Faculty

Deborah Avant
Sié Chéou-Kang Chair for International Security and Diplomacy
Director, Sié Chéou-Kang Center 
Director, Program on Security Governance 

Timothy D. Sisk
Professor
Associate Dean for Research
Director, Program on Fragile States

Erica Chenoweth
Assistant Professor
Director, Program on Terrorism and Insurgency 

Rachel Epstein
Associate Professor
Director, Security Degree Program

Oliver Kaplan
Lecturer

Eugenio Cusumano
Visiting Scholar, Fulbright-Schuman Program

Staff

Jill Schmieder Hereau
Assistant Director, Sié Chéou-Kang Center 

Kate Finn
Student Program Assistant
Kate is a MA candidate in International Human Rights. She has worked at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement, where she managed the Services to Survivors of Torture and Preferred Communities grant programs. Prior to that, Kate worked at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she managed discretionary and formula grants to police and sheriffs' departments, U.S. attorneys' offices, correctional facilities, and victims' advocacy organizations.  Kate