Christopher Park is a seasoned international security professional with expertise in biological and chemical weapons nonproliferation/arms control, dual-use issues, global health security, and multilateral negotiation.
A career member of the Civil Service until 2025, Chris served on the staff of the National Security Council as Director for Global Health Security Governance, the Director of the Biological Policy Staff at the Department of State, Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, Senior Advisor on Bioterrorism, desk officer for the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the State Department representative on the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, among other roles.
He led U.S. participation in the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) for over a decade, pioneering new ways to strengthen the BWC (as well as the UN Secretary-General’s mechanism for investigations of alleged CBW use) through joint action. He led half of the successful two-pronged effort to renegotiate U.S. participation in the Universal Postal Union in 2019 and was part of the small, hand-picked team tasked to execute the U.S.-Russia agreement on Syrian chemical weapons in 2013. He got his start at the Department in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, where he prepared guidance and served on delegations to the IAEA, WHO, OECD, ITU, and other major organizations. He is fiercely committed to developing the next generation of multilateral negotiators and biosecurity policy experts, and lectures on both topics frequently.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College. He has still not figured out what he wants to be when he grows up.
