Michael J. Ard is the program director for the Master of Science in Intelligence Analysis degree at Johns Hopkins University's Advanced Academic Programs in Washington D.C. A former CIA analyst, he served as deputy national intelligence officer for the Western Hemisphere in the National Intelligence Council. He also served in the U.S. Navy as a surface warfare officer and is a veteran of the 1991 Gulf War. Ard earned a doctorate in foreign affairs at the University of Virginia.