Michael Carpenter

Michael Carpenter is the Managing Director of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, and previously was Special Advisor for Europe and Eurasia in the Office of the Vice President. He also served as Director for Russia in the National Security Council. A former Foreign Service officer, Carpenter served in the Department of State as Deputy Director of the Office of Russian Affairs, Special Assistant for the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Political-Military officer in the Office of European Security and Political Affairs, and Advisor on Regional Conflicts in the Office of Caucasus Affairs and Regional Conflicts. He served overseas in Barbados, Slovenia and Poland. He has received numerous professional distinctions, including the Jamestown Foundation Distinguished Service Award and fellowships from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the International Research & Exchanges Board. Carpenter earned a B.A. at Stanford University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley.