Joseph Cirincione to Lead Expansion of Ploughshares Fund

Date:  February 20, 2008

Defense expert becomes president of global security foundation.

SAN FRANCISCO: Ploughshares Fund today named Joseph Cirincione, a highly-regarded policy expert and Capitol Hill veteran, as its new president. “At a moment of unprecedented opportunity to foster fundamental changes in the direction of U.S. nuclear weapons policy,” said board chairman Roger Hale, “we are fortunate and delighted to welcome someone of Joe’s stature and intellect into the leadership of this organization.”

Ploughshares Fund is a public grantmaking foundation that supports initiatives to prevent the spread and use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, and to prevent conflicts that could lead to the use of these weapons.

Cirincione is the author of the 2007 critically- acclaimed book, Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons. He served as senior vice president for national security and international policy at the Center for American Progress, and previously for eight years as director of the nonproliferation program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He worked for over nine years on the professional staff of the House Armed Services Committee and the Government Operations Committee. Cirincione is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and teaches at the Georgetown University Graduate School of Foreign Service.

In recent months, Cirincione has appeared in the media and has written extensively about a “new moment” for nuclear disarmament; that is, the confluence of global political changes that have opened the potential to set the U.S. and the world on a path toward dramatically reducing and ultimately eliminating nuclear weapons. “Rarely have the political stars aligned so dramatically,” says Cirincione. “And Ploughshares Fund is uniquely positioned to make the most of this moment, by leveraging its 25-year track record as a high-impact funder of security and peace initiatives, its expanding grantmaking capacity and its renewed commitment to increase support for the most effective people and organizations in the field.” He noted Ploughshares’ near-completion of a $25 million endowment campaign and innovative measures recently adopted by the board to maximize the use of its capital resources.

The fund, based in San Francisco, announced plans to open a Washington, DC office, and to develop and fund projects designed to sustain the momentum for a new direction in nuclear weapons policy. Added Executive Director Naila Bolus, “Joe is the right person to take on this new role at this moment. Having worked in both government and civil society, he understands the essential role of non-governmental actors in generating new ideas and practical policy solutions. With Joe’s vision and leadership, and Ploughshares Fund’s expanded capacity, we are confident that we can capitalize on this historic opportunity to build a better, safer world.”

Joseph Cirincione will join the fund on March 5, 2008. Ploughshares Fund is supported by individuals, families and foundations.