About the Board
The Public Interest Declassification Board 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 Board’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.
Nancy Soderberg (Chair)
Nancy Soderberg was reappointed by the President as Chair on November 16, 2012. She is a national security expert with vast experience at the White House, United Nations, and Congress. While at the National Security Council, she worked extensively on declassification issues. She is currently the President of the Connect U.S. Fund, a non-profit organization that focuses on promoting U.S. global engagement. In addition, she is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the University of North Florida and the President and CEO of Soderberg Global Solutions. Ambassador Soderberg served as Vice President of the International Crisis Group from 2001 until 2005. She was the U.S. Representative for Special Political Affairs at the United Nations from 1997 to 2001, and Staff Director of the National Security Council and Deputy Assistant to the President from 1993 until 1997. From 1985 to 1992, she served as a Foreign Policy Advisor to Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Ambassador Soderberg has written The Superpower Myth: The Use and Misuse of American Might and co-authored, with Brian Katulis, The Prosperity Agenda: What the World Wants from America – and What We Need in Return. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She earned a B.A. from Vanderbilt University and an M.S. from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Ambassador Soderberg is serving her second term on the Board.
Martin Faga
Martin Faga was reappointed by the President on February 10, 2012. He was the President and Chief Executive Officer of The MITRE Corporation for six years, retiring in 2006. Before joining MITRE, Mr. Faga served as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space from 1989 until 1993. At the same time, he served as Director of the National Reconnaissance Office, responsible to the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence for the development, acquisition, and operation of all U.S. satellite reconnaissance programs. Mr. Faga has been awarded the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal, the Air Force Exceptional Civilian Service Medal, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. In 2004, he was awarded the Intelligence Community Seal Medallion. He was first appointed to the PIDB in October 2004, and again in January 2009. He has also served on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. Mr. Faga graduated from Lehigh University with a B.S. and an M.S. in electrical engineering. Mr. Faga is serving his third term on the Board.
William H. Leary
William H. Leary was appointed by the President on February 10, 2012. He was the Special Adviser to the National Security Advisor and Senior Director for Records and Access Management on the National Security Staff until his retirement in 2011. In that capacity, he had served as Chair of the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel and Chair of the Records Access and Information Security Interagency Policy Committee. A strong proponent of governmental transparency, Mr. Leary was one of the primary executive branch officials behind the creation of the PIDB in 2000 and the development of President Obama’s Executive Order 13526 on Classified National Security Information. Prior to joining the National Security Council staff, he served as the Deputy Director of the Agency Services Division at the National Archives and Records Administration for five years. From 1968 until 1973, Mr. Leary taught American history at the University of Virginia, the College of William and Mary, and the University of South Alabama. He received his B.A. in foreign affairs and M.A. and A.B.D. in history, all from the University of Virginia. Mr. Leary is serving his first term on the Board.
Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker
Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker was reappointed by the President on January 10, 2012. She is currently a professor of law at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law where she earlier served as dean from 2002-2012. Previously, she served as general counsel for the University of Wisconsin System (1999 to 2002); general counsel to the Central Intelligence Agency (1990 to 1995); Principal Deputy Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State (1989-1990); general counsel, National Security Agency (1984-1989) and as Acting Assistant Director (Mergers and Acquisitions) at the Federal Trade Commission. In addition to her experience managing government legal offices, Ms. Parker also served as the director of the New Haven Legal Assistance Association, Inc. (1973-1976) after handling civil rights and civil liberties litigation as a co-operating attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. She has been a member of the Special Advisory Group to the Director of National Intelligence since 2009 and is a member of the Board of the Civilian Research Development Foundation-Global and the Council on Foreign Relations. Both her law (1968) and undergraduate (cum laude, 1964) degrees are from the University of Michigan. Ms. Parker is serving her third term on the Board.
David E. Skaggs
David Skaggs was appointed by Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the House, on March 29, 2012. He is the Chairman of the Board of the Office of Congressional Ethics and practices law with the firm McKenna, Long, and Aldridge. He previously served as Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education from 2007 to 2009. He served 12 years in Congress from 1987 to1999 as the Representative from the 2nd Congressional District in Colorado, including 8 years on the House Appropriations Committee and 6 years on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. After leaving Congress, he served as Executive Director of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at the Council for Excellence in Government from 1999 to 2006, and taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado, where he recently resumed teaching as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Law School. He has a B.A. in philosophy from Wesleyan University and an LL.B from Yale Law School. Mr. Skaggs is serving his third term on the Board.
Admiral William O. Studeman, USN (Ret.)
Bill Studeman was appointed by Rep. John Boehner, Speaker of the House, on May 18, 2012. He recently retired from Northrop Grumman Corporation as Vice President and Deputy General Manager of Mission Systems. Admiral Studeman’s flag tours included OPNAV Director of Long Range Navy Planning; Director of Naval Intelligence; Director of the National Security Agency; and Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, with two extended periods as Acting Director. He served as a member of the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction and is currently serving on the National Advisory Board on Bio-Security and the Defense Science Board. He holds a B.A. in history from the University of the South in Sewanee, TN, and an M.A. in public and international affairs from George Washington University. Admiral Studeman is serving his third term on the Board.
Sanford J. Ungar
Sanford J. Ungar was reappointed to the Board by Sen. Harry Reid as Majority Leader of the Senate on March 7, 2011. He currently serves as the tenth President of Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. Prior to assuming his position at Goucher College, Mr. Ungar served as Director of the Voice of America, Dean of the School of Communication at American University in Washington, D.C., as the Washington editor of The Atlantic, as managing editor of Foreign Policy magazine, and as a staff writer for The Washington Post. He is a former host of “All Things Considered” on National Public Radio and had published six books, including The Papers & The Papers: An Account of the Legal and Political Battle over the Pentagon Papers. Mr. Ungar obtained his B.A. in Government from Harvard College and a Master’s degree in International History from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Mr. Ungar is serving his second term on the Board.
