Sasha Baker is the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. She was sworn in on February 14, 2022. In this role, she serves as the primary assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy in formulating, coordinating, and integrating national security policy and plans within the Department of Defense.

Ms. Baker was most recently Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Strategic Planning at the National Security Council. She previously served as national security advisor for Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and as Deputy Chief of Staff for Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, for which she received the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal.

Ms. Baker joined the civil service as a Presidential Management Fellow at the Office of Management and Budget, where she served in the Homeland Security and National Security divisions and later as Special Assistant to the OMB Director. She began her public service career with the House Armed Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, supporting bipartisan congressional reviews on a variety of national security topics.

Ms. Baker received her B.A. from Dartmouth College and earned a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.