Defense, Intelligence, Security and Space Practice

Mr. Anderson has more than 30 years of experience advising corporations, industries, and elected officials on public policy issues. He is a leading voice for special operations policy in Washington and proudly serves on the Advisory Council of the Global SOF Foundation, the National Military Association of record for special operations. He is also the founder of the Special Operations Imperatives Forum and manages Washington engagement on behalf of the Global SOF foundation as Chairman of its Outreach Committee.

Mr. Anderson founded and serves as the President of BuildStrong America, the nation’s top energy response and resiliency organization.  He has held a series of positions on Capitol Hill, with the National Republican Party, and in the White House with the Reagan and George H.W. Bush Administrations. With Navigators Global, which Mr. Anderson founded in 2002, he has formed and guided winning integrated public affairs and policy campaigns for some of the nation’s most significant and recognizable companies, and leading trade associations. His work has ranged from foreign and domestic presidential campaigns to advocacy on behalf of leaders in financial services, airlines, insurance, auto manufacturers, telecommunications, construction, defense sectors, and emerging technologies. He has been named one of Washington’s top lobbyists by The Hill and serves as a frequent media source.

As Vice President for National Security and Defense, Nick brings nearly two decades of experience designing and implementing successful congressional engagement and strategic communications initiatives across numerous roles.

In his most recent position with the Department of Defense, Nick served as the Director for External Affairs in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict. During his career at the Department of State, Nick served as the principal adviser on congressional affairs to numerous Assistant Secretaries of State and U.S. Ambassadors. Throughout his career, Nick’s congressional outreach efforts secured hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, expanded legal authorities to support policy priorities, and resulted in the confirmation of more than 60 Ambassadors and senior-level officials. An experienced media spokesperson and leader of public affairs teams, Nick managed crisis communications following terrorist attacks, political upheavals, and other time-sensitive and high-visibility situations. He has received numerous awards throughout his career across four Administrations, including the Joint Civilian Service Achievement Award for his work supporting Special Operations Command Africa.

Nick began his career as a field organizer for John Kerry during the 2004 presidential election. He served as an aide to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) prior to joining the State Department in 2007. Nick received his Master of Arts in Global Policy from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from Hobart College. He’s a proud native of Washington, D.C. where he lives with his wife and daughter.

Over the course of his 32-year career in Army and Joint assignments, the majority of it as a Green Beret, Fran served with high performing organizations at varying levels, from a 12-man Special Forces ‘A-team’ to the 36,000- Soldier and Civilian US Army Special Operations Command.

His recent assignments were Deputy Commanding General of the 1st Armored Division, Assistant Commanding General of JSOC, CG of 1st Special Forces Command and Commanding General of the US Army Special Operations Command. Fran is a fluent French speaker and has had the opportunity to travel to nearly 80 countries. As an immigrant, service to his Nation has been an important hallmark of his career choices.

His operational assignments, totaling six years of deployed time, include the first Gulf War; comprehensive Africa experience to include noncombatant evacuation operations in Sierra Leone and the Congo; multiple peacekeeping operations in Kosovo; numerous deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Philippines and Jordan, all during eras of war, turmoil or crisis.

A distinguished academic and military graduate from the Citadel, Fran holds a MA in Military Arts and Science from the US Army Command & General Staff College and a MS in Strategic Studies from the US Army War College. Fran serves on the advisory board of the Patriot Foundation, UNC’s Matthew Gfeller Center THRIVE program, chairs the advisory board of Gold Star Teen Adventures, and is an ambassador for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

An avid outdoorsman, Fran and his wife of 32 years, Liz, live in Charleston, SC. They raised three children: one a Special Forces military spouse, one serving in Special Forces, and one in college.

After over 30 years in the United States Air Force, General Thomas Trask joined Navigators as the senior strategist for the Security, Defense & Space Practice. Most recently, General Trask served as Vice Commander of the Headquarters U.S. Special Operations Command, in which role he was responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing actions with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the Services and other government agencies in the National Capital Region on behalf of the Commander USSOCOM. During his service, General Trask also worked with the White House and Congress to ensure appropriations for special operations were utilized effectively and with minimal risk to special operators. General Trask’s expertise is highly valued within the national security and defense sector. In addition to his role at Navigators, he serves as a Director for CAE USA Mission Solutions, is a member of the Military Advisory Board for FLIR Inc., serves as Senior Fellow for the Center for Naval Analysis in Arlington, Virginia, and is a member of the Professional Advisory Board for the College of Security and Intelligence at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona. General Trask has a Bachelor’s degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Master’s degrees in international relations from Troy State University, in national security and strategic studies from Naval War College, and in airpower art and science from the School of Advanced Airpower Studies.

