Derek Mitchell is the Senior Fellow for Asia in the Center for Strategic and International Studies' International Security Program. Previously, he was Special Assistant for Asian and Pacific Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he served alternately as Senior Country Director for China, Taiwan, Mongolia, and Hong Kong; Director for Regional Security Affairs; Country Director for Japan; and Senior Country Director for the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore. He received the Office of the Secretary of Defense Award for Exceptional Public Service in January 2001. Prior to joining DoD, Mr. Mitchell served as a Senior Program Officer for Asia and the former Soviet Union at the National Democratic Institute, where he developed NDI's long-term approach to Asia. He has also worked as an editor and reporter at The China Post and served as an assistant to the senior foreign policy advisor to Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Mr. Mitchell has written widely on East Asian security issues and has appeared as a commentator on national and international television and radio programs. He received his B.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.A.L.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and he studied Chinese at Nanjing University, PRC.