Wendy R. Anderson, a former Defense Department official who became a partner at Strong Eagle Media, is joining RL Leaders, which connects national security professionals with entertainment industry figures.
Anderson will serve as managing director, west coast.
Anderson remains a partner in Strong Eagle Media, which she joined in 2015. The company produces documentaries focusing on the experiences of soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. She was executive producer of “Citizen Soldier,” which focused on the National Guard, and “Danger Close,” centering on the role of special operations forces. “Danger Close” will be released in the spring.
RL Leaders is a consulting firm that advises organizations on security solutions.
“RL Leaders has connected influential national security officials with emerging technologies and Hollywood’s most inventive minds for more than a decade,” Anderson said in a statement. “This engagement has led to the development of a number of enduring solutions for a big swath of the national security community.”
“The depth of her experience on national security issues, combined with her successes in, and ties to, the entertainment industry, make her a natural fit for our team,” said RL Leaders founder John Rogers.
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Anderson was deputy chief of staff to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, chief of staff to then-Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, and chief of staff to Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. She was on Capitol Hill from 2004 to 2010, including stints on the staff of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Anderson was a guest on last week’s episode of “PopPolitics” on SiriusXM’s POTUS Channel. Excerpts of the interview are here.
