Steedman Hinckley served seven presidents analyzing and advising on Russian affairs and US-Russian relations, and retired from government as a charter member of CIA's senior analytic service. He formerly served on the White House national security staff, the secretary of state’s policy planning staff, and the national intelligence council, where he led intelligence community work on Russia and Eurasia. He was a political officer at the US embassy in Moscow and in Vladivostok, and was executive secretary of three US binational commissions with Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. He joined the government from RAND, where is currently an adjunct senior international and defense researcher.