For Immediate Release, December 22, 2011
Contact: David Early, 202-429-7817 or Allison Sturma, 202-429-4725

(Washington) -- The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) has appointed Michael Lekson as director of gaming for its Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding.

The Academy is the only U.S. government enterprise that offers training in conflict management and peacebuilding tradecraft to all the various whole-of-government and community actors—including military and civilian agencies, NGOs, IOs, foreign militaries and governments, and colleges and universities.

Lekson is charged with implementing vehicles for gaming effective techniques for understanding the dynamics of conflict management and peacebuilding and for testing possible directions for real-world situations. Games take place at the Academy as well as off site, including mobile gaming provided in zones of conflict abroad. Vehicles include the Strategic Economic Needs and Security Exercise (SENSE), a computer-facilitated simulation that focuses on negotiations and decision-making in a post-conflict environment, originally developed by the Institute for Defense Analyses.

"Mike Lekson brings a deep and distinguished record of accomplishment from a broad career in the field and stewardship of SENSE,” said Dr. Richard H. Solomon, USIP president. “There is no question that our gaming operations will thrive under his creative leadership and that our training participants will benefit greatly from his insight and experience.”

In his prior USIP service, Lekson has served as Academy deputy provost, director of professional training, and as a training program officer. During a 26-year career in the Department of State, his service included deputy assistant secretary of state for arms control; deputy to the special representative of the president and the secretary of state for implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords; director of European security and political affairs; and as a consular officer and political officer. He was deputy U.S. representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) during the OSCE's augmentation of its democracy-building, conflict prevention, and conflict-management efforts in former communist countries, especially the Balkans and Central Asia. Prior to federal service, he served in the U.S. Army as a field artillery officer.

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The United States Institute of Peace is the independent, nonpartisan conflict management center created by Congress to prevent and mitigate international conflict without resorting to violence. USIP works to save lives, increase the government’s ability to deal with conflicts before they escalate, reduce government costs, and enhance national security. USIP is headquartered in Washington, DC. To learn more visit www.usip.org.