Professor Cross earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1990 with concentrations in international relations, comparative politics, and American foreign and security policy. While in the UCLA graduate program, she was also a resident fellowship scholar and consultant at the RAND Corporation completing the UCLA and RAND programs in Russian area and policy studies. Originally from Arizona, Dr. Cross graduated Phi Beta Kappa with Honors in Political Science from the University of Arizona in 1983. 

In 2004, Dr. Cross taught in Lille France as Visiting Professor of Transatlantic Relations at the Institute of Political Studies/Sciences Po. She has been the recipient of three (2001, 2004, 2006-2007) post-doctoral research grants at the Kennan Institute. In 1999, Dr. Cross was awarded a Fulbright Senior Scholar grant to support affiliations as Visiting Research Scholar and Professor of International Relations at the Institute of USA and Canada Studies in the Russian Academy of Sciences and Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MGIMO). She was a Visiting Assistant/Associate Professor of Transregional Security Studies at the United States Air War College at Maxwell AFB from 1994-1996, and was a recipient of a post-doctoral fellowship at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University to support continuation of her dissertation research.

Her most recent book China, Russia, and Twenty First Century Global Geopolitics co-authored with Paul J. Bolt was published by Oxford University Press in 2018. Professor Cross’ edited books include Shaping South East Europe’s Security Community: Trust, Partnership, and Integration, Macmillan, New Security Challenges Series, 2013, The United States, Russia, and China: Confronting Global Terrorism and Security Challenges in the Twenty First Century, Praeger Security International Series, 2008, Global Security Beyond the Millennium: American and Russian Perspectives, Macmillan Press, 1999, and The New Chapter in United States-Russian Relations: Opportunities and Challenges, Praeger, 1994. She has published extensively in leading professional peer reviewed journals and has received awards in support of her research from NATO-EAPC, U.S. Air Force Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Office of the Secretary of Defense, California State University, American Association for University Women, International Research and Exchanges Board, and University of California, Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation.

While residing in Germany, Dr. Cross directed a major multi-country and multi-disciplinary project for the Marshall Center devoted to exploring dimensions of countering violent extremist ideology involving participation of more than 60 nations. She also routinely lectured on international security topics at NATO School in Oberammergau Germany. She has briefed and consulted for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, United States European Command, U.S. State Department, and U.S. Congress. In 2013, she received the U.S. Army Commander’s Award and Defense Security Cooperation Agency’s (DSCA) Director’s Award issued with approval of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee recognizing contributions to building international security cooperation during eight years in residence in Germany at the Marshall Center.