During a State Department career spanning Democratic and Republican administrations, Dr. Cynkin served as Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, managing senior staff, strategic planning, and the policy process across three bureaus totaling more than 600 personnel. As Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of State, he proposed the change, later enacted by Congress, that allowed Foreign Service members to serve in Taiwan without resigning from the Service. As Director of the Office of Indonesia and East Timor Affairs, he built a new office and oversaw establishment of the first U.S. Embassy in Dili. He also served as U.S. Chargé d’Affaires to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, advised two U.S. Ambassadors to the United Nations, and spent seven years in Japan as a Japanese-speaking diplomat.

Outside government, Dr. Cynkin led Fujitsu Ltd.’s Washington office as Vice President and General Manager and served on the Board and Executive Committee of the Information Technology Industry Council. He helped build a national security graduate school from its founding through accreditation and acquisition by Texas A&M University, and created and chaired its Advisory Board. At the R Street Institute, he led the Policy Department, overseeing six programs and more than thirty staff. He also served as a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

He is the recipient of multiple State Department awards, including a commendation from Secretary Powell for “extraordinary service to the American people” on the 9/11 Task Force. He holds a BA magna cum laude from Tufts University and an MALD and PhD from its Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and was a fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School.