William James Parker III

William James Parker III, Ph.D., is an affiliate professor in the History Department at Metropolitan State University of Denver. His areas of expertise include world history, national security and diplomacy topics related to Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and India.

With over 35 years of experience in the maritime industry and international conflict resolution, Parker is a retired senior naval officer who after leaving the military served as the president and CEO of the EastWest Institute and National Defense University Foundation before founding Parker Maritime Technologies.

During nearly three decades in uniform, he served as the chief of staff for U.S. Naval Surface Forces, commanded three warships and a squadron of warships and was the 2009 recipient of the Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership. He was the U.S. Navy’s Military Fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations. In addition to multiple combat tours, he held the post of senior advisor and strategist with the U.S. Embassies in Iraq and Pakistan.

Parker earned his bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy, his master’s degree in Public Administration from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and his doctorate degree in Philosophy, specializing in Biological Defense, from George Mason University.