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Jon Finer

Deputy National Security Advisor of the United States

Jon Finer currently serves as President Joe Biden’s Principal Deputy National Security Advisor. Prior to joining President Biden’s staff, he was an Adjunct Senior Fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. Before that, he was Chief of Staff and Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. Department of State, where he previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. He also previously worked for four years at the White House, including as Senior Adviser to Deputy National Security Adviser Antony Blinken and as Special Adviser for the Middle East and North Africa and foreign policy speechwriter for Vice President Joseph R. Biden. He joined the Obama administration in 2009 as a White House Fellow, assigned to the Office of the White House Chief of Staff and the National Security Council Staff.

Prior to entering government service, Mr. Finer was a foreign and national correspondent for the Washington Post, in which capacity he reported from more than 20 countries and spent 18 months covering the war in Iraq, embedding with the U.S. Marines during the 2003 invasion and based in Baghdad in 2005–2006. He also covered conflicts in Gaza (2009), Russia/Georgia (2008), and Israel/Lebanon (2006), the 2004 U.S. presidential campaign, and the 2004 Major League Baseball playoffs.

Thoughtful Leaders. Decision Makers. Activists and Experts.

The Sedona Forum is the McCain Institute’s annual, high-level gathering of national and international leaders held each spring in the red rock country of Sedona, Arizona. Starting from the assumption of character-driven leadership and core democratic values, The Sedona Forum convenes thought-leaders, decision makers, activists and diverse experts to discuss approaches and solutions to real-world problems.