Washington, D.C. - Today, Heather Hurlburt, Executive Director of National Security Network, and Joel Rubin, NSN Deputy Director & Chief Operating Officer and a former Egypt desk officer at the U.S. Department of State, made the following statements on the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak:

"The Egyptian people have claimed their future, and their leaders have heard their calls. From the beginning, events have been powered by Egyptians and their legitimate yearning for secular democratic and economic reform. Right now there is a window of opportunity for the Egyptian people to transform their society," says Hurlburt.

Rubin adds: "It's crucial that the U.S. and international community play a constructive role in supporting the Egyptian people as they reform their political process and move towards free and fair elections, design their new political system and move towards free and fair elections." 

For more, read here.

AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT: To speak to Heather Hurlburt or Joel Rubin, please contact Jake Stokes, jstokes@nsnetwork.org or 202-289-6882  (office) or 314-341-3010 (cell).

Heather Hurlburt is the Executive Director of the National Security Network. Prior to joining NSN in 2002, Hurlburt ran her own communications and strategy practice, working on global and political issues with political, entertainment, and educational leaders, as well as groups such as DATA (Debt AIDS Trade Africa), the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Stanley Foundation, and many others. From 1995-2001, Hurlburt served in the Clinton Administration as Special Assistant and Speechwriter to the President, speechwriter for Secretaries of State Albright and Christopher, and member of the State Department's Policy Planning staff. She has also worked for the International Crisis Group, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Congressional Helsinki Commission. She is a Senior Adviser to the U.S. in the World Project of Dēmos, and appears frequently as a commentator in print and new media, and is a regular guest on Robert Wright's Blogging Heads TV. Hurlburt holds a BA from Brown University and an MA from the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs.

Joel Rubin is the Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the National Security Network. In this capacity, he leads NSN's policy and congressional relations efforts. He has held foreign policy positions at the Department of State in both Near Eastern Affairs and Political-Military Affairs, working as the Egypt desk officer from 2003 to 2004. Prior to joining NSN, he was both the Government Affairs Director and Political Director of J Street and JStreetPAC, the political home of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement. He also worked on Capitol Hill, where he was an aide to two senior Democratic Senators on foreign policy, defense, and appropriations issues, earning a congressional staffer of the year award from the Military Officers Association of America.