Kaia Haney

Kaia Haney is an expert in African security, specializing in strategic competition on the continent and the African security environment. She is also closely involved in CNA’s work in the Middle East, focusing on regional dynamics and the connections between the Middle East and Africa. Some highlights of her work with CNA include a study analyzing the People’s Republic of China’s environmental, financial, and military activities across the African continent, a report analyzing vulnerability and resilience to false narratives, and a paper on the mental health of domestic terrorists. She has played a leading role in CNA wargames on the defense industrial base and the African operational environment. Haney received the CNA CEO Teamwork Award in 2021.

Prior to joining CNA, Haney worked at the State Department, supporting both the Bureau of African Affairs and the Foreign Service Institute, and held a year-long fellowship with the Global Network Initiative, an internet freedom nonprofit. Before that, she spent three years leading communications for the cybersecurity and artificial intelligence start-up Darktrace.

Haney has a Master of Science degree in foreign service from Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Duke University.