General Raymond A. Thomas III
General Raymond A. Thomas III currently serves as the 11th Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.
Prior to assuming command of USSOCOM, Gen. Thomas served as Commander, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Fort Bragg, N.C.
Gen. Thomas’ other assignments as a general officer include: Associate Director for Military Affairs at the Central Intelligence Agency; Commanding General, NATO Special Operations Component Command – Afghanistan; Deputy Commanding General, JSOC; Deputy Director for Special Operations, The Joint Staff in the Pentagon; Assistant Division Commander, 1st Armor Division in Iraq; and Assistant Commanding General, JSOC.
Prior to being promoted to brigadier general, Gen. Thomas also served as the JSOC Chief of Staff and Director of Operations. His other formative and key, joint and special operations assignments include: Commander, Joint Task Force – Bravo, Soto Cano, Honduras; Commander, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Savannah, Ga.; and Commander, B Squadron, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta, Fort Bragg, N.C.
He is a graduate of the US Army War College, Carlisle, Penn., and the Naval Command and Staff College, Newport, R.I.
Gen. Thomas is a native of Philadelphia, Pa. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and was commissioned an infantry second lieutenant upon graduation in 1980.
Gen. Thomas and his wife Barbara have two sons – Tony and Michael.
Vice Admiral Sean A. Pybus
Vice Admiral Sean A. Pybus is a career Naval Special Warfare (NSW) SEAL officer with multiple Joint Special Operations duty assignments.
He graduated from the University of Rochester in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and earned a regular Navy commission through NROTC. He graduated Basic Underwater Demolition/Seal (BUD/S) training in December 1979, with Class 105.
Vice Adm. Pybus has served in SEAL, Underwater Demolition, Special Boat, and SEAL Delivery Vehicle tours within NSW and has held positions at Joint Special Operations Command and United States Special Operations Command. Command tours include units in Panama, Germany and Bahrain, as well as duty as commodore, NSWG-1, San Diego. As a flag officer, he has served as J-3, USSOCOM, 2007-2009; commander, Special Operations Command Pacific, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, 2009-2011; commander, Naval Special Warfare Command in Coronado, California, 2011-2013; and commander, NATO SOF Headquarters, Mons, Belgium, 2013-2014. He is currently the deputy commander, USSOCOM, MacDill AFB, Florida.
He has participated in special operations in Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
Decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal (1), Defense Superior Service Medal (3), Legion of Merit (2), Meritorious Service Medal (3), and various other awards. He is also a 1998 Distinguished Graduate of the Naval War College with a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies.
Lieutenant General Thomas J. Trask
Lt. Gen. Thomas J. Trask is Vice Commander, Headquarters U.S. Special Operations Command, Washington, D.C. General Trask is responsible for planning, coordinating and executing actions with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the Services and other government agencies in the National Capital Region on behalf of the Commander USSOCOM.
General Trask entered the Air Force in 1984 as a Reserve Officer Training Corps graduate. He is a command pilot with more than 3,000 flying hours, including 51 combat missions supporting operations in Panama, Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo. The general has previously commanded the 20th Special Operations Squadron, 347th Rescue Operations Group, 58th Special Operations Wing, Squadron Officer College and 23rd Air Force. His staff assignments have included the Joint Staff; Headquarters U.S. Special Operations Command; U.S. Central Command; Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command; and NATO AIRSOUTH.
Command Sergeant Major William F. Thetford
Command Sergeant Major Thetford entered the United States Army in July 1981. Upon completion of his initial training as an Infantryman, CSM Thetford was assigned to Company B, 2d Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Lewis, Washington, where he served as a Rifleman, Fire Team Leader and Squad Leader. In 1986, CSM Thetford served with the Mountain Ranger Camp as a Mountaineering Instructor and Platoon Small Group Leader.
CSM Thetford assessed for a Special Mission Unit in 1990. He served as a Team Member/Operator, Team Sergeant Instructor/Writer, Operations Sergeant Major, Troop Sergeant Major, Squadron Sergeant Major and Unit Command Sergeant Major. In September 2011 CSM Thetford became the Command Sergeant Major of Joint Special Operations Command. He served in this position until October 2014. CSM Thetford is currently serving as the Command Sergeant Major of the U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. He assumed responsibility in October 2014.
