About Us – Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation

Our Mission

The ISN Bureau is organized around three mutually reinforcing efforts:

Nonproliferation Policy
ISN uses bilateral and multilateral diplomacy to prevent proliferation; to promote the highest possible standards of nuclear safety, security, and safeguards worldwide; and to expand peaceful nuclear cooperation globally consistent with such standards.

International Security Policy
ISN shapes the global security environment to reduce WMD, conventional arms-related, and dual-use threats by engaging in critical dialogues; vigorously implementing counterproliferation efforts and policies, and WMD-related sanctions; working throughout the U.S. government and with partners on effective export control policies; developing policy to protect the United States’ critical technologies; and using sanctions pressures and diplomatic outreach to counter destabilizing activities.

International Security and Nonproliferation Programming
ISN develops and administers capacity-building programs and other initiatives to reduce proliferation risks, improve export controls, implement the CHIPS Act, research potential impacts of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies on WMD, counter nuclear smuggling, keep WMD out of the hands of rogue regimes and terrorists, prioritize nuclear security and nonproliferation for nuclear energy newcomers, improve nuclear safety and security around the world, and address urgent global threat-reduction and weapons-elimination challenges.

Our Organization

The ISN bureau consists of four main organizational components, each managed at the Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) level. Each DAS reports to Assistant Secretary of State C.S. Eliot Kang through Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Ann K. Ganzer. The Assistant Secretary oversees operations of the bureau and reports to the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, the Deputy Secretary of State, and the Secretary of State. The ISN Office of the Executive Director (ISN/EX), headed by Sonna Stampone, reports to Assistant Secretary Kang.

• Bureau Organization Chart  [144 KB]

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS) Ann K. Ganzer is a career member of the Senior Executive Service and is responsible for overall bureau management operations, oversees three offices and manages strategic planning for ISN.

• Congressional and Public Affairs (CPA) facilitates ISN interactions with Congress, the media, industry, academia, and non-governmental organizations to coordinate public diplomacy, strategic messaging, and other outreach efforts in support of all ISN missions.
• The Office of Critical Technology Protection develops foreign policy to protect U.S. critical technologies and to counter the malign influence and destabilizing behavior of competitive powers. The office works to implement policies that protect America’s technological and military advantage, and deny, delay, and disrupt adversaries.
• Policy Coordination (PC) develops, integrates, and implements policy strategies across the Bureau. PC partners with stakeholders to identify threats, challenges, and opportunities to advance international security and nonproliferation priorities.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Lowell H. Schwartz serves as DAS for Nonproliferation Policy, overseeing three ISN offices principally charged with advancing U.S. Government efforts related to nuclear nonproliferation and biological weapons threats.

• Biological Policy Staff (BPS) leads U.S. policy coordination related to the Biological Weapons Convention and manages a wide range of policy issues at the intersection of national security, public health, and science.
• Multilateral Nuclear and Security Affairs (MNSA) formulates U.S. policy related to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, the International Atomic Energy Agency, access to nuclear science and technology to support sustainable development, and multilateral nuclear issues such as AUKUS and the challenges posed by countries of proliferation concern, including Iran and the DPRK.
• Nuclear Energy, Safety, and Security (NESS) develops U.S. policy on peaceful nuclear cooperation, nuclear safety, nuclear security, and nuclear export controls, to advance U.S. priorities including in the G7, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Nuclear Energy Agency, and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Gonzalo Suarez serves as DAS for International Security Policy. In this capacity, he oversees ISN’s three offices responsible for shaping the security environment through sanctions enforcement; through regional security, deterrence, and strategic stability dialogues; and through other such diplomatic initiatives.

• Conventional Arms Threat Reduction (CATR) leads efforts to prevent the proliferation of destabilizing conventional weapons and advanced technologies, including through interdiction and by leading U.S. participation in the Wassenaar Arrangement. CATR also leads on export controls to protect the use of dual-use goods—including semiconductors—and prevent their use in ways that harm national security or abuse human rights.
• Counterproliferation Initiatives (CPI) leads efforts to interdict shipments of WMD, their delivery systems, and conventional arms transfers of concern; disrupt and shut down proliferator procurement, transportation, and financial networks; promote compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1540; implement nonproliferation-related U.S. and UN sanctions, and Section 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017; and support the Proliferation Security Initiative.
• Missile, Biological, and Chemical Nonproliferation (MBC) combats the proliferation of missiles capable of delivering WMD (via the Missile Technology Control Regime and the Hague Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation), impedes proliferation of chemical and biological weapons (via the Australia Group), and coordinates interdictions, export control license reviews, nonproliferation visa screening, and missile/CBW-related sanctions.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Kathryn Insley serves as DAS for International Security and Nonproliferation Programs. In this capacity, she oversees ISN’s four offices responsible for counter-threat programming, charged with developing and implementing capacity-building and other programs in support of ISN’s missions.

• Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) mitigates the threat of terrorists or proliferator states acquiring WMD by securing biological, chemical, and nuclear materials, technology, data, and expertise worldwide.
• Export Control Cooperation (ECC) assists other countries in improving their strategic trade control systems via the Export Control and Related Border Security —also called EXBS—program, and coordinates U.S. government nonproliferation export control assistance to other countries.
• The Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund (NDF) uses its agile and flexible funding and implementation authorities to respond to unanticipated or unusually challenging opportunities in support of the most urgent nonproliferation, counterproliferation, or disarmament priorities.
• Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism (WMDT) coordinates capacity-building to counter the threat posed by non-state actors acquiring and using WMD. This includes strengthening partners’ WMD detection, response, investigative, and prosecutorial capabilities, and addressing evolving terrorism threats involving explosives and emerging technologies.

ISN is a talented, diverse, and hard-working team of experts drawn from a range of Civil Service, Foreign Service, technical, academic, military, private sector, Congressional, and other professional backgrounds. Its staff is dedicated to using their skills and experience to meet some of the most significant and daunting security threats the U.S. and international community face today. We in ISN are proud to serve our country, protect the American people, and make the world safer and more secure for all.