Global Zero received its 501(c)(3) status effective in June 2012, and began operating independently in November 2012, although WSI remained its principal sponsor for a period afterward.
[2] The last WSI president was Bruce G. Blair, a nuclear weapons analyst and scholar formerly with the Brookings Institution, and co-founder of Global Zero.
Its Straus Military Reform Project, directed by Winslow Wheeler, analyzed "both the fiscal and strategic implications of defense programs and promotes informed oversight of Pentagon activities.
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting sponsored international travel for journalists to cover important, underreported stories.
Since its launch in Paris in December 2008, it has grown to include 300 world leaders and half a million citizens worldwide; hosted four Global Zero Summits and numerous regional conferences; built an international student movement with more than 175 campus chapters in 29 countries; produced an acclaimed documentary, Countdown to Zero, with the team behind An Inconvenient Truth; launched cutting-edge international campaigns in key countries; and produced compelling, high-production videos to reach millions of people worldwide with an empowering call to action.