CSM Thetford has deployed multiple times throughout his career, supporting Operation Urgent Fury, UNOSOM II, Operations IRAQI FREEDOM, EW DAWN and Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. He has also participated in peacekeeping operations in Bosnia. CSM Thetford has completed the following significant military courses: Ranger Course, Jumpmaster Course, Military Freefall Jumpmaster Course, Special Forces Operations and Intelligence Course, Pathfinder Course, Special Forces Combat Diver Supervisor Course, United States Army Sergeants Major Academy, Senior Leaders Force Management Course, Keystone Course.
CSM Thetford’s significant awards and decorations include the following: Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with V-Device and 5 Oak Leaf Clusters, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Special Forces Tab, Combat Infantry Badge Second Award, Master Military Freefall Parachutist Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Pathfinder Badge, Special Operations Diver’s Supervisor Badge and Australian Parachutist Badge.
CSM Thetford holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Social Science Studies from Campbell University and a Master’s of Corporate Security from Webster’s University.
Lisa O. Monaco
Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
Lisa Monaco assumed the duties of the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and Deputy National Security Advisor on March 8, 2013. She advises the President on all aspects of counterterrorism policy and strategy as well as the coordination of all homeland security-related activities throughout the Executive Branch.
Previously, Monaco served as Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the Department of Justice (DOJ), where she oversaw nationwide national security prosecutions and investigations, and led the Justice Department division of the DOJ created as a result of post 9/11 reforms. Ms. Monaco’s Justice Department career, includes serving as the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General and as chief of staff to FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III.
From 2001 to 2007, Monaco served as a federal prosecutor. As an Assistant United States Attorney assigned to the Enron Task Force, she was a co-lead trial counsel in the prosecution of five former executives of Enron Broadband Services. She is a recipient of the Justice Department’s highest award—the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service, as well as the Edmund J. Randolph Award. Monaco also served as counsel to Attorney General Janet Reno from 1998 to 2001.
Before joining the Department of Justice, Monaco clerked for the Honorable Jane R. Roth, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She earned her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and her B.A. from Harvard University.
Ambassador Jacob Walles
Senior Adviser on Foreign Fighters
Bureau of Counterterrorism, Department of State
Jacob Walles is the Senior Adviser on Foreign Fighters in the Bureau of Counterterrorism at the State Department. Previously, he served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia from July 2012 to September 2015. He also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, responsible for U.S. policy with respect to Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians. For more than twenty years, he was an active participant in U.S. efforts to promote peace in the Middle East dating back to the 1991 Madrid Conference.
His previous assignments included service as U.S. Consul General and Chief of Mission in Jerusalem from July 2005 to August 2009. As Consul General, he conducted the official dialogue between the United States and the Palestinian leadership.
Mr. Walles also served as the Director of the Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs from 1998 to 2001 and as Deputy Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem from 1996-1998.
Other assignments included: Deputy Chief of Mission in Athens, First Secretary for Economic Affairs in Tel Aviv, Vice Consul in Amsterdam, and Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs in Washington.
From September 2009 to June 2010, Mr. Walles was the Cyrus Vance Fellow for Diplomatic Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Mr. Walles is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor. He is the recipient of Presidential Meritorious Rank Awards in 2007 and 2012, and the Department’s Superior Honor Award in 2001 and 1994 for his work in promoting peace in the Middle East.
Mr. Walles was born in Wilmington, Delaware and is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University.
Honorable Dr. Réka Szemerkényi
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States of America
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary
February 2015 – Present (11 months) |Washington, DC
Dr. Réka Szemerkényi was appointed Ambassador of Hungary to the United States in 2015. Previously, from 2011 to 2014, she was Chief Advisor on Security Policy to the Prime Minister of Hungary. In this capacity, she covered Trans-Atlantic issues, Central European regional relations, the Balkans, Russia, with a particular emphasis on energy security and cyber security.
Between 2006 and 2011, she was Head of International Public Affairs and Chief Advisor on International Relations to the Chairman of the Board of MOL Group, the Hungarian Oil and Gas Company. In this capacity, her role was to cover European Union energy policy and security developments and the establishment of the Central European regional energy cooperation, as well as to provide professional support for executive decisions on a wide range of issues in international affairs.
