The overarching question imparting urgency to this exploration is: Can U.S.-Russian contention in cyberspace cause the two nuclear superpowers to stumble into war? In considering this question we were constantly reminded of recent comments by a prominent U.S. arms control expert: At least as dangerous as the risk of an actual cyberattack, he observed, is cyber operations’ “blurring of the line between peace and war.” Or, as Nye wrote, “in the cyber realm, the difference between a weapon and a non-weapon may come down to a single line of code, or simply the intent of a computer program’s user.”
Biography
Doug serves as Vice President and Policy Director of The Complete Agency, a public policy consulting firm in Washington, DC. Doug joined The Complete Agency in January 2023 after serving as Chief of Staff to Senator Amy Klobuchar, a senior member of the Senate Democratic leadership team. He is also a former Technology and Public Purpose Fellow (2022-2023).
As Chief of Staff to Senator Klobuchar, Doug managed a team of approximately 50 staffers and served as the Senator’s top strategist for policy initiatives, media relations, and constituent services. He led all staff in supporting the Senator’s work as Chair of the Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee and a senior member of the Commerce and Agriculture Committees. Doug spent five years with Senator Klobuchar, having previously served as the Senator’s Legislative Director, Deputy Legislative Director, and Senior Economic Adviser. Before advising Senator Klobuchar, Doug served as Chief Counsel for Senator Joe Manchin. He began his time in the Senate as a Fellow on the staff of the Senate Finance Committee under Senator Ron Wyden.
Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Doug spent six years as an attorney in private practice at the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of Duke University School of Law – where he was an Editor of the Duke Law Journal and a member of the moot court board – and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, where he studied finance, economics, and international relations. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland with his wife Katie and their four young children.
Last Updated: Jul 14, 2023, 1:56pm