Michael Ard

At Johns Hopkins, Michael J. Ard is the Program Director and a senior lecturer for the MS in Intelligence Analysis program.

A former CIA analyst and manager, Ard specialized in Latin American and Middle Eastern issues. His career includes three years at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, where he served as deputy national intelligence officer for the Western hemisphere. In addition to his career in government, Ard worked in corporate security at Marathon Oil and as a consultant for a professional service firm focused on international risk.

Ard has written on a variety of issues, including Latin American politics, and in 2003 published An Eternal Struggle: How the National Action Party Transformed Mexican Politics (Praeger). He was formerly program director for intelligence studies at American Public University System and for six years taught international security for Rice University’s Master of Global Affairs program.

He was educated at the College of William and Mary and the University of Virginia, where in 2001 he earned a PhD in foreign affairs.

Prior to his academic and intelligence careers, Ard served as an officer in the U.S. Navy and is a veteran of the 1991 Gulf War. He and his wife Jean live in Katy, Texas, and have five children.

Featured Work

Inside Intelligence, with Michael Ard

Michael Ard hosts Inside Intelligence, a regular series of webinars exploring a variety of issues in intelligence analysis. 

An Eternal Struggle: How the National Action Party Transformed Mexican Politics, Praeger, 2003