Dr. Réka Szemerkényi held various governmental posts prior to this. Between 1998 and 2002, she was State Secretary for Foreign Policy and National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Hungary. From 1991 to 1994, she was Senior Advisor to the State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense of Hungary.
In her academic and research work, she has been a regular speaker at high level international conferences. She was also university lecturer the Institute of Kremlinology, Karoli University in Budapest, as well as at the ASERI Centre of International Relations, Catholic University of Milan, Italy. She was foreign policy op-ed author of the Hungarian weekly magazine Heti Valasz for six years. She is the author of several publications in international relations, security policy and energy security. She worked as Research Associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London (1995-6) where she wrote Adelphi Paper No. 306 entitled Central European Civil-Military Reforms at Risk, published by Oxford University Press in 1996. She was elected President of the Hungarian New Atlantic Initiative, NGO, between 2003 and 2012 and she now serves as elected Vice President of the Hungarian Atlantic Council.
She completed her Degree in Strategic Studies as a Fulbright Fellow at SAIS, Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC (1993-5). She earned her Doctoral Degree at Peter Pazmany Catholic University of Budapest in 2006, her PhD Thesis being: “Energy Security - West European and Warsaw Pact Energy Strategies between 1945-1990.”
Dr. Réka Szemerkényi was awarded the Slovak Atlantic Commission’s award “In Appreciation of Promoting Freedom and Security in Central Europe” (2013), the “Bene Merito” honor by Radoslaw Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland (2010). She was honored with the L’Ordre National du Merite, Commandeur, by President Jacques Chirac (2001). In Hungary, she was decorated National Service Award for the Contribution to Hungary’s Joining NATO, by the Minister of Defense of Hungary (1999).
Réka Szemerkényi the mother of four (ages: 14, 12, 11 and 6).
Mr. Thomas J. Harrington
Managing Director and Chief Information Security Officer
Citigroup
Thomas Harrington joined the management team at CITI in July 2012. With 28 years of law enforcement and national security experience, T.J. Harrington, the former Associate Deputy Director of the FBI is a recognized leader in the global law enforcement and intelligence communities.
He now heads a new organization within CITI focused on critical risk areas of Information Security, Emergency Management and Fraud Surveillance.
Ms. Katherine Bauer
Senior Fellow, The Washington Institute and a former official at the U.S. Treasury Department.
Katherine Bauer is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former Treasury official who served as the department's financial attaché in Jerusalem and the Gulf. Before leaving Treasury in late 2015, she served several months as senior policy advisor for Iran in the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes (TFFC). During the two previous years, she served as financial attaché for the Gulf, representing the department in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Her other posts include assistant director of TFFC; financial attaché in Jerusalem, with responsibility for policy, technical assistance, and sanctions matters in the West Bank and Gaza (2009-2011); and senior analyst focused on illicit financial networks (2006-2009).
Prior to working at the Treasury, Bauer was a nonproliferation graduate fellow at the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. A graduate of Macalester College, she received her master's degree in Middle Eastern studies and international economics from the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.
Ms. Celina Realuyo
Professor of Practice
National Defense University
Celina Realuyo is Professor of Practice at the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies at the National Defense University where she focuses on U.S. national security, illicit networks, transnational organized crime, counterterrorism and threat finance issues in the Americas. As a former U.S. diplomat, international banker with Goldman Sachs, U.S. foreign policy advisor under the Clinton and Bush Administrations, State Department Director of Counterterrorism Finance Programs, and professor of international security affairs at the National Defense, Georgetown, George Washington, and Joint Special Operations Universities, Professor Realuyo has over two decades of international experience in the public, private, and academic sectors. She has developed and delivered graduate-level courses on “Combating Transnational Organized Crime and Illicit Networks in the Americas,” “Globalization and National Security,” “The Nexus between Terrorism and Crime,” “Illicit Economies, Narcotics and National Security,” and “Strategies and Policies to Combat Terrorism.” She speaks regularly in English and Spanish on “Managing U.S. National Security in the New Global Security Environment,” “The U.S. National Security Decision Making Process,” “Following the Money to Combat Terrorism, Crime, and Corruption,” and “Combating Illicit Networks in an Age of Globalization.” Professor Realuyo is cited and appears regularly in the media, including CNN en Española, Voice of America, Univision Radio, Radio Bilingue, Reuters, Foreign Policy, and el Universal.
