Shawn Turner is the general manager and director of broadcasting at WKAR Public Media and a professor of strategic communication at Michigan State University. His prior positions include deputy White House press secretary for national security, director of communications for national intelligence at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and deputy press secretary for foreign affairs for the National Security Council (NSC).
As a senior intelligence officer, Turner was responsible for coordinating all internal and external communications on behalf of the 17 agencies and components that make up the US intelligence community. At the White House and the NSC, Turner was a principal spokesperson for US foreign policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Turner’s non-governmental experience includes serving as chair of the information operations program at the Daniel Morgan Graduate School of National Security, as an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and as the director of communication at the Center for a New American Security.
Turner is a member of the executive board of advisors for the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and a former Distinguished Terker Fellow in George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs. Turner has published numerous articles and book chapters on risk communication for national defense and related topics.
The National Journal named Turner one of Washington DC’s top decision-makers in 2013. In 2015, he received the Intelligence Community Leadership Award, and in 2016 he received the Meritorious Presidential Rank Award for outstanding career accomplishments and exemplary service to the nation.
Prior to his civilian career, Turner served 21 years in the United States Marine Corps. He received a bachelor’s degree in communications from Texas State University and a master’s degree in communications from George Mason University.