Dr. Lillian “Doc” Alessa's federal service includes serving as a Defense Intelligence Senior Level Special Advisor to the Office of the Director for National Intelligence, a Senior Arctic Advisor to the Pentagon and Deputy Chief of Global Strategies with the Department of Homeland Security. She has 30 years of experience working in extreme and remote regions in both Canada and the United States, cumulatively involved in advising decision makers on a $16 billion dollar portfolio for issues around security and defense. She has dedicated her career to serving the defense, security and intelligence enterprises across inter-agency, intergovernmental, multinational and academic sectors. She has published nearly 200 peer reviewed papers in the unclassified domain and has developed capabilities that incorporate indigenous and local, place-based knowledge for improved domain awareness across the world. An internationally recognized expert in Arctic science, resilience, early warning systems and remote regions, she sits on several national committees including the White House National Climate Assessment Team, the Department of Defense Asymmetric Warfare Research Committee and a National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine committee focused on helping the Intelligence Community chart its research and development futures. She has led the development of two joint Canada-United States Arctic resilience toolbox assessments: The Arctic Water Resources Vulnerability Index (AWRVI) and the Arctic Adaptation Exchange Portal (AAEP), leveraging her vast professional networks across Canada and the United States as well as internationally. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States and is part of the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee Collaboration and was an Advisor to the Director of the National Science Foundation through the Advisory Council for Environmental Research and Education (AC-ERE). She is the recipient of the Governor General’s Award in Canada as well as numerous other academic and governmental awards in the United States. She and her teams have developed strategic intelligence frameworks and tools that have been adopted by components and commands in both the United States and Canada. She holds courtesy appointments with the Center for Social Dynamics and Complexity at Arizona State University as well George Mason University.