Valerie Knobelsdorf is a Vice President in the Defense & National Security Practice at The Asia Group (TAG).
Ms. Knobelsdorf brings over fifteen years of government and legal experience to TAG, with deep expertise in Indo-Pacific security affairs, technology policy, and international diplomacy. Most recently, she served as an Acting Director for the Office of Global Policy, Plans and Negotiations in the Department of State’s Bureau of Cyberspace & Digital Policy, and helped establish the Department’s new Bureau of Emerging Threats.
Prior to that role, Ms. Knobelsdorf served as the Head of Political and Economic Affairs at U.S. Consulate General Sydney, where she managed the full range of policy issues across eastern Australia and supported defense and tech cooperation under the AUKUS security partnership. She advised Ambassador Caroline Kennedy on political and economic matters across New South Wales and Queensland and created strategies for numerous U.S. Congressional and Cabinet-level engagements in Australia.
As a Foreign Service Officer, Ms. Knobelsdorf also served at the U.S. Mission to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, where she led negotiations for leaders-level statements on technology, energy, and regional security issues. Her previous diplomatic assignments include Embassy Islamabad, Consulate General Guangzhou, and as the senior Thailand desk officer for political and military affairs in the Department of State’s Office of Mainland Southeast Asian Affairs.
Before joining State, Ms. Knobelsdorf worked as an international trade and litigation attorney in New York and Washington, D.C., focused on economic sanctions, regulatory compliance, and cross-border commercial issues. She served as a judicial clerk for former Chief Judge Jane A. Restani at the U.S. Court of International Trade.
Ms. Knobelsdorf holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School with a focus on International and Comparative Law and a B.A. in Religion from Duke University. She has experience with Mandarin Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia, and Urdu, and is originally from San Antonio, Texas