Throughout her career, Professor Realuyo has been a trusted strategic advisor to the most senior leaders in U.S. government, military, business, and academic circles on international issues. As a professor at the National Defense University since 2007, she has educated top U.S. and foreign military and civilian leaders on counterterrorism, illicit networks, and national security affairs. From 2002-2006, Professor Realuyo served as the State Department Director of Counterterrorism Finance Programs in the U.S. Secretary of State’s Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism in Washington, D.C. In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, she returned to government service to apply her international banking skills to the financial front of the war on terror. She managed a multimillion-dollar foreign assistance program aimed at safeguarding financial systems against terrorist financing and co-chaired the U.S. interagency Terrorist Financing Working Group. Under her stewardship, the U.S. delivered training and technical assistance to over 20 countries across four continents (including Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia), training over 1800 foreign counterparts, and her team received an “A-” from the 9/11 Commission for their efforts to combat terrorist financing in 2005. Prior to returning to Washington, Professor Realuyo was a private banker in London with Goldman Sachs International providing strategic wealth advisory services to the most prominent families in the world. Previously, she had a distinguished career as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer serving as a political officer abroad in Madrid, Panama, and the U.S. Mission to NATO, Brussels. In Washington, Professor Realuyo served at the highest levels of government, in the State Department Operations Center, National Security Council’s White House Situation Room, and as Special Assistant to the Secretary of State.
Professor Realuyo holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, MA from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), BS from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and Certificate from l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po) in Paris, France. She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Women in International Security, Global Summit of Women, and the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association. She was an Aspen Institute Young Leaders Socrates Scholar in 2004, French-American Foundation Young Leader in 2006, and Atlantik-Brucke German-American Young Leader in 2007. Professor Realuyo has traveled to over 70 countries, speaks English, French, and Spanish fluently, and is conversant in Italian, German, Filipino, and Arabic.
Mr. Peter W. Singer
Senior Strategist and Fellow
New America Foundation
Peter Warren Singer is Strategist and Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, founder of NeoLuddite, a technology advisory firm, the author of multiple award-winning books, and a contributing editor at Popular Science. He has been named by the Smithsonian Institution-National Portrait Gallery as one of the 100 "leading innovators in the nation," by Defense News as one of the 100 most influential people in defense issues, by Onalytica social media data analysis as one of the ten most influential voices in the world on cybersecurity, and by Foreign Policy to their Top 100 Global Thinkers List, of the people whose ideas most influenced the world that year.
Described in the Wall Street Journal as "the premier futurist in the national-security environment," Dr. Singer is considered one of the world's leading experts on changes in 21st century warfare. He has consulted for the US Military, Defense Intelligence Agency, and FBI, as well as advised a range of entertainment programs, including for Warner Brothers, Dreamworks, Universal, HBO, Discovery, History Channel, and the video game series Call of Duty, the best-selling entertainment project in history. He served as coordinator of the Obama-08 campaign's defense policy task force and was named by the President to the US Military's Transformation Advisory Group. He has provided commentary on security issues for nearly every major TV and radio outlet, including ABC, Al Jazeera, BBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, NPR, and the NBC Today Show. In addition to his work on conflict issues, Singer is a member of the State Department's Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy. In the entertainment sector, he has received awards/support from the Tribeca Film Institute, Sloan Filmmakers Fund, Film Independent, and FAST Track at the L.A. Film Festival.
His first book Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry pioneered the study of the new industry of private companies providing military services for hire, an issue that soon became important with the use and abuse of these companies in Iraq. It was named best book of the year by the American Political Science Association, among the top five international affairs books of the year by the Gelber Prize, and a "top ten summer read" by Businessweek. Singer advised the Defense Department, CIA, and the European Union on the issue and helped bring to light the role of private contractors in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal and the Halliburton controversies in Iraq.
Children at War was the first to comprehensively explore the tragic rise of child soldier groups and was recognized by the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Book of the Year Award. Singer served as a consultant on the issue to the Marine Corps, and the recommendations in his book resulted in changes in the UN peacekeeping training program. An accompanying History Channel documentary, "Child Warriors," won a CINE Golden Eagle Award for excellence in the production of film and television.
