Bernice Kissinger Joins Ballard Partners as a Partner, Opens Firm’s Honolulu Office
WASHINGTON, DC – Ballard Partners, a leading international lobbying firm, today announced that Bernice Glenn Kissinger has joined the firm as a Partner and will lead its newly established office in Honolulu, Hawaii. Kissinger will focus on military and national security issues across the Indo-Pacific region, further strengthening Ballard Partners’ capabilities in this dynamic area.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Bernice Kissinger to Ballard Partners and to open our new office in Honolulu,” said Brian Ballard, President of Ballard Partners. “Bernice’s unparalleled experience and expertise in defense contracting and national security, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, will be an invaluable asset to our clients and our firm. Her strategic insights and deep understanding of the region will be invaluable to our clients.”
Kissinger is a seasoned defense raid-contracting specialist and the architect of U.S.-Allied defense programs. Her work has accelerated contracting processes and the shaping of contract specifications by advising government organizations such as Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division (NSWC Crane), Marine Forces Pacific (MARFORPAC), its contracting team at Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity (MCTSSA), Army Futures Command, Army Contracting Command (ACC) Orlando, and others across INDOPACOM, NORTHCOM, NORAD, CYBERCOM, and SOCOM organizations. She has related expertise in policy working with the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense Acquisition & Sustainment (OUSD A&S) particularly with leadership in Pricing & Controls and Industrial Base Policy (IBP).
Kissinger’s career and work in bilateral and multinational defense technology programs spans Japan, Australia, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan. For example, her work in Japan leverages her decades-long role in a U.S. nonprofit organization established in 1983 by President Reagan and Prime Minister Nakasone and U.S. Congressional request. Through this nonprofit, she has supported Japan’s first and only Government-led Defense Accelerator and its series of cohorts who are successfully securing domestic and international contracts and Japanese funding for U.S. co-production and retrofitting in Japan of drones, munitions, and strategic vehicles.
“I am honored and thrilled to join Ballard Partners and lead their efforts in the Pacific theater,” said Kissinger. “This new role provides an exceptional opportunity to leverage my experience to support our clients’ critical needs in military and national security. The Indo-Pacific is a region of immense strategic importance, and I look forward to contributing to solutions that strengthen our national interests and alliances.”
Bernice received a B.A., magna cum laude, in East Asian Studies from Princeton University (1979–1983), and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design National Charrette Certificate in 2011. She is a Senior Fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and a regular contributor to the public policy debate.
Her publications include:
- https://www.aspi.org.au/strategist-posts/access-to-northern-territory-can-be-a-military-asset-for-japan/
- https://www.australiandefence.com.au/news/news/opinion-japan-s-emerging-defence-industry-and-dual-use-technology-sector-opportunities-for-australian-industry
- https://www.defenceconnect.com.au/geopolitics-and-policy/16996-forging-allied-industrial-power-j-star-x-and-project-dynamis-join-forces
- https://spacenews.com/op-ed-to-shore-up-u-s-space-dominance-biden-administration-must-boost-japan-u-s-alliance/
- https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/us-alliance-remains-cornerstone-of-japan-s-defense-strategy-new-report-says-1.600684





