Dr. William J. Parker III is the former CEO and President of the EastWest Institute. An award-winning author, Parker has published over fifty articles and co-authored the books Jihadist Strategic Communication as practiced by Usama Bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri and Guaranteeing America’s Security in the Twenty-First Century.

Parker is a retired senior U.S. naval officer who commanded three warships, and later, a squadron of warships. He was the 2009 recipient of the Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership. He served as the Chief of Staff for U.S. Naval Surface Forces. In addition to multiple combat tours, he held the post of senior advisor and strategist with U.S. Embassies in Iraq and Pakistan.

Parker holds a Doctorate from George Mason University, a Master of Public Administration from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government where he was the Arthur S. Moreau Scholar, and a Bachelor of Science from the United States Air Force Academy, where he was a distinguished military graduate and class president.