The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation hosts private events for Members of Congress and their staffs. The events listed below are open only to Members of Congress or Congressional staffers, as indicated.
Virtual Staff Briefings
- March 26: Exploring Syria’s Chemical Weapons Stockpile with Greg Koblentz and Christine Parthemore
- April 2: Nuclear Futures in Northeast Asia: Shifting Perspectives in Seoul and Tokyo with Jenny Town and Emma Chanlett-Avery
In-Person Staff Briefings
- April 22: The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference: What It Iss and Why It Matters with Mallory Stewart and Patricia Jaworek
Members-Only Dinners
- April 14: War in Iran and the Role of Congress
- May 12 (rescheduled): Arms Control in the New Nuclear Era
March 26: Syria’s Chemical Weapons in 2026 — Resolved or Ongoing?
WHEN: 12 p.m.
WHERE: Virtual
REGISTER: Register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the briefing.
More than one year after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, there are still unresolved questions related to Syria’s chemical weapons, an issue of major international concern – and one not to be overlooked. Join the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation for a congressional staff briefing in which we explore the current status of the chemical weapons stockpile and avenues for disarmament under the new government. We will be joined by the foremost experts in the field, the Council on Strategic Risks’ Christine Parthemore and George Mason University’s Greg Koblentz.
- Greg Koblentz is an associate professor and director of the Biodefense Graduate Program at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. Koblentz is an associate faculty at the Center for Security Policy Studies at George Mason. He is a member of the Scientist Working Group on Biological and Chemical Security at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington, D.C., and the Security Working Group of the Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC). In 2016, he briefed the United Nations Security Council on the impact of emerging technologies on the threat posed by nonstate actors armed with weapons of mass destruction. He serves as a pro bono advisor for the Open Society Justice Initiative, as a consultant for the Stimson Center on their cheminformatics program, and is a member of the Biothreat Advisory Board of Nighthawk Biosciences.
- Christine Parthemore is Director of CSR’s Janne E. Nolan Center on Strategic Weapons. She is also former CSR Chief Executive Officer, , and was a founding Board Member of CSR. Her current work covers issues in countering weapons of mass destruction, arms control and disarmament, biosecurity and biodefense, innovation and technology trends in national security, and the security implications of a broad range of global risks. Prior, she served as the Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs in the U.S. Department of Defense, an office that managed more than $3 billion per year in research and development, acquisition, treaty compliance, and international partnership programs in addition to directing the Nuclear Weapons Council. Her countering-weapons of mass destruction work spanned from projects to eliminate chemical weapons to biosecurity capacity-building programs with partner countries. It included a multi-year effort leading to the international mission to remove and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons, and collaboration with international partners on all-hazards emergency preparedness and global health security.
The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization funded by foundations and contributions from individuals. There is no taxpayer, corporate, political, or lobbyist funding for this project.
April 2: Nuclear Futures in Northeast Asia: Shifting Perspectives in Seoul and Tokyo
WHEN: 12 p.m. ET
WHERE: Virtual
REGISTER: Register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the briefing.
Join the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation for a congressional staff briefing as we bring together leading experts to examine how nuclear perspectives in Seoul and Tokyo are shifting, what is driving these debates, and what the implications could be for regional stability and the global nonproliferation regime.
- Jenny Town is is a Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center and the Director of Stimson’s Korea Program and 38 North. Her areas of expertise include North Korea, US-DPRK relations, US-ROK alliance relations and extended deterrence, and Northeast Asia regional security. She was named one of Worth Magazine’s “Groundbreakers 2020: 50 Women Changing the World” and one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business in 2019 for her role in co-founding and managing 38 North, which provides policy and technical analysis on North Korea. She is also an Associate Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), a Member of the National Committee on North Korea, and an Associate Member of the Council of Korean Americans.
- Emma Chanlett-Avery is Deputy Director of the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Washington, DC office and the Director for Political-Security Affairs. Emma leads Congressional outreach efforts and directs ASPI’s policy engagement on Indo-Pacific alliances. Previous to this post, she served for 20 years as a Specialist in Asian Affairs at the Congressional Research Service, where she focused on United States relations with Japan, the Korean Peninsula, Thailand, and Singapore, with an emphasis on security issues. In 2023, she served as a Congressional Fellow on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, assisting the Chairman with drafting Asia policy legislation and preparing for hearings. Ms. Chanlett-Avery was a Presidential Management Fellow, with rotations in the State Department on the Korea Desk and at the Joint United States Military Advisory Group in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization funded by foundations and contributions from individuals. There is no taxpayer, corporate, political, or lobbyist funding for this project.
April 22: The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference: What It Is and Why It Matters
WHEN: 12-1 p.m. ET
WHERE: S-115 (Capitol building — Senate side)
RSVP HERE
Lunch will be provided!
What does the future of nuclear weapons look like…and who gets to decide?
At a moment of rising global tensions and renewed nuclear risks, the upcoming Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference is back in the spotlight. This high-stakes gathering brings countries together to confront one of the most urgent questions of our time: how to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons while moving toward disarmament.
Join the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation for a congressional staff briefing during which we will break down what’s happening, what’s at stake, and why it should matter to you.
- Mallory Stewart is the Chief Executive Officer of The Council on Strategic Risks. Her areas of expertise include weapons of mass destruction law and policy, missile defense, outer space security policy, and risk management regarding emerging and disruptive technologies. From 2022 to 2025, she served as the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability at the U.S. Department of State. She joined the bureau after serving as a Special Assistant to President Biden and Senior Director for Arms Control, Disarmament, and Nonproliferation at the National Security Council from January 2021.
- Patricia Jaworek serves as a director with NTI’s Global Nuclear Policy Program (GNPP). In this role, she supports NTI’s efforts to reduce global nuclear risks, focusing on U.S.-Russia arms control, Euro-Atlantic security, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Jaworek previously worked with NTI as a consultant for GNPP and the Scientific and Technical Affairs team. She has also worked as a research assistant at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Brussels, where she focused on NATO deterrence and defense policy, and at CRDF Global, where she focused on addressing global threats posed by weapons of mass destruction and emerging technologies.
The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization funded by foundations and contributions from individuals. There is no taxpayer, corporate, political, or lobbyist funding for this project.
