Dr. Sam EisenLeadership

Dr. Sam Eisen,
Director, Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO)

Dr. Sam Eisen serves as Director of the Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO). In this role, Dr. Eisen advises senior leaders on policy and programmatic matters regarding foreign language, culture, and regional expertise for Department of Defense personnel. Dr. Eisen also evaluates changes in legislation, policies, regulations, directives, and funding to assess the impact on language, cultural, and regional capabilities within the Department for Active Duty, National Guard and Reserve personnel, DoD civilians, and contractors. The DLNSEO has program management oversight of many high value training and education programs to include the Defense Language Institutes (Foreign Language Center and English Language Center), the Joint Foreign Area Officer program, and the Department's language testing program and culture programs as well as the National Security Education Program.

In his previous position as Director of Programs at the Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO) Dr. Eisen held responsibility for strategic language programming through the Language Flagship program, Boren Scholarships and Fellowships, ROTC Project Global Officer, the Language Training Centers, and English for Heritage Language Speakers. Before coming to DLNSEO, Dr. Eisen served as the Director of the Advanced Training and Research Group in International and Foreign Language Education at the U.S. Department of Education (2007-2011), where he provided oversight for Title VI and Fulbright Hays programming designed to develop and maintain national capacity in foreign language and international and area studies. Dr. Eisen also served at the U.S. Department of State (1999-2007) in the Office of the Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia and coordinated the FREEDOM Support Act funding for academic and professional exchange programs and democracy promotion programs for the former Soviet Union. Before joining the federal government, Dr. Eisen taught Russian language, literature, and culture as Assistant Professor of Russian Studies at American University in Washington, DC. 

He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Russian Language and Literature from Stanford University and a B.A. in Russian from Amherst College.

 

Mr. Scott Brokaw
Deputy Director, Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO)

Mr. Scott Brokaw assumed duties as the Deputy Director of the Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO) in July 2023.  He advises the Director on policy and programmatic matters regarding foreign language, regional expertise, and culture (LREC) for Department of Defense personnel.  Mr. Brokaw helps to ensure DLNSEO meets its mission objectives to develop and coordinate LREC programs and policies for the Department of Defense and, through its National Security Education Program, the broader national security community to ensure national security and defense readiness.  Mr. Brokaw evaluates changes in legislation, policies, regulations, directives, and funding to assess the impact on language, regional, and cultural capabilities within the Department for Active Duty, National Guard and Reserve personnel, DoD civilians, and contractors.  

Prior Experience:

Mr. Brokaw served as the Director of LREC Capabilities and Readiness at DLNSEO from September 2020-July 2023.  He advised the DoD Senior Language Authority, Defense Language Steering Committee, and Director, DLNSEO on matters related to the Defense LREC Program. He chaired the Defense Language Action Panel, oversaw DoD efforts to identify and track LREC capabilities, and worked with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Joint Staff, Services, Combat Support Agencies, and Combatant Commands to develop and implement means to improve LREC talent management and readiness.

Mr. Brokaw served as the Joint Staff’s LREC Program Manager from August 2010-September 2020. He served as a subject matter expert on the warfighting application of LREC capabilities in support of the Joint Staff and Combatant Commands. Mr. Brokaw led implementation of the LREC Capabilities Based Requirements Identification Process – a standardized methodology for DoD components to identify and prioritize the LREC capabilities they need to accomplish assigned missions and tasks – and served as a technical advisor / action officer for several projects designed to improve LREC readiness within the DoD.

Mr. Brokaw retired from the U.S. Army in 2008 after serving 20 years as a Chinese-Mandarin cryptologic language analyst. He served in a variety of operational and leadership positions, including First Sergeant, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC); Analysis and Production Division Noncommissioned Officer in Charge, Combined Intelligence Operations Center, Multinational Force-Iraq; Chief Military Language Instructor and Military Language Instructor, Asian I School, DLIFLC; Command Language Program Manager, 732nd Military Intelligence Battalion, Schofield Barracks, HI; and Adjunct Faculty Member, National Cryptologic University, Ft. Meade, MD.

Mr. Brokaw has a M.S. in Intelligence Management and MBA from the University of Maryland Global Campus, a B.S. in Liberal Studies from Excelsior College, and a certificate of completion from the Harvard Senior Executive Fellows Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. His military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, and the Military Intelligence Corps Association’s LTC Thomas Knowlton Award.

Mr. Brokaw lives in Alexandria, Virginia. He has a son, David; a grandson, Oliver; and a granddaughter, Penelope.