Expert Bio

Mr. Lyston Lea has over 38 years of experience in the Intelligence Community, where his leadership included resourceful response during the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as senior level advisor, thought leader and mentor for the Global Maritime Community of Interest.  Before retiring from Defense Intelligence Senior Level Federal service in March 2022, he served as Principal Advisor to the Director of the National Maritime Intelligence-Integration Office, where he represented Director of National Intelligence on maritime issues as the unified voice of the Intelligence Community, working to advance maritime intelligence integration, information sharing, and national-level Maritime Domain Awareness. As IC Senior Representative on multiple forums like White House Ocean Policy Committee, Maritime SAFE Act Interagency Working Group, and Maritime Domain Awareness Executive Steering Committee, he advised on priorities, requirements, and solutions to guide national strategy on a wide range of issues including Polar security, illegal fishing, maritime infrastructure resilience, and climate change.

Wilson Center Project

Current topics of interest include expanding maritime domain awareness and maritime capabilities in a rapidly changing climate; improving intelligence capabilities in support of national security and environmental security; building greater military and civil infrastructure resilience; calibrating U.S and NATO capabilities and response to Russian and Chinese threats in the lens of their naked aggression towards Ukraine and Taiwan.