Speakers
Regional Perspectives on the Afghanistan Peace Process Panel
Moderator: Dr. Andrew Wilder is vice president of Asia Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace. He first joined USIP
as the Director of Afghanistan and Pakistan Programs. Before USIP, he was a research
director for politics and policy at the Feinstein International Center at Tufts University.
Dr. Wilder has conducted extensive research exploring issues relating to state-building,
development, and stabilization efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Recent research
focuses on electoral politics in Afghanistan and the effectiveness of aid in promoting
stabilization objectives in Afghanistan and Pakistan. .
Ambassador Ali Jalali has served as a distinguished professor of International Relations at NESA since October
2005. He is a former Interior Minister of Afghanistan and Afghanistan Ambassador to
Germany. As Interior Minister of post-Taliban Afghanistan, he created a trained force
of 50,000 Afghan National Police (ANP) and 12,000 Border Police to work effectively
in counter-narcotics, counterterrorism, and criminal investigation to fight against
organized crime and illegal border crossings. As Afghanistan Ambassador to Germany,
Jalali interacted with Germany and European Union on major bilateral and multi-lateral
issues. During his military service in Afghanistan army, Ambassador Jalali served
in command, staff, and educational posts with a final rank of colonel. .
Dr. Barnett Rubin, Associate Director of the Center on International Cooperation (CIC), oversees the
Afghanistan Pakistan Regional Program. He was the Senior Adviser to the special representative
for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the U.S. Department of State and Special Advisor to
the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan during the
negotiations that produced the Bonn Agreement. Dr. Rubin subsequently advised the
UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan on the drafting of the constitution of Afghanistan,
the Afghanistan Compact, and the Afghanistan National Development Strategy. .
Dr. Marvin Weinbaum, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
and Director for Pakistan studies at the Middle East Institute, served as an analyst
for Pakistan and Afghanistan in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence
and Research. His research, teaching, and consultancies have focused on the issues
of national security, state-building, democratization, and political economy in Afghanistan
and Pakistan. .
Dr. Ariane Tabatabai, Associate Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation and adjunct senior research
scholar at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, is
a Truman National Security Fellow and a Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) term member.
Before joining RAND, Dr. Tabatabai served as the Director of Curriculum, a visiting
assistant professor of security studies at the Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh
School of Foreign Service, and an international civilian consultant for NATO. .
Regional Perspectives on Iran Panel
Dr. Mohsen Milani, founding Executive Director of the Center for Strategic & Diplomatic Studies and
professor of politics at the 鶹Ƶ, served as Chair of the Department
of Government and International Affairs at USF for thirteen years. During his tenure
as Chair, the department began a new Ph.D. program in Governance. Dr. Milani was a
research fellow at Harvard University, Oxford University, and the Foscari University
in Venice, Italy. Since 2000, he has been invited to 200 conferences in 27 countries.
Both private and governmental entities solicit his advice. See extended bio.
Brigadier General Derek C. France is the Deputy Director of Operations, U.S. Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base,
FL. He is responsible to the USCENTCOM Commander on all matters pertaining to the
strategic and operational employment of assigned forces and the conduct of joint and
combined combat operations and for the coordination of all aspects of operations to
include air, ground, naval information operations, joint fires, and cyber and special
operations forces in the USCENTCOM area of responsibility. General France is a Command
Pilot with more than 2,800 hours in the F-15C and F22. He served as a Weapons School
Instructor Pilot and Operations Officer, Deputy Detachment Commander, and Instructor
Pilot in the Royal Saudi Air Force Fighter Weapons School in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
and commanded the 43d Fighter Squadron, Tyndall Air Force Base, FL, the 3d Operations
Group Joint Base Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, and the 325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall
Air Force Base, FL. See extended bio.
Ms. Barbara Slavin, is the Director of the Future of Iran Initiative and a nonresident Senior Fellow
at the Atlantic Council, a lecturer in international affairs at George Washington
University, and a columnist for Al-Monitor.com -- a website devoted to news from
and about the Middle East. She is a regular commentator on U.S. foreign policy and
Iran on NPR, PBS, and C-SPAN. As a career journalist, Ms. Slavin previously served
as assistant managing editor for world and national security at the Washington Times, a senior diplomatic reporter for USA TODAY, Cairo correspondent for the Economist, and an editor at the New York Times Week in Review. .
