Seth Stodder is a lawyer, and currently is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy & Security. He also teaches national security law at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, and is a frequent writer, speaker and media commentator.

Previously, Mr. Stodder served in the Obama Administration as Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Border, Immigration & Trade Policy and, prior to that, as Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Threat Prevention & Security Policy. In those interrelated roles, Mr. Stodder oversaw DHS policy on border security, immigration, trade, screening and vetting of individuals for national security purposes, law enforcement, among other issues.  He oversaw the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, represented DHS on the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS), served as Co-Chair of the DHS Task Force on the use of social media for vetting, and oversaw DHS diplomatic engagements primarily with the countries of the Western Hemisphere.  Earlier in his career and in the immediate wake of the 9/11 attacks, he served in the Bush Administration as Director of Policy and Planning for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Counselor/Senior Policy Advisor to Commissioner Robert Bonner.

Mr. Stodder is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, serves on the Alumni Leadership Council for the German Marshall Fund, and was a Marshall Memorial Fellow in 2008. He also serves on the global advisory board for the International Summit on Borders and is a member of the Truman National Security Project.  He is admitted to practice law in California and is a member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar.  He received his J.D. from the University of Southern California Law School, and his B.A. from Haverford College.