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| American Advisory Group | |
|---|---|
| Name | American Advisory Group |
| Type | Non-governmental organization |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Region served | United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia |
| Leader title | CEO |
| Leader name | Dr. Eleanor Hartman |
American Advisory Group
American Advisory Group is a Washington, D.C.–based policy consultancy and research institute founded in 1979 to provide strategic analysis, advisory services, and training for public and private sector clients. It engages with legislators, executives, diplomats, and civil servants through briefs, workshops, and field programs, positioning itself at the intersection of foreign policy, public administration, and strategic planning. The Group has worked with a range of institutions across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and has featured experts formerly associated with major think tanks, universities, and multilateral organizations.
Founded in the late 1970s by former staff from the United States Department of Defense, Central Intelligence Agency, and the United States Department of State, the organization emerged amid debates following the Iranian Revolution, the Camp David Accords, and the Nicaraguan Revolution. In the 1980s it expanded operations to Latin America, engaging with actors tied to the Organization of American States and regional legislatures influenced by events such as the Falklands War and the El Salvador Civil War. During the 1990s the Group pivoted toward post-Cold War priorities, advising institutions affected by the Dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Bosnian War. In the 2000s it integrated counterterrorism and stabilization programs in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and the Iraq War, collaborating with contractors linked to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and national agencies. The 2010s saw expansion into cybersecurity and urban resilience, influenced by events like the Arab Spring and policy shifts under successive U.S. presidencies.
The Group maintains a hierarchical executive model with a board of directors comprised of former officials from the National Security Council (United States), the Department of Homeland Security, and leading universities such as Georgetown University and Harvard University. Its internal divisions correspond to regional desks (Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific), thematic units (security, governance, economic policy), and operational wings for training and program delivery. The staff roster includes analysts drawn from the Rand Corporation, the Brookings Institution, and the Council on Foreign Relations, alongside practitioners with backgrounds at the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the United Nations. Governance mechanisms feature grant committees, ethics panels, and an advisory council with ex-officio members from the U.S. Congress and foreign diplomatic missions.
Services span policy analysis, legislative advising, diplomatic training, program evaluation, and strategic communications, often delivered as tailored workshops for delegations from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Inter-American Development Bank, and municipal governments such as those of São Paulo and Mexico City. The Group produces white papers, briefs for committees of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, and training curricula adapted from models used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the United States Agency for International Development. It conducts field assessments in collaboration with NGOs like International Crisis Group and CARE International, and offers executive seminars that have featured speakers from the European Commission, the African Union, and corporate partners such as Goldman Sachs and Microsoft Corporation.
Membership comprises former diplomats, military officers, academics, and private-sector consultants, many affiliated with institutions including Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University, and Columbia University. The Group holds formal affiliations and Memoranda of Understanding with international organizations like the Inter-American Dialogue, the Asia Foundation, and regional training centers tied to the European Union External Action Service. It participates in consortia with contractors who have served on projects for the Department of Defense and the United Nations Development Programme, and maintains fellowship programs jointly administered with the Wilson Center and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Noteworthy programs include advisory missions to legislative bodies in Central America during democratic transitions influenced by the Constitutional reform in El Salvador and electoral assistance tied to processes in Honduras and Guatemala. The Group contributed to municipal resilience planning in collaboration with the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank for cities affected by hurricanes and earthquakes, drawing on models used after Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. In the realm of cybersecurity, it co-developed incident response protocols with partners from NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence and private firms linked to Cisco Systems and Palantir Technologies. Its training alumni include officials who later served in cabinets of countries participating in the Summit of the Americas and representatives to the United Nations General Assembly.
The Group has faced scrutiny over contracts and perceived ties to defense contractors and intelligence-linked consultants, prompting criticism from advocacy organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International for potential conflicts of interest. Reports in publications like The Washington Post and The New York Times have questioned transparency in funding streams tied to think tanks and corporate donors, and audits by oversight bodies associated with the U.S. Government Accountability Office prompted calls for stricter disclosure. Critics from academic circles at Yale University and Princeton University have argued that revolving-door hires undermine impartiality, while some legislators on committees of the United States Congress have proposed tighter procurement rules to address perceived accountability gaps.