Dr. Ariane Tabatabai, Associate Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation and adjunct senior research
scholar at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, is a Truman National Security Fellow and a Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) term
member. Before joining RAND, Dr. Tabatabai served as the Director of Curriculum, a
visiting assistant professor of security studies at the Georgetown University Edmund
A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, and an international civilian consultant for NATO.
.
Mr. Michael Singh, a Lane-Swig Senior Fellow, is Managing Director at the Washington Institute and
former Senior Director for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council. During
his White House tenure, he was responsible for devising and coordinating U.S. national
security policy toward the region, stretching from Morocco to Iran, with a particular
emphasis on Iran’s nuclear and regional activities, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
Syria, and security cooperation in the broader Middle East. Previously, Mr. Singh
served as a special assistant to secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell
and at the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv.
Plenary Speaker
Regional Diplomacy Panel
Moderator, Ms. Brianne Todd is assistant professor of Central Asian Studies at NESA. Her areas of expertise include transnational threats and regional security issues
in Central Asia, Russia, and the Caucasus. Before joining NESA, she worked at the
Center for Political-Military Analysis at the Hudson Institute, where she analyzed
U.S. and foreign defense, intelligence, and homeland security and counterterrorism
policies and on the Eurasian Strategy Project, where she focused on Eurasian political
and security issues. Previously Ms. Todd worked at the U.S. Department of State in
Washington, DC, where she was awarded the Franklin Award, and at the U.S. Embassy
in Moscow, Russia. .
Dr. Mohsen Milani, Founding Executive Director of the Center for Strategic & Diplomatic Studies and
professor of politics at the 鶹Ƶ, served as Chair of the Department
of Government and International Affairs at USF for thirteen years. During his tenure
as Chair, the department began a new Ph.D. program in Governance. Milani was a research
fellow at Harvard University, Oxford University, and the Foscari University in Venice,
Italy. Since 2000, he has been invited to 200 conferences in 27 countries. Both private
and governmental entities solicit his advice. See extended bio.
Dr. Barnett Rubin, Associate Director of the Center on International Cooperation (CIC), oversees the
Afghanistan Pakistan Regional Program. He was the Senior Adviser to the Special Representative
for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the U.S. Department of State and Special Advisor to
the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan during the
negotiations that produced the Bonn Agreement. He subsequently advised the UN Assistance
Mission in Afghanistan on the drafting of the constitution of Afghanistan, the Afghanistan
Compact, and the Afghanistan National Development Strategy. .
Dr. Marvin Weinbaum, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
and Director for Pakistan Studies at the Middle East Institute, served as an analyst
for Pakistan and Afghanistan in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence
and Research. His research, teaching, and consultancies have focused on the issues
of national security, state-building, democratization, and political economy in Afghanistan
and Pakistan. .
Ambassador Michael Ranneberger, a highly experienced senior foreign service executive with the rank of Career Minister,
has led major U.S. foreign policy initiatives both in Washington and abroad. He has
a distinguished record leading policy formulation and implementation in Africa, Latin
America, and the Middle East, frequently involving high profile, politically sensitive
issues. Skilled at analyzing complex problems and identifying operationally effective
courses of action to achieve results, Ambassador Ranneberger's efforts are considered
a worldwide model for other U.S. Missions in fostering a highly cohesive interagency
approach to development and implementation of major programs. See extended bio.
Regional Economics Panel
Moderator, Dr. Adib Farhadi is an assistant professor of Peace & Conflict in the Department of Religious Studies
and Faculty Director of Executive Education. He is a recognized global leader in fragile
and post-conflict states with more than 20 years of experience in stabilization, reconstruction,
and economic development. Dr. Farhadi's research has focused on the economic impact
and modeling of the ‘Silk Road’ projects essential to bringing peace and stability
to Afghanistan and the entire region. He earned a B.S. in Biology from East Carolina
University, an M.A. in Liberal Studies from New York University, and a Ph.D. in Economics
from the University of Canberra. .
Dr. Frederick Starr joined the American Foreign Policy Council as Distinguished Fellow for Eurasia in
January 2017. He serves as the Founding Chairman of the Central Asia -Caucasus Institute.
Dr. Starr is also a research professor at Johns Hopkins University-SAIS in Washington
and Head of Advisory Council at the Institute for Security and Development Policy
in Stockholm. Dr. Starr has focused on the challenge of reopening continental-wide
transport passing through Central Asia and Afghanistan, which he sees as the key to
success in Afghanistan itself. .
Ms. Karen Freeman is the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs.
