Richard Fontaine is a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). He previously served as a foreign policy advisor to Senator John McCain for more than five years. He has also worked at the State Department, the National Security Council and on the staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. A native of New Orleans, Fontaine graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in International Relations from Tulane University. He also holds a M.A. in International Affairs from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, and he attended Oxford University. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Affairs and is an adjunct professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.