John Gans
John Gans is an American communications executive and foreign policy author who, as of October 2026, is senior vice president for strategic communications and policy at The Rockefeller FoundationThe Rockefeller FoundationThe Rockefeller Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation headquartered in New York City. It was chartered by New York State legislation in 1913 with funding from Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller, with the mission “to promote the well-being of mankind throughout the world.” In its early years it funded global public health, medical education, and yellow fever vaccine research; in the mid-20th century it supported agricultural programs that came to be known as the “Green Revolution”; and in recent years it has focused its work on energy, health, food, and climate.Open the full entry, leading the foundation’s digital, media and internal communications teams. He previously wrote speeches for several secretaries of defense at the Pentagon and is the author of White House Warriors, a study of the staff of the U.S. National Security Council.
Contents13 sections
Key facts
1996Graduating from High School
2000Graduating from Northwestern University
In 2000, Gans graduated from Northwestern University with an undergraduate degree.[2]
September 2001Press Liaison at Ground Zero
After the September 11, 2001, attacks, Gans served as a press liaison at Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan, briefing the media on behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); the experience led him to focus on public service and national security. He later also worked in the office of Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.[2][2]
2009Earning a Master’s Degree from Johns Hopkins
In 2009, Gans earned a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).[2]
2010Joining the U.S. Navy Reserve
In 2010, Gans joined the U.S. Navy Reserve; as of 2019, he was assigned to the Pentagon with the rank of lieutenant.[2]
2014Earning a Doctorate and Becoming Senior Speechwriter for Defense Secretary Hagel
2015Senior Speechwriter for Treasury Secretary Lew
In 2015, Gans served as senior speechwriter for U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew.[2]
2017Concluding His Speechwriting Work at the Pentagon
Gans served at the Pentagon as chief speechwriter for Secretary of Defense Ash Carter until 2017. He was the secretary’s principal adviser on speech planning, positioning and preparation, managed the speechwriting team, and drafted dozens of speeches for the secretary around the world on defense policy toward the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Russia and the Middle East.[2][2]
2017–2021Working at Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania
From 2017 to 2021, Gans taught at the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania, commonly called Penn, is a private research university and Ivy League member in Philadelphia. It traces its origins to a 1740 charity-school project; Benjamin Franklin proposed his academy in 1749, classes began in 1751, and a 1791 merger established the institution under its present name. Penn has 12 schools, with undergraduate education concentrated in arts and sciences, engineering, nursing and Wharton. Enrollment totaled 29,384 in fall 2025, and the fiscal 2025 endowment was $24.81 billion. As of October 2026, J. Larry Jameson was president, with his term scheduled to end on June 30, 2027.Open the full entry and worked at Perry World House, the university’s global policy center, where his last position was director of communications and research. He taught graduate and undergraduate courses on international order, the politics and process of U.S. foreign policy, and national security, and was also a fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.[3][2]
May 14, 2019Publishing White House Warriors
On May 14, 2019, Gans’s book White House Warriors: How the National Security Council Transformed the American Way of War was published by Liveright Publishing, running to 301 pages. Drawing on nearly 100 interviews and more than 10,000 primary documents, the book describes how the staff of the U.S. National Security Council (NSC) influenced key wartime decisions from the Truman administration to the Trump administration.[1][4][1]
After publication, the German Marshall Fund and Perry World House co-hosted a book conversation in Washington moderated by Helene Cooper, Pentagon correspondent for The New York Times; on October 1, 2019, he also gave a talk at the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas at Austin.[5][5][6]
In March 2020, Studies in Intelligence, the journal of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, published a review of the book, which said that Gans, focusing on specific people and events, argues that the National Security Council has carried increasing weight in decision-making and at times has had more influence in foreign policy debates than the Department of Defense and the State Department.[4][4][4]
September 2022Vice President at the Rockefeller Foundation
As of September 2022, Gans was vice president for strategic communications and advocacy at The Rockefeller Foundation.[3]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
The Rockefeller Foundation: Official website: https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/ (opens in a new window).[8]
Perry World House: Official website: https://perryworldhouse.upenn.edu/ (opens in a new window).[3]
Sources
- News of Alumni: John Gans, Jr. ‘96 (opens in a new window)
- White House Warriors: How the National Security Council Transformed the American Way of War (opens in a new window)
- Perry World House Announces Visitors for 2022-2023 (opens in a new window)
- White House Warriors: How the National Security Council Transformed the American Way of War (opens in a new window)
- White House Warriors: How the National Security Council Transformed the American Way of War (opens in a new window)
- White House Warriors: How the National Security Council Transformed the American Way (opens in a new window)
- Leadership (opens in a new window)
- John Gans (opens in a new window)