Kim Dernovsek is a member of the inaugural cohort of the Andrew Carnegie AI-Nuclear Policy Accelerator.
Kim Dernovsek is a Nuclear Policy Advisor within the Joint Staff (J5), where she operates at the high-pressure intersection of military strategy, international diplomacy, and emerging technology. Currently, she serves as an advisor to senior leadership on strategic stability navigating the evolving arms control landscape following the expiration of New START. Her work is central in developing next-generation policy frameworks that maintain deterrence in a post-treaty environment. She is specifically focused on how emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, reshape nuclear deterrence, the evolution of future arms control, and the requirements for modernized strategic frameworks that remain resilient in an increasingly automated and fast-paced security environment.
Through her participation on formal U.S. delegations to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), United Nations First Committee (UNFC), P5 engagements, and Biological Weapons Convention Working Groups, Ms. Dernovsek protects Joint Force equities and ensures the interagency maintains a single, unified voice during high-stakes negotiations. Before the Joint Staff, she was a Program Analyst for the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs, ensuring Navy research complied with international arms control agreements.
Her career began as a Treaty Analyst supporting the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where she managed compliance for the Biological Weapons Convention and Chemical Weapons Convention.
Earlier in her journey, she worked as an Environmental Scientist for the Environmental Protection Agency, managing validation studies. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Louisiana State University, and a Master of International Studies in International Relations and Security from Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea. Her background combines technical engineering foundations with diplomatic expertise, positioning her to navigate the complex intersection of AI and nuclear policy in a post-treaty landscape.