Security Council; Deputy Defense Intelligence Officer for South Asia at the Defense Intelligence Agency; and as a DoD Operations Officer. Mr. Cohen began his government service as an intern researching 1820’s tariff legislation in the Center for Legislative Archives, a part of the National Archives and Record Administration. Mr. Cohen has also worked in the private sector for Oracle Corporation. Mr. Cohen received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Pennsylvania.
Michael G. Lawrence
On October 9, 2020, President Donald J. Trump appointed Michael G. Lawrence to a three-year term onthe PIDB. Mr. Lawrence entered the Senior Executive Service in 1999. He retired in June 2019 after a 20+ year career in the Intelligence Community where he held leadership positions at several intelligence agencies. In his last assignment, he set up and then served as the Director of the Enterprise Functional Team at the National Security Agency (NSA). Previously, he served as the Senior Advisor to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) from 2013 to 2018. In this role, he was responsible for advising the DNI and other senior leaders of the Intelligence Community on capabilities, policy, coordination, and oversight relating to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Between 2008 and 2013, Mr. Lawrence served as the NSA Chair at the National Defense University (NDU) at Ft. McNair. In this role, he was the highest-ranking Intelligence Officer at NDU. As a member of the faculty, he taught courses on Strategic Leadership and Executive Communication for Strategic Leaders, Space and Industry, Media and Industry, and courses on regional security issues. Mr. Lawrence was awarded the Meritorious Civilian Award by the Joint Chiefs of Staff for instructing the next generation of Senior Military leaders. Mr. Lawrence served as the Director in the Office of Strategic Communications, Business Plans, and Operations at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) from 2007 to 2008, where he was responsible for directing and implementing all NRO interactions with the Congress, the Intelligence Community, and other executive branch agencies, the press, and the private sector. Mr. Lawrence received the NRO’s Distinguished Service Medal for his work. Between 2001 and 2007, he served as the Principal Director for Legislative Affairs at the NSA and provided critical leadership in shepherding critical legislation through Congress to support the NSA’s post-9/11 Mission. He received the Director’s Distinguished Service Medal for this work to support NSA’s mission. Mr. Lawrence began his career at the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the legislative affairs office, rising to become the Acting Director. Mr. Lawrence graduated with honors from John Jay College, with a BS in Criminal Justice. He also attended Western Michigan University Law School. Currently, Mr. Lawrence is a volunteer with Sowing Seeds in Marshfield, MA.
Benjamin A. Powell
On October 9, 2020, President Donald J. Trump appointed Benjamin A. Powell to a three-year term on the PIDB. Mr. Powell is currently a partner at WilmerHale, where he co-chairs the cybersecurity and privacy practice. Mr. Powell was confirmed by the Senate as General Counsel of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in 2006. He served as General Counsel to the first three Directors of National Intelligence. He served as Special Assistant to the President and Associate White House Counsel from 2002 to 2006, where he was responsible for Intelligence Community-related legislation and intelligence transformation initiatives. This included efforts related to the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, National Counterterrorism Center, enhancing CIA capabilities, and terrorism information sharing. He was the White House representative to the President’s Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction. The Commission examined issues related to the Intelligence Community’s approach to threats from Iraq, North Korea, Iran, Libya, Al-Qaeda, and other entities. Mr. Powell clerked on the United States Supreme Court for Justices John Paul Stevens and Byron White, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for Judge John M. Walker, Jr. Mr. Powell served in the United States Air Force prior to law school and also worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. As an officer in the Air Force, Mr. Powell supported intelligence missions of the United States Space Command Joint Space Intelligence Center, Fleet Intelligence Centers, National Maritime Intelligence Center, United States Central Command, Air Combat Command, and counter-narcotics tactical intelligence centers. Mr. Powell received degrees in applied science from the School of Engineering and Applied Science and in finance from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his J.D. degree from Columbia Law School.
Congressional Appointees
Harold W. (“Trey”) Gowdy
On August 24, 2020, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy appointed Harold W. (“Trey”) Gowdy, III to a three-year term on the PIDB. Mr. Gowdy served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina’s 4th congressional district from 2011-2019. In Congress, Rep. Gowdy’s committee assignments included the Judiciary Committee, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Education and Workforce Committee, and the Ethics Committee. He chaired the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the U.S. House Select Committee on Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attacks in Benghazi. Prior to entering Congress, he served for 16 years as a prosecutor in South Carolina, including six years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and federal prosecutor, and ten years as the elected 7th Circuit Solicitor for Cherokee and Spartanburg Counties. Mr. Gowdy holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Baylor University (1986), and a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina (1989). He clerked for John Gardner on the South Carolina Court of Appeals and for U.S. District Judge George Anderson, Jr. After retiring from Congress, Mr. Gowdy returned to Greenville, SC where he is a Partner in the law firm Nelson, Mullins, Riley, and Scarborough. Mr. Gowdy is a public speaker and the author of Doesn’t Hurt to Ask: Using the Power of Questions to Communicate, Connect, and Persuade (August 18, 2020).
John F. Tierney
On July 1, 2020, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed John F. Tierney to a new three-year term on the PIDB. Previously, On July 11, 2017, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives appointed him for a three-year term that was extended to June 29, 2021, in the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. On June 30, 2023, he resigned his position on the PIDB to realign the House of Representatives appointments. His current three-year term will end on June 30, 2023. He is presently Executive Director at the Center for Arms Control & Non-Proliferation and its sister organization, The Council for a Livable World. His work focuses on national security issues, nuclear non-proliferation, missile defense, and areas concerning peace and security. Mr. Tierney is a former nine-term Massachusetts Congressman who served on the House Intelligence Committee and chaired the National Security and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee of the Government Oversight and Reform Committee. His 18-year career included oversight of the Government Accountability Office’s annual assessment of the Pentagon’s Weapons Selection Programs and reform of overall Pentagon spending. Additionally, Mr. Tierney was a senior member of the Education and Workforce Committee of the House, where he served as Ranking Member on the Health, Employment, Labor and Pension Subcommittee, and served on the Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee, where he had a prominent role in several Higher Education Reauthorization and Workforce Opportunity Reauthorization Acts and related legislation. Prior to being elected to Congress, Mr. Tierney was a Partner in the law firm Tierney, Kalis, and Lucas, counsel for several community governments, a Trustee of Salem State College (now University), and member and President of the local Chamber of Commerce. He holds a B.A. from Salem State College and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School.