While he was a Pan Am flight attendant, he studied at Georgetown University under Madeleine Albright as a James T. Webb Fellow in Science, Technology, and Diplomacy while earning a Masters in Foreign Service.
He subsequently earned a Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis from the RAND Graduate School and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Stanford University, where he conducted research on defense conversion and wrote a book, The De-Escalation of Nuclear Crises.
According to a study published by the Leadership Institute for Conservative Leaders Who Want to Win,[1] Nation's campaign received contributions totaling $10,372 from the MICRA Political Action Committee of NorCal Mutual Insurance Company in 2003-2004.
In 2004 Nation was chosen to be Chair of the Assembly Rules Committee, and he was asked to create and direct the Office of Policy Planning and Research.
Nation has briefed members of the British Parliament and European Union, and is a frequent invited speaker at conferences on climate change and carbon management.