Hicks is a policy wonk focusing on climate change, health security, and DEI issues. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She previously served as senior vice president, Henry A. Kissinger Chair, and director of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). CSIS is a hawkish non-profit think tank providing policy solutions to influence political and bureaucrat decision-makers.
She also served on the Boards of Council on Foreign Relations and the Truman Center for National Policy. She served on the Centers board with Vice Chairman Hunter Biden, Kamala Harris, Jake Sullivan, and Pete Buttigieg, ring leaders in the Biden Administration. The Center promotes critical race and gender theology in the State Department and the military and advocates decarbonizing the military. This is a page out of the script of the Idiocracy movie.