Catherine Lea

Catherine Lea is an expert in wargame design and development, Japanese security policy, and U.S. base politics in Japan. Her wargaming work focuses on emerging warfare capabilities, including hypersonics and cyber, new Fleet naval capabilities, and U.S. installation operations in peacetime and wartime.

At CNA, Lea leads multidisciplinary teams that develop new wargaming methods, design wargames that explore new warfare areas, and facilitate complex events. Prior to joining CNA’s wargaming team, she served as the CNA field representative to U.S. Fleet Forces Command and Amphibious Group 2. She also conducted Asia-Pacific focused analyses as part of CNA’s Strategic Initiatives Group. She was part of a team that received the CNA CEO Teamwork Award for providing support to three wargaming efforts for the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.

Lea holds a Master of Arts in national security studies from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts in political science and economics from the University of California at Berkeley.