John M. Caravelli

John Michael (Jack) Caravelli of Falls Church, Virginia died in his home on Thursday, October 31, 2019.  Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, he was the son of Victor and Harriet Caravelli, both deceased.  He is survived by two bothers  Jim  Caravelli of Sarasota, Florida and Larry Caravelli of Absecon, New Jersey.  In addition he had a wife, Kathy Caravelli and two sons, Chris Caravelli (wife Bandy) of Leesburg, Virginia and three grandsons, Aidan, Reid, and Levi; and son, Artyom Caravelli (deceased).

Dr. Jack Caravelli was a national security expert, and served 25 years in the US government. He started his career in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a Soviet strategic forces analyst and spent fourteen years there in various analytic, staff and managerial positions.  

He then joined in 1996 the White House National Security Council Staff as Director for Nonproliferation with responsibility for US policy with Russia and the Middle East.  During his four years of service on the NSC he was responsible for advising the President and developing policy options critical for US interest in Russia and the Middle East, as well as serving as a presidential envoy to ministerial-level talks with the Russian government.

He was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy and Director, Office of International Material Protection and Cooperation (2000-2003) and then senior advisor to the Secretary of Energy (2003-2007). Under his leadership, the MPC&A program was responsible for securing nuclear weapons and material at 95 facilities in the former Soviet Union, including securing sufficient fissile material to construct 10,000 nuclear warheads.

Jack initiated major international strategic talks in 2002 with the International Atomic Energy Agency and Russian Federation, culminating in a tripartite agreement to secure orphan nuclear and radiological sources.

He held an appointment as a Visiting Professor at the United Kingdom Defence Academy and lectured at Oxford University where he served as a member of the Board of Advisors for St. Antony’s Pluscarden Program on Intelligence and Terrorism. Since 2016 he has served as co-chair at Christ Church, Oxford of an international cyber conference.  He was  the author of numerous books on national security topics as well as appeared regularly on national television and radio programs. He was educated at Georgetown University and did post-doctoral studies at Harvard University.

Family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to your local homeless shelter or to the American Cancer Society.

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