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Frances Fragos Townsend

Francis Townsend's headshot

Frances Fragos Townsend

  • Former Homeland Security Advisor, Administration of President George W. Bush
  • Senior Counsel, Activision Blizzard

Frances Fragos Townsend, senior counsel at Activision Blizzard, was an on-air national security analyst for CBS News from 2016–22. Townsend was President George W. Bush’s homeland security advisor from 2004–8 and served as deputy national security advisor for combating terrorism from 2003–4. Prior to that, she spent 13 years at the U.S. Department of Justice under the administrations of Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. Townsend is a former Miller Center Governing Council member.

Events

Toward a More Responsible and Effective Presidency (Day One)

William Antholis, Don Baer, Peter Baker, Laura Barrón-López, Bob Bauer, Joshua Bolten, Meena Bose, Valerie Smith Boyd, Robert Bruner, Stephen Burns , and more

Leading scholars, journalists, and key practitioners, drawn from both Republican and Democratic administrations, diagnose the problem with the American presidency on day one of this two-day discussion.

9:00am - 2:30pm
Online
Oct
19

Toward a More Responsible and Effective Presidency (Day Two)

William Antholis, Don Baer, Peter Baker, Laura Barrón-López, Bob Bauer, Joshua Bolten, Meena Bose, Valerie Smith Boyd, Robert Bruner, Stephen Burns , and more

Leading scholars, journalists, and key practitioners, drawn from both Republican and Democratic administrations, focus on how to fix problems with the American presidency on day two of this two-day discussion.

9:00am - 2:30pm
Online
Oct
20