Wired for War examined the implications of robotics and other new technologies for war, politics, ethics, and law in the 21st century. Described as "awesome" by Jon Stewart of the Daily Show, Wired for War made the NY Times non-fiction bestseller list in its first week of release. It was named a non-fiction Book of the Year by The Financial Times and featured at venues as diverse as all three US military academies, The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, TED, and the royal court of the UAE. The book was made an official reading of the US Air Force, US Navy, US Army, and Royal Australian Navy.
Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know explores the key questions we all face in the cyber age (how it all works, why it all matters, and what we can do?). It was described by the Chairman of Google as "an essential read" and by the former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO as "the most approachable and readable book ever written on the cyber world." The book has been added to the US Navy and US Army professional reading lists and featured at venues like the Microsoft CEO Summit and South by Southwest festival.
Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War (June, 2015) is Singer's debut novel. It melds nonfiction style research on emerging trends and technology with a fictional exploration of what the future of war at sea, on land, in the air, space, and cyberspace will be like in the future. Described as "a modern-day successor to tomes such as The Hunt For Red October from the late Tom Clancy." (USA Today) and "A Wild Ride" (The Economist), it went through 6 print runs in its first 6 weeks of release. Its new model of "useful fiction" has been endorsed by a unique group that ranges from the head of the US Navy to the writer of HBO Game of Thrones and the producer of Hunger Games. More at ghostfleetbook.com
Prior to his current position, Dr. Singer was the founding Director of the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence at the Brookings Institution. He was the youngest scholar named Senior Fellow in Brookings' 98-year history. Prior to that, he was the founding Director of the Project on US Policy Towards the Islamic World, where he was the organizer of the US-Islamic World Forum, a global leaders conference. He has also worked for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard. Singer received his Ph.D. in Government from Harvard and a BA from the Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton.
Jack Devine
President, The Arkin Group LLC
Jack Devine is a founding partner and President of The Arkin Group LLC, which specializes in international crisis management, strategic intelligence, investigative research and business problem solving. He is a 32-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency (“CIA”). Mr. Devine served as both Acting Director and Associate Director of CIA’s operations outside the United States from 1993-1995, where he had supervisory authority over thousands of CIA employees involved in sensitive missions throughout the world. In addition, he served as Chief of the Latin American Division from 1992-1993 and was the principal manager of the CIA’s sensitive projects in Latin America.
Between 1990 and 1992, Mr. Devine headed the CIA’s Counternarcotics Center, which was responsible for coordinating and building close cooperation between all major U.S. and foreign law enforcement agencies in tracking worldwide narcotics and crime organizations. From 1985-1987, Mr. Devine headed the CIA’s Afghan Task Force, which successfully countered Soviet aggression in the region. In 1987, he was awarded the CIA’s Meritorious Officer Award for this accomplishment.
Mr. Devine’s international experience with the U.S. government included postings to Latin America and Europe. During his more than 30 years with the CIA, Mr. Devine was involved in organizing, planning and executing countless sensitive projects in virtually all areas of intelligence, including analysis, operations, technology and management. He is the recipient of the Agency’s Distinguished Intelligence Medal and several meritorious awards. He is a recognized expert in Intelligence matters and has written Op-Ed articles for The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Foreign Affair Magazine, The World Policy Journal, Politico and The Atlantic Monthly. He has also made guest appearances on National Press Club, CNN, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, Fox News, CSPAN, Bloomberg News as well as the History and Discovery channels, PBS, NPR and ABC Radio.
In the private sector, Mr. Devine serves on Kohl’s Cyber Security Advisory Group as well as SAP National Security Services (NS2) Advisory Board. He previously served on the CyberCore Advisory Board and the Secretary of Navy’s Advisory Board. Mr. Devine resides in New York City and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He speaks Spanish and Italian.
General Sir Graeme Lamb
fmr. Director of the United Kingdom’s Special Forces (UKSF)
A retired three-star general, General Sir Graeme Lamb is the former Director of the United Kingdom’s Special Forces (UKSF) the UK, albeit smaller equivalent of the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). His operational experience is truly global having been deployed, or in direct support of those deployments, to virtually all the UK’s major conflicts since 1973. His close working relationship with the US has broadened that experience, GEN Stan McChrystal’s assessment, “I knew of no one else who possessed both the agile, pragmatic mind, and the unmistakable presence but if anyone were to make it work, Graeme was the one of a handful in either American or British militaries that could.”
