Dr. William J. Parker III is the Chief Operating Officer at the EastWest Institute overseeing the institute's offices, programs and personnel in New York, Brussels, Moscow, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Istanbul. The institute works to reduce international conflict, addressing seemingly intractable problems that threaten world security and stability. He is an award winning author who holds a PhD from George Mason University's department of molecular and microbiology and an MA from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Parker is the Navy's 2009 recipient of the James Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership. He is a retired U.S. Navy surface warfare officer who commanded three separate U.S. warships through his career as well as Destroyer Squadron Two Three. He is a 1988 distinguished military graduate and class president of the U.S. Air Force Academy. Parker is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations where he was previously a military fellow. He appeared in the film Sonic Sea with Rachel McAdams and Sting in May 2016 offering that national security and the environment are not in conflict with one another. He co-authored the book Jihadist Strategic Communication: As Practiced by Usama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri (AuthorHouse, 2008) and numerous articles and papers. His latest book, Guaranteeing America’s Security in the 21st Century (MCP Books) was released in 2016.