Kathryn Paik

Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Australia Chair
Photo: CSIS

Kathryn Paik is a deputy director and senior fellow with the Australia Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Prior to joining CSIS, Kathryn served in the United States Marine Corps for over 23 years, most recently as the director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific on the National Security Council (NSC) (2021–2023), where she spearheaded numerous initiatives for the administration, including the creation of the first U.S. Pacific Partnership Strategy and the initial U.S.-Pacific Islands Forum Summit. Prior to her time at the NSC, Kathryn held a variety of positions as a Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia foreign area officer, including serving as the marine attaché to Indonesia for three years and as a CH-46E combat helicopter pilot, during which she deployed to Iraq and throughout the Indo-Pacific. Kathryn has a master’s in national security affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School and a bachelor of science in systems engineering from the Naval Academy. She speaks Mandarin and Indonesian.

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Executive Education

Decoding D.C.: Policy, Power, and People

Decoding D.C.: Policy, Power, and People offers embassy, business, and nonprofit professionals the tools and knowledge necessary to better navigate the Washington policy ecosystem.

Course Date: March 30, 2026
Registration Closes: March 23, 2026

Indo-Pacific Forecast 2026

Please join the CSIS Geopolitics and Foreign Policy (GFP) Department's annual preview of political, economic, and security developments across the region.

Event — January 14, 2026

Report Launch: Project Atom 2025

Please join the Project on Nuclear Issues for a launch event for the Project Atom 2025 report on escalatory risk in the Indo-Pacific. 

Event — December 10, 2025

Audio Briefs

How the Historic Australia-PNG Pukpuk Treaty Could Reshape Pacific Security

An audio version of "⁠How the Historic Australia-PNG Pukpuk Treaty Could Reshape Pacific Security⁠," a new Critical Questions by CSIS's Charles Edel and Kathryn Paik. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by Charles Edel and Kathryn Paik — October 14, 2025

Audio Briefs

Pacific Perspectives on Trump’s Second Term: Uncertainty and Adaptation

With Washington prioritizing America First, partners across the Pacific are weighing their options. Perceptions of a capricious and transactional Washington are creating pressure to reconsider long-standing assumptions about the alliance.

Commentary by Charles Edel, Kathryn Paik, and John Augé — October 6, 2025

Audio Briefs

Pacific Perspectives on Trump’s Second Term: Uncertainty and Adaptation

An audio version of “⁠Pacific Perspectives on Trump’s Second Term: Uncertainty and Adaptation⁠,” a new commentary by CSIS’s Charles Edel, Kathryn Paik, and John Augé. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs. 

Podcast Episode by Charles Edel, Kathryn Paik, and John Augé — October 6, 2025

Audio Briefs

Pacific Islands Forum 2025: Navigating Great-Power Rivalry

Tensions around Taiwan’s attendance at this year’s Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting demonstrated how intensifying great power competition is flooding the Pacific with attention but also fueling fractures among island nations.

Critical Questions by John Augé and Kathryn Paik — September 16, 2025

Audio Briefs

Pacific Islands Forum 2025: Navigating Great-Power Rivalry

An audio version of “⁠Pacific Islands Forum 2025: Navigating Great-Power Rivalry,⁠” a new Critical Questions by CSIS’s John Augé and Kathryn Paik. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs. 

Podcast Episode by John Augé and Kathryn Paik — September 16, 2025

Audio Briefs