A Career Minister with the U.S. Foreign Service, Ms. Freeman was previously the Senior
Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian
Assistance (DCHA). Prior to that, she served as Mission Director of the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID) Kenya and the East Africa Mission. Before
being appointed Mission Director in Nairobi, she was the Senior Deputy Mission Director
in Islamabad, Pakistan. Other senior management positions include the USAID/Ethiopia
Deputy Mission Director, where she directed more than $530 million in relief during
the humanitarian crisis, and the USAID Mission Director in Zimbawe, where her oversight
focused on a program ensuring the well-being of the people during the height of historic
hyperinflation, political transition, and violence. .
Dr. Richard Ponzio is director of the Just Security 2020 Program and a Senior Fellow at Stimson. Previously,
he directed the Global Governance Program at The Hague Institute for Global Justice,
where (in a partnership with Stimson), he served as Director for the Albright-Gambari
Commission on Global Security, Justice, & Governance. Dr. Ponzio is an expert in the
areas of global and national democratic institution-building, global political economy,
and international institutions' roles in responding to state fragility, global financial
volatility, and population displacement. .
Mr. Mitchell Shivers, President of Hughes & Shivers, LLC., was a former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
of Defense for Asian & Pacific Security Affairs, Office of the Secretary of Defense.
In that capacity, he was one of the Pentagonʼs top policy officials developing, implementing
and overseeing policy for the region. Mr. Shivers also served as the regionʼs Acting
Assistant Secretary of Defense toward the end of the George W. Bush Administration,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Central Asia, and Senior Advisor and the
Economic Sector Chief of the State Departmentʼs Afghanistan Reconstruction Group
(ARG) at the United States Embassy, Kabul, Afghanistan, where he was the principal
American advisor on economics and finance to American ambassadors to Afghanistan,
Zalmay Khalilzad, and his successor, Ronald Neumann as well as advisor to the Afghan
ministers of Finance, Economy, and Commerce.
Mr. Michael Peters is President and CEO of Emergent Strategies, Architekton Resources, Illuminate Technologies,
and Trusted Inc., Washington, DC. In addition to teaching executives in the Harvard
Graduate School of Design, he leads the large collaborative projects for Harvard University's
Executive Education Program in 15 countries with Washington, DC. Mr. Peters has helped
build organizations in real estate development, technology, manufacturing, construction,
and retail as well as helped to build underserved communities by leveraging technology
for economic development, education, and job creation. Mr. Peters has forged the ideas
for multiple patents in laser use, anti-fraud security documents, Piezo alternative
energy, blockchain, collaboration neuroscience, and technological innovations across
disciplines and industries. See & .
regional security panel
Moderator COL (R) Jack Gill is an associate professor on the faculty of the Near East – South Asia Center (NESA).
A former U.S. Army South Asia Foreign Area Officer, he retired as a colonel in 2005
after more than 27 years of service. Before joining the NESA Center, COL (R) Gill
worked on South Asia issues in the Pentagon from 1998-2001, including the 1999 Kargil
crisis. He has been following South Asia issues from the intelligence and policy perspectives
since the mid-1980s in positions with the U.S. Joint Staff, the U.S. Pacific Command
staff, and the Defense Intelligence Agency. .
Maj. Gen. (R) Edward Reeder is President & CEO of Five Star Global Security, a global security company owned and
operated by former Special Operators from the U.S. Special Operations Community. Maj.
Gen (R) Reeder was commissioned in the Infantry through the Appalachian State University
ROTC in 1981 and attended the U.S. Army Special Forces Qualification Course in 1986.
His command assignments are impressive, and his personal awards include various U.S.
and foreign decorations and badges. He earned a Master of Science in administration
from Central Michigan University and a Master of Science in national security strategy
from the U.S. National War College. .
Dr. Richard Russell is professor of National Security Affairs at the Near East and South Asia Center for
Strategic Studies (NESA) and a non-resident Senior Fellow for Strategic Studies at the Center for the
National Interest as well as a lecturer at Bush School of Government and Public Service,
Texas A&M University. Dr. Russell’s career blends scholarship with national security
practice. He has taught nearly ten years of graduate courses on international security,
grand strategy, and military operations for Georgetown University’s Security Studies
Program. Additionally, he has served seventeen years as a political-military analyst
for the Central Intelligence Agency. .