Mark “Droopy” Clark, MajGen, USMC (Retired), most recently served as the special operations commander for Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command. Clark was the first Marine J3 at USSOCOM, with an extended assignment as the Chief of Staff and acting Deputy Commander. A Brigadier General, Clark was previously assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps in the Pentagon as the Director of Plans, Strategy and International Engagement. During this period, he served as a member of the Inter-American Defense Board and his assignments with special operations ranged from the tactical level to the strategic. He was assigned to Theater Special Operations Command (Central), Combined Special Operations Task Force South in Afghanistan, and later to Combined Forces Special Operations Command Central in Qatar. As a Colonel he was assigned to the Campaign Support Group/Center for Special Operations which was newly established by US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to take the DOD lead for the global war on terrorism. A native of South Dakota and Minnesota, Clark is a graduate of South Dakota State University. He received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in June 1981 upon completion of Officer Candidate School. In 1983, 2ndLT Clark was designated a naval aviator. As a CH-53E pilot stationed at Marine Corps Air Station New River, NC, he spent numerous assignments at various squadrons to include several Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) deployments. In 2007 he was designated an MV-22 Osprey pilot. As a Platoon Commander for 2d Brigade Platoon, 2d Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, Captain Clark was tasked with primary support to the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and involved training support with SOF and the British Royal Marines.

Chris Cox brings more than 25 years of legislative and political experience in senior positions in the White House and the U.S. House of Representatives. Most recently, Chris served in the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs, having previously served President George W. Bush as special assistant for legislative affairs. Over his two terms at the White House, Mr. Cox managed the House team and relationships with House leadership. He was responsible for executing the President’s legislative strategy through the first 5 months of the COVID crisis. For President Bush, Cox led on issues of taxation, international trade, defense, war on terror, intelligence, foreign policy and veterans’ affairs. He was an integral part of the lobbying campaigns that led to the signing into law of two tax bills, two supplemental appropriations bills, two cycles of defense appropriations and authorizations bills, and new authorization and appropriation of two major presidential initiatives – Global AIDS Relief and the Millennium Challenge Account. An experienced hand in Congress, Mr. Cox served as chief of staff for U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-MI) and U.S. Representative Robin Hayes (R-NC). Prior to that, Mr. Cox served four years as legislative director for then-U.S. Representative and current U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). For each of the last ten years, Mr. Cox has been named one of Washington’s top lobbyists by The Hill. He received a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Illinois.

Mr. Keiser served 14 years on Capitol Hill for former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers – as Senior Advisor to the Committee, Chief of Staff, and Legislative Director overseeing all national security and Energy and Commerce Committee policy issues for the Congressman. Mr. Keiser was also the head writer for a nationally-syndicated radio program, assisted in the production of the CNN series “Declassified,” and is a regular media commentator on national security issues. Now, Mr. Keiser leads several Navigators clients on defense, international, cybersecurity, biodefense, technology and telecommunications security issues. Mr. Keiser has a Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University and a Master of Arts from the United States Naval War College. Dubbed a “national security expert” by The Washington Post, he is a Fellow at the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School and a Senior Advisor at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. He also is a member of the OSS Society and serves on the Meridian International Center’s Global Leadership Council.

Ryan Berger served as the Policy Director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He brings a wealth of campaign and policy experience to the Navigators government relations and issues management practices. While at the NRSC, Mr. Berger helped expand the Republican Senate majority in 2018 under the leadership of Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) and other top officials. As Policy Director, Mr. Berger developed policy proposals and educated Senators, candidates, and campaign teams on federal issues and voter communication. Mr. Berger has over 15 years of experience on Capitol Hill. He was a member of the Presidential Trump Transition team and served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for Senate Republican Conference Vice Chair Joni Ernst (R-IA). Previously, Mr. Berger served as Legislative Director for former Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Jeff Chiesa (R-NJ). Mr. Berger received an M.A. from George Washington University and an undergraduate degree from Ohio University.

As a former Navy SEAL and private equity professional in the special operations, technology and irregular warfare sectors, Nick will provide expert strategic advice to special operations and irregular warfare companies incubating products and technologies and provide capital advisory services to firms seeking funding and markets with US and international special operations.

Nick’s business career has been focused on the growth equity market; in addition to his tenure as Vice President of Government Relations at Acreage Holdings, Mr. Etten previously served as Vice President of Global Business Development for FreightWatch International, Director of Corporate Development for Triple Canopy, and investment professional at Trident Capital, where he focused on the cyber-security space and led over $100M in investments. Earlier in his career as an investment banker at Thomas Weisel Partners, Nick he participated in more than 20 IPOs totaling over $1B in capital fundraising.  Mr. Etten holds an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Science in political science from United States Naval Academy.

Collins Grove manages strategic engagement and client service on behalf of the Navigators Defense Team.  In concert with the team, she helps to design and execute bespoke campaign plans based upon client-specific objectives.

Collins is a graduate of Washington and Lee University where she earned degrees in Business Administration and American History.