Alex is a Director at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, responsible for cyber and security issues.

Alex is a former diplomat and national security official whose career spans over 20 years’ in Defence, the Office of National Intelligence, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of Foreign Affairs, including postings to Canada and Afghanistan.

Between 2019-2023, Alex was an Associate Director, Operations Advisory and Director, Policy Evaluation and Public Impact at professional services firm KPMG, supporting Commonwealth and State Governments on policy and program design and implementation.

Prior to this, Alex held various senior policy advisor roles in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s National Security Division, including Director of Law Enforcement and Border Security, Director Cyber Security Policy and Director Crisis Management. In this capacity Alex provided advice to Government on a wide range of security legislation, policy and operations, including critical infrastructure security, foreign interference, cyberspace, telecommunications security, digital identity management, intelligence and border security. Alex developed Australia’s first International Cyber Security Engagement Strategy, established the inaugural cross-Government taskforce on Critical Infrastructure security, and co-authored a range of national security reviews and documents, including on the Australian Government’s Crisis Management Arrangements (2014), the Martin Place Siege: joint Commonwealth-New South Wales Review (2014) and the Report of the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers (2012).

During 2011-2012, Alex was a Senior Analyst for Transnational Issues at the Office of National Intelligence, where she provided senior executives and Ministers with all-source analysis on people smuggling, regional law enforcement and transnational crime.

Prior to this Alex served as an Officer in the Royal Australian Navy. She is an Australian Defence Force Academy Graduate. She holds a PhD in International Relations from Monash University (2007) and a First Class Masters in Archaeological Science from the University of Oxford (2017).