Considered to be “a particularly aggressive general” with a reputation for “toughness and blasphemous plain speaking” General Lamb is widely recognized for his intimate appreciation for Hobbes’s view of man as “reconcilable and irreconcilable” actors in modern conflict.
Thirty Eight Years of Service. The son of a WWII veteran, Lamb graduated from The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1973. He went on to command extensively on operations Conventional, Airborne, and Special Forces throughout his career. He completed his service as The Commander of the British Field Army – responsible for all those forces committed to operations.
Dr. Mathew J. Burrows
Director of the Atlantic Council's Strategic Foresight Initiative in the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security
Dr. Mathew J. Burrows serves as the Director of the Atlantic Council's Strategic Foresight Initiative in the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security. He was appointed Counselor to the National Intelligence Council (NIC) in 2007 and Director of the Analysis and Production Staff (APS) in 2010. As Director of APS, Burrows was responsible for managing a staff of senior analysts and production technicians who guide and shepherd all NIC products from inception to dissemination. He was the principal drafter for the NIC publication Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds, which received widespread recognition and praise in the international media and among academics and think tanks. In 2005, he was asked to set up and direct the NIC's new Long Range Analysis Unit, which is now known as the Strategic Futures Group. Burrows joined the CIA in 1986, where he served as Analyst for the Directorate of Intelligence (DI), covering Western Europe, including the development of European institutions such as the European Union. From 1998 to 1999 he was the first holder of the Intelligence Community Fellowship and served at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Other previous positions included assignments as Special Assistant to the US UN Ambassador Richard Holbrooke (1999-2001) and Deputy National Security Advisor to US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill (2001-02). He is a member of the DI's Senior Analyst Service. Burrows graduated from Wesleyan University in 1976 and received a PhD in European history from Cambridge University, England in 1983.
Maksymilian Czuperski
Special Assistant to the President, Atlantic Council Day 1 Keynote Luncheon Speaker
Maksymilian Czuperski serves as the Strategic Communications Advisor Europe and Special Assistant to the President of the Atlantic Council.
Before joining the Council, Czuperski worked on the crisis in Syria as part of an analytics unit that gathered and processed information about the unfolding events in the Syrian war. He also followed developments in the region while at Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in the West Bank and Israel. His prior experience also includes the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in New York where he provided research support to CFR Senior Fellow and Director for International Economics Dr. Benn Steil with his book, The Battle of Bretton Woods: John Maynard Keynes, Harry Dexter White, and the Making of a New World Order, which won the top book of the year choice in a Bloomberg poll of global policy makers and CEOs.
At the Atlantic Council, Czuperski has led the Council's efforts on open-source intelligence and digital forensic research including for the report, Hiding in Plain Sight: Putin's War in Ukraine. Originally from Gdansk, Poland, Czuperski received his BA from Knox College and speaks German, Polish, and Italian.
Commander Grant Edwards
International Operations, Australian Federal Police Day 2 Keynote Speaker
Commander Edwards possesses over 30 years of policing experience at the local, national and international level. He has worked in the transnational crime areas of counter terrorism, international organised crime, drug trafficking, people smuggling, human trafficking, Child Exploitation and Cyber Crime.
Commander Edwards has previously been posted internationally as Liaison Officer Los Angeles, to Timor-Leste as Security Advisor to the Timor-Leste Secretary of State for Security and Afghanistan as the Deputy Head of the International Police Coordination board.
Grant is presently the Manager Americas based in Washington DC and responsible for liaison within Canada, USA, Mexico, Central America and South America.
<p "font-family: inherit;"> Grant holds a number of academic qualifications including a Master of Policy and Governance from Charles Sturt University and a Bachelor of Arts Australian National University.
Oliver Gadney
Programme Officer, Global Programme against Money Laundering, UN Office on Drugs and Crime
Prior to joining UNODC, Oliver was a Detective in the Metropolitan Police Service and worked in a variety of roles in serious crime and counter terrorism.
Eliot Higgins
Founder, Bellingcat Day 1 Keynote Luncheon Speaker
COL Guy Lemire, USA, (SF)
Navy Postgraduate School, JSOU SOF Chair Breakout 4 Moderator: Regional Communities of Action against VEOs
Colonel Guy LeMire grew up in Pacifica, California and enlisted in the Army in 1981.
