Scott Bates has served in leadership roles at the state, national and international levels in policy development and government for over twenty-five years.
Bates has extensive experience on Capitol Hill, including serving as Chief of Staff for Congressman Nick Lampson, Counsel to Congressman Jim Turner, and Senior Advisor to Congressman Maurice Hinchey. As Secretary of the Commonwealth (State) and Legislative Director for Governor Douglas Wilder of Virginia, Scott focused on ethics reforms in state government and development and passage of the governor’s legislative agenda. Bates led an unprecedented expansion in appointments of women and minorities to state boards and commissions.
After September 11th, Scott became the first Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee and was the principal author of “Winning the War on Terror” which helped inform the 9/11 Commission in its deliberations and development of its report. He helped lead the team that produced a dozen reports on homeland security issues ranging from border security to bioterrorism. He continued work on national security issues as President of the Center for National Policy, a Washington DC think tank.
Scott Bates has been on the ground in every conflict zone where American troops have served in this generation. He has worked with elected leaders and activists alike to build democratic institutions and governance structures in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia, Haiti, and the Persian Gulf. Bates has worked in the British Parliament and served as an advisor to the Premier of South Australia.
Bates has taught Homeland Security at the National Defense University in Washington DC. He was a Visiting Professor of International Law and International Human Rights Law at the University of Indiana School of Law, Visiting Professor of Political Science at the University of Pristina (Kosovo) and was a Lecturer on American Government at the University of Tokyo. He has been a featured speaker on defense issues and international affairs at numerous national and international conferences and provided commentary for media outlets on five continents including The New York Times, Washington Post, The Gulf Times, The Australian, The Taipei Times, the BBC, France24 and Al Jazeera.
Scott Bates holds JD from the University of Virginia School of Law, MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics, and graduated magna cum laude in History and Political Science from the University of Dayton.
Bates lives in his hometown of Stonington, Connecticut where he has served as Chairman of the Police Commission and Connecticut’s Deputy Secretary of the State. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Pell Center for International Relations and the Senior Fellow at the American Security Project.