Mr. Andre Hollis is the Chief Executive Officer and majority owner of Tiger International Advisors,
LLC, an internationally focused strategic business development, consulting and due
diligence firm with offices in the U. S., Europe, and the Middle East. Tiger Principals
possess over 400 years of collective experience in international commerce, law, government
service, law enforcement, banking, and other industries. A distinguished military
graduate of Princeton University, Mr. Hollis earned a commission in the U.S. Army
and his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law; he practiced as
a commercial litigator in State and Federal Courts. Mr. Hollis served as counsel and
senior counsel for the House of Representatives’ Committees on Commerce and Government
Reform and was the Department of Defense Deputy Assistant Secretary for counternarcotics. He
was recognized by the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security with the Medal
for Exceptional Public Service and Distinguished Public Service Award, respectively.
Dr. Anda Jackson, a political scientist, has conducted research while living in Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan
and Mali, studying civil wars, state failure, ethnosectarian violence, social movements,
revolutionary ideologies and organizations, violent extremism, insurgency, counter-insurgency,
and U.S. efforts to build partner capacity to govern. Her Afghan research describes
the government actions, insurgent and traditional local organizations, and residents
in a set of communities in order to explain why some organizations succeed and others
fail in controlling the behavior of populations. Dr. Jackson is an instructor for
General Officers deploying to Afghanistan and Iraq at the Air Force Culture and Language
Center.
information environment panel
Moderator Dr. & COL Andrew Whiskeyman currently serves as the Chief of Information Operations Division within the U.S.
Central Command Operations Directorate J3, located at MacDill AFB. His previous assignment
was as the Chief of Strategy for the CENTCOM Joint Cyber Center. He has deployed five
times: Kosovo, 3 times to Afghanistan, and Iraq and has had numerous shorter trips
into the Middle East theater of operations. He is a graduate (and plank owner) of
the Marine Corps Expeditionary Warfare School, Air Command and Staff College, and
the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies. He completed his PhD in Military Strategy.
COL Whiskeyman has numerous awards and decorations, including the Bronze Star and
Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
Dr. Mark Abdollahian is Chief Executive 0fficer at ACERTAS and a professor at the School of Politics and
Economics, Claremont Graduate University. He focuses on designing and delivering advanced
analytics for data-driven decision making. His global experience spans national policy,
corporate strategy, economic development, finance, public-private partnerships, M&A,
and business process reengineering. Dr. Abdollahian creates, architects, and implements
enterprise class data and strategy analytics used by the U.S. government, the World
Bank, and the United Nations as well as by private sector companies worldwide. He
is the author of dozens of articles and two books on data-driven strategy across business,
politics, and economics; lectures to audiences worldwide, and is a board member for
several private and nonprivate enterprises. His Ph.D. is in Political Economy and
Mathematical Modeling from Claremont Graduate School. .
Dr. Sean Ryan, assistant professor at West Liberty University, teaches courses in public and non-profit
management and the capstone strategy. After graduating from West Point with a bachelor’s
in engineering, Dr. Ryan spent 30 years in the military. He retired in 2012 as Colonel,
with a successful career characterized by progressively challenging assignments in
Asia, the Middle East, Southwest Asia, Europe, and the Americas. He received his Ph.D.
in Management (2017) from Walden University. .
Dr. Randy Borum is a professor, Director of Intelligence Studies, and Associate Director of the School
of Information at the 鶹Ƶ. From 2017-2019, he was jointly
appointed as a senior behavioral scientist in the National Security Directorate at
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Dr. Borum supported three Directors
of National Intelligence (DNI) on the Intelligence Science Board (ISB) and served
on the Defense Science Board Task Force on Understanding Human Dynamics. He has taught
courses on Terrorism, Intelligence Concepts, Intelligence Analysis, Information Behavior,
Strategy & Decision-Making, Interrogation, and Criminal Psychology and is author/co-author
of more than 175 professional publications. .
Mr. Ernie Ferraresso is Associate Program Director for Cyber Florida, where he oversees the Center's partnership
program, working with industry, academia, and the private sector as well as government
and law enforcement to collaborate on projects of mutual interest. Previously, Mr.
Ferraresso was Director of Operations for a small technology design and integration
firm, overseeing the design and implementation of cybersecurity and emergency operations
center technology solutions in the U.S. and throughout Latin America. He is a retired
U.S. Marine Intelligence Officer whose assignments included U.S. Special Operations
Forces, the intelligence community, the George C. Marshall European Center for Security
Studies, and U.S. Cyber Command.