He served his first tour with the 82nd Airborne Division and volunteered for Special Forces in 1983. Upon graduation of the Special Forces Qualification Course, he was assigned to the First Special Forces Group, Fort Lewis, Washington in 1984. In 1989, newly promoted Sergeant First Class LeMire attended Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as an Infantry officer in March, 1990. He served his initial tour as an Infantry officer with the 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks and Hawaii.
Guy again volunteered for Special Forces in 1995, and upon completion of the Special Forces Officers Course, was again assigned to the First Special Forces Group, where he served in various duty positions including; Detachment Commander, Headquarters and Support Company Commander, Assistant Battalion Operations Officer, Special Forces Company Commander, Battalion Executive Officer, Group Executive Officer, and as the Commander of Second Battalion, First Special Forces Group 2006-2008.
In addition to Colonel LeMire’s previous assignments in the 25th Infantry Division and First Special Forces Group, he served as a SOF Plans Officer in 2002 with US First Corps and also served in the Deputy Directorate for Special Operations (DDSO) on the Joint Staff 2008-2010. Additionally, Guy served as the Deputy Director for Operations for Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) 2011-2012. Most recently, he served as Commander, Joint Task Force Bravo and Honduras 2012-2013.
Guy is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, US Army Airborne School, Ranger School, Special Forces SCUBA School, Jumpmaster, US Army Command and General Staff College and School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS). He is a Senior Service College graduate; having completed a fellowship at the Naval Post Graduate School, Monterey, California as well as JMPE-II at the Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia.
Colonel LeMire holds a Bachelor of Science, with a major in Business Administration from Wayland Baptist University and a Master of Science in Military Arts and Science from the School of Advanced Military Studies.
Guy has been blessed with 3 children; Jessica-29, Dean-27 and Brittany-24
Dr. Christopher Marsh
US Army School of Advanced Military Studies
BREAKOUT 2 Moderator: Border Crossings – Security Implications in Managing Migration Flows
Dr. Marsh is a Professor of National Security and Strategic Studies at the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) and editor of Special Operations Journal, published by Routledge. Dr. Marsh holds the Ph.D. in political science from the University of Connecticut, in addition to having completed graduate study at Moscow State University. He conducted much of his dissertation research at the Russian Academy of Science, and later was a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs at Boston University. Dr. Marsh was also a visiting fellow at Tsinghua University (Beijing) in 2001, where he conducted research on political and social change in China. Dr. Marsh is the author of five books, including Russian Foreign Policy: Interests, Vectors, and Sectors, co-authored with Nikolas Gvosdev of the Naval War College. Dr. Marsh has also published more than 70 journal articles and chapters in edited collections. From 1999-2011 Dr. Marsh taught at Baylor University, moving up the ranks from assistant professor to full professor (with tenure). During that time he also served as a consultant to various intelligence and defense agencies, ranging from Naval Air Systems Command to the CIA and DIA. Prior to joining SAMS, Dr. Marsh taught irregular warfare, global terrorism, and COIN at the US Air Force Special Operations School, Hurlburt Field, Florida. While at SAMS he has worked with USSOCOM's Global SOF Network OPT as well as working closely with USASOC and CAC SOF on several other initiatives.
Colonel (Ret) Joe Osborn, COL, USA
Joint Special Operations Command
Breakout 3 Moderator: Homegrown Extremism and the Domestic Impacts of Terrorism
Colonel (Retired) Joe Osborne is a Research Fellow with the Joint Special Operations University (JSOU), President of Osborne Strategic – a defense and security consulting firm and a PhD Student. He has also worked as Senior Director for Wittenberg Weiner Consulting and a Director for PICA Corporation, an international investigation and consulting agency. He was a Distinguished Military Graduate and received a Regular Army Commission as an Infantry Officer from the ROTC program at Florida State University in 1985. He also has a Masters Degree in National Security Affairs from the Naval Post Graduate School
In his most recent military assignments Colonel Osborne served as the J3, Director of Operations at Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT). He arrived at SOCCENT in July 2009 and served as the J5, Director of Plans, Policy and Strategy. Prior to his tour at SOCCENT he served at United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) as the Director, Irregular Warfare (J10) and as the Chief of Global Synchronization, in the J35 Future Operations and Global Synchronization Division.
