About Me

I am Associate Professor of Security Studies at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University and a non-resident Research Fellow at South Africa’s Stellenbosch University. My expertise includes cyber issues, emerging technology, civil-military relations, and regional security partnerships, primarily in North and West Africa. My work has appeared in a wide range of peer-reviewed and leading policy-oriented publications, including Armed Forces and Society, The Washington Quarterly, Democratization, Orbis,  War on the Rocks, The Washington Post, and Foreign Affairs.

I oversee the Africa Center’s academic programming on cyber issues and peace operations. Prior to joining the Africa Center, I was a Policy Advisor at the U.S. Institute of Peace, where I advised the work of the congressionally-mandated, bipartisan Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States. Before that, I served as a Rosenthal Fellow at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, and worked for the Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees of the U.S. House of Representatives. I am a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and have received fellowships from American University, the Robertson Family Foundation, and the U.S. Institute of Peace.

I possess a B.A. from Swarthmore College, an M.P.A. from Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs, and a PhD in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.

.