Daniel P. Erikson, previously Managing Director at Blue Star Strategies, LLC has been sworn in as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for Western Hemisphere Affairs. 

Prior to Blue Star Strategies, Erikson served in the White House as special advisor to Vice President Biden, where he focused on Western Hemisphere Affairs and covered foreign affairs and national security issues. Erikson helped lead the Obama Administration’s efforts to secure $750 million in assistance for the Northern Triangle of Central America, and to deepen support for Colombia’s peace process. In 2015, Erikson was a member of the State Department negotiating team that re-established US-Cuba diplomatic relations for the first time since 1961. In June 2017, he received the US Department of State’s Superior Honor Award for his diplomatic contributions in Latin America.

In addition to his US government experience, Erikson previously served as Director of Caribbean Programs and Senior Associate for US Policy at the Inter-American Dialogue.

Erikson is an alumnus of the Inter-American Dialogue.