Ken Gude is the former Executive Director of Trusted Future. He has decades of experience building non-profit organizations and designing and leading policy, communications, and advocacy campaigns for organizations, political parties, and candidates.
Ken started work at the Center for American Progress before it opened its doors and worked at its highest levels through fifteen years at the organization, including as Chief of Staff and Vice President and Managing Director of the National Security and International Policy Team. Among his many policy roles at CAP, Ken co-founded and led the Liberty and Security project which focused on government surveillance, online privacy, cybersecurity, and counterterrorism policy. He also helped incubate numerous projects that became their own independent organizations, including the National Security Network, the Enough Project, and the National Security Leadership Council.
Prior to joining the Center for American Progress, he worked at the Council on Foreign Relations, the Center for National Security Studies, and at the Institute for Public Policy Research in the U.K. He has also collaborated with numerous international policy and advocacy organizations, including the Foundation for European Progressive Studies and the Global Progress Network.
He is also a former Partner at New Paradigm Agency, a public affairs and communications consulting firm. Ken has worked on campaigns and advised candidates for state and federal legislative races and been a policy adviser to multiple presidential campaigns during both the primaries and general elections. He worked for the British Labour Party and has advised progressive political parties in Europe and elsewhere around the world.