The Former US and Soviet Bioweapons Offensive Programs

Joel McCleary; Chairman and Co-Founder of Q-Global, Co-founder of the biodefense pharmaceutical company Pharmathene, consultant to the USG, expert on the former US Bioweapons Offensive Program, former Deputy Assistant to the President Jimmy Carter

Joel McCleary: Mr McCleary is a Chairman and Co-Founder of Q-Global. Q-Global protects leaders, corporations, and nations against chemical, biological, and radiological threats of assassination, intimidation, and mental and physical health alteration. With Dr. John Mekalanos, Chairman of the Department of Microbiology at Harvard Medical School, Mr. McCleary co-founded the biodefense pharmaceutical company Pharmathene, Inc. (NYSE: PIP).

Mr. McCleary served as a consultant to the DOD-DARPA on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). In 2009, he completed the UPMC-DARPA study of CBR countermeasures strategy for the United States Government (USG). As a result of the aforementioned study, Merck & Co. Inc., General Electric Company, IBM Corp., Quintiles Transnational Corp., Battelle Memorial Institute, and UPMC have formed 21 Century Biodefense (21CB). 21CB is a consortium to bid on proposals from the USG (Department of Health and Human Services and DOD) on building flexible manufacturing and advanced development capability for multi-CBRN threats. Mr. McCleary is 21CB’s lead strategist.

Alongside Mark Medish, former Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton and Senior Director for Russia and Eastern Europe to the National Security Council, Mr. McCleary writes on homeland security, defense, and biodefense policy. Their work has appeared in the International Herald Tribune and the Washington Times. With the late Dr. William C. Patrick, the last leader of the US’ offensive biological weapons (BW) program and the US’ leading authority on BW, Mr. McCleary recently completed an extensive study of the US’ former strategic BW program.

In 1977, Mr. McCleary was elected Treasurer of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Executive Committee Member of the DNC. From 1978 to 1980, he served in the White House under President Jimmy Carter as Deputy Assistant to the President. 
In 1981, Mr. McCleary joined the political consulting firm the Sawyer-Miller Group, and in 1985 became its president. During his tenure at Sawyer-Miller, Mr. McCleary ran Presidential and Prime Ministerial campaigns in over fifteen countries.

In 2003, Mr. McCleary founded Raydiance Inc. with Barry Schuler, former CEO of AOL Inc., and Amb. Steve Green, former US Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore. Mr. McCleary was instrumental in ensuring a smooth transition of the femtosecond laser technology out of the Government laboratory, and remains an active member of Raydiance’s board of directors.

Mr. McCleary obtained his B.A. from Harvard College in 1971.