Daniel P. Erikson is the former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council, where he advised the President and coordinated U.S. government policies related to the hemisphere. He previously served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Western Hemisphere at the U.S. Department of Defense. In this capacity, he served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and was responsible for U.S. defense and security policy for the thirty-four nation region that encompasses Canada, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America.
Mr. Erikson previously served in the White House as special advisor to two Vice Presidents, where he covered foreign affairs and national security issues in the Americas. He has also served in the U.S. Department of State as senior advisor for Congressional and Inter-Governmental Affairs and senior advisor for Western Hemisphere Affairs. In 2017, he received the State Department’s Superior Honor Award for his diplomatic contributions to U.S.-Latin American relations, including the advancement of bipartisan policies to support security and development in Central America and Colombia.
In addition to his U.S. government experience, Mr. Erikson has held senior positions in the private sector, think-tanks, and academia. He has published widely on a range of topics in international and Latin American and Caribbean affairs and testified before the U.S. Congress. Mr. Erikson earned his Masters in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and a B.A. in International Relations from Brown University. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Mexico and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Washington, D.C.
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