Anthony “Tony” Johnson is the president and CEO of Truman National Security Project and the Truman Center. He has been a Fellow of the Truman National Security Project since 2013.

A 20-year veteran of the national security field, Tony began his career in public service as a U.S. Navy Officer serving in the U.S. 6th Fleet and on the staff of Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe. His national security career includes senior policy positions at DoD, and the U.S. Department of State, and research and consultancy roles with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Defense Science Board, NASA, NATO Special Operations Headquarters, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, United States Special Operations Command, and United States Strategic Command. Tony’s international work includes security sector transformation and partner nation capacity-building efforts with governments in West Africa, Europe, and South America.

Prior to becoming Truman CEO, Tony led the Strategic Analytic Red Team in the Joint Advanced Warfighting Division at the Institute for Defense Analyses. In the Biden-Harris Administration Tony served as the Special Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security; and as Intelligence Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of Defense at the U.S. Department of Defense. 

Tony is a passionate and experienced advocate for future leaders looking to build careers in public service. He co-founded and led Truman’s TruDiversity Initiative, an idea engine and leadership incubator that advocates for greater diversity, inclusion, and belonging in the U.S. foreign and national security policy community. He has advised IPF Atid, a network of young and rising Jewish foreign policy professionals committed to advancing a two-state solution. He served as the Department of Defense Senior Champion to the U.S. Intelligence Community’s LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Group. As Chairman of the Board of Fellows for the College of Liberal Arts at Norwich University, Tony ran the university’s undergraduate experiential learning program for young national security scholars. With four Norwich classmates Tony co-founded the Harold Doc Martin Scholarship, which is awarded to talented students with financial need, in honor of the university's first Black graduate and Tuskegee Airman, Harold 'Doc' Martin. 

Tony earned his B.A. from Norwich University, and his M.A. from Georgetown University, where he also taught as Adjunct Professor in the Security Studies Program. In addition, Tony is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior Executives in National and International Security program where he also earned an Executive Diploma in Public Policy. 

Tony is a California native with deep roots in Las Vegas, NV and VT.  He and his husband Juan live in Washington, DC.

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