Richard Goldberg is the Director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction at White House’s National Security Council, and an American political advisor and aide to the US National Security Advisor in the Donald Trump administration. He is a member of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), and a former member of the United States National Security Council (NSC). He works closely with United States Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook. He is an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve with military experience on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and in Afghanistan. Political involvement Goldberg previously served as foreign policy advisor for Illinois Republican Senator Mark Kirk. From 2015 to 2017 he was Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs and later Chief of Staff for Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner. Education Gouldberg holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in public policy and public administration from the Northwestern University.