Title: Assistant Director
Company: Institute for Defense Analyses
Location: Middleburg, Virginia, United States
Margaret D.M. Barber, PhD, assistant director at the Institute for Defense Analyses, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Executives for dedication, achievements, and leadership in defense.
Dr. Barber is an expert in national security, defense institution building, irregular warfare and counterinsurgency. Her career spans two decades, culminating as the assistant director of the strategy, forces and resources division at the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA). The nonprofit organization is based in Alexandria, Virginia, and provides independent and objective analysis to the U.S. government, administering three federally funded research and development centers. In her role, Dr. Barber works closely with the United States government to ensure the safety of the U.S. and its allies. Her position comes after serving as the institute’s national security researcher from 2009 to 2022.
Besides her work at the IDA, Dr. Barber has been an adjunct professor of security studies at Georgetown University since 2023. Leveraging her former success, she has served in various capacities, including as a U.S. Department of Defense liaison for the Security Governance Initiative Country Lead for Niger and Ghana, U.S. Department of State, where she oversaw the Security Governance Initiative and facilitated partnerships with retired ambassadors, ministers of defense and chiefs of defense to implement impactful security improvements. Among other noteworthy roles, Dr. Barber was an operations chief for civil unrest and conflict early warning for Veratect Corporation. She was also a Project Argus senior analyst for Africa and interim senior analyst for the Middle East ISIS Center at Georgetown University.
Highly educated, Dr. Barber received a Bachelor of Arts in international studies and romance languages from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2004, a Master of Arts in security studies from Georgetown University in 2006 and a Doctor of Philosophy in biodefense from George Mason University in 2019. She is an elected fellow of the Truman National Security Project for National Policy and a member of the United States Dressage Federation and the United States Equestrian Federation. Dr. Barber was recognized with a Bronze Medal from the U.S. Dressage Foundation. Her future goals encompass significantly impacting national security and continually developing relationships with allies and partners.
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