Damon Wilson is the President and CEO of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), an independent nonprofit supporting global freedom. Before joining NED, he played a key role in transforming the Atlantic Council into a leading global think tank as its executive vice president.

Wilson's extensive experience includes serving as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council, where he worked on NATO enlargement, countering Russian aggression, and partnering with Europe to support global democracy. He also served as Executive Secretary and Chief of Staff at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad during a time of conflict, managing one of the largest U.S. embassies.

Earlier in his career, Wilson was involved in NATO's response to 9/11 and operations in Afghanistan and the Balkans while serving as Deputy Director in the Private Office of NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson. He has also worked on European security at the State Department and served in U.S. embassies in Beijing and Baghdad.

Wilson holds a master’s degree from Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs and graduated summa cum laude from Duke University. He has also studied in France, conducted research on democracy in Estonia, and worked in Rwanda and Croatia on humanitarian issues.

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