William McDonald is Maritime Administration (MARAD) Liaison Officer and Emory S. Land (ESL) Chair at the U.S. Naval War College, where he serves as professor of Joint Military Operations. An NWC graduate, he was director of sealift support for MARAD from 2015 to 2020 and a senior advisor to the U.S. State Department in Iraq from 2007 to 2009. A native of New York, he served with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam. He is a former director of corporate communications for Motorola’s Symbol Technologies subsidiary and has held management positions with Northrop-Grumman and other firms, and various editorial positions. He earned a B.A. in journalism from Oklahoma City University.