Prior to USSOCOM his assignment history includes a 2-1/2 year stint as the Deputy Commander of 3d Special Forces Group completing three full rotations as Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan (CJSOTF-A). He has also served as Executive Officer to the Commanding General at Army Special Operations Command, and was both a Company Commander and Battalion S-3 (Operations Officer) in 3d Special Forces Group focusing on the Mid-east and Africa. While serving on the staff of Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH) in 1999, Colonel Osborne served as the Operations Officer for JTF Fundamental Response - a Search and Rescue and Humanitarian Assistance operation in Venezuela.
Colonel Osborne commanded both a Company and a Special Forces "A" Detachment in the 1st Special Forces Group focusing on the Pacific Basin. His Special Forces assignments have included operations and deployments throughout Asia, South and Central America, Africa the Middle East. Since retiring from the military, he has been a guest instructor at the Army War College and in 2012 presented a paper on Irregular Warfare to a multi-national Senior Leader Symposium in Amman, Jordan; Prince Faisal al Hussein was the senior Jordanian representative in attendance.
Colonel Osborne's awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, The Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Combat Infantryman's Badge and the Ranger and Special Forces Tabs. He is a Master Parachutist and has also earned military parachute badges from the nations of Thailand and the Republic of Korea.
Mr. James Q Roberts
Office of the Secretary of Defense Chair, and Assistant Professor Strategic Leadership Department, Eisenhower School, NDU and JSOU Distinguished Senior Fellow
Day 1 Moderator Countering Violent Extremist Organizations
James Q. Roberts began his tour at the Eisenhower School in August 2013, where he teaches Strategic Leadership and Defense Resourcing. His prior assignment was in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. There he worked on DoD policies, plans, authorities, and resources related to special operations, counter terrorism, irregular warfare, information operations, and building partner capacities.
Mr. Roberts was born in Fresno, California. While growing up he traveled extensively in the U.S. and overseas. He lived in Iran as a child, attended high school at the Lycée Jaccard in Lausanne, Switzerland and graduated with a B.A. from the University of South Carolina in 1968. He holds an M.A. from Middlebury College, and a Certificat d’Etudes Politiques from l’Institut des Sciences Politiques in Paris.
In July of 1968 he began his government career as an U.S. Army Private. He was commissioned in 1969, and served 24 years on active duty as a Military Intelligence Officer, in intelligence, light infantry, special operations, and foreign area officer positions. Key military overseas tours included Vietnam and Cambodia as an intelligence officer, Paris, France as a graduate student, and Iran - as the last Foreign Area Officer there.
From 1987-1989 Mr. Roberts commanded a Psychological Operations Battalion at Fort Bragg, NC in support of the United States Central Command. In 1989 he was selected for promotion to Colonel, and returned to Washington, joining the newly formed Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict. In 1992 he left active duty to accept an appointment in the Senior Executive Service in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
As a Senior Executive he worked in the Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict field from 1992 until 1999. From 1999-2000 he served as the Director, NATO Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. In 2000 he was assigned as the first Defense Policy Advisor to the United States Mission to the European Union, in Brussels. There he focused on the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, the early development of defense capabilities in the EU, and NATO-EU issues.
In 2003 he returned to the Pentagon, and to the Special Operations and Combating Terrorism Office, where he was the Principal Director and acting Deputy Assistant Secretary. From 2006-2009 he served as the U.S. Deputy Director of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. In 2009 he rejoined the Special Operations and Combating Terrorism Office in Washington. In 2013 he was selected to serve as the OSD Chair at the Eisenhower School.
Mr. Roberts is an avid skier. He celebrated 50 years of skiing in 2010 by returning to Zermatt, Switzerland, with a school mate from the Lycee Jaccard. In December of 1959 he and Peter first learned to ski under the Matterhorn.
Mr. Roberts and his wife Beth Wald live in the Virginia suburbs. Beth is a senior intelligence officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency, and a graduate of the U.S. Army War College. They have three children, two grandchildren, and two rescue dogs – a Greek/German Poodle mixed mutt, and a Virginia runt Yorkie.
Theresa Whelan
Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict