Kirsten D. Madison

Vice President of Government Relations

Kirsten D. Madison joined the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) as Vice President of Government Relations in June 2022. She has over 25 years of government service with the House and Senate, National Security Council, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of State.

Kirsten most recently served as the Director of Homeland Security for the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee minority staff. Prior to that, as the Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Kirsten managed a bureau with $4.5 billion in appropriations, operations in 90 countries, a multinational network of law enforcement training academies, and a global workforce of several thousand direct hires and contract team members.

Her executive branch service also includes service as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, as Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs on the National Security Council, and as the Director of International Affairs and Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard. Kirsten also served in the legislative branch, including as a Senior Professional Staff Member and Deputy Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, as well as Legislative Director and International Affairs Advisor for Representative Porter Goss.

Outside of her time in government, Kirsten served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary General of the Organization of American States. She also worked at the American Enterprise Institute as deputy director for foreign and defense policy studies.

Kirsten earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from Goucher College and a Master of Science degree in Economics and European Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is married to Matthew Dyckman, and together they enjoy getting on the road, out on the water, and on the move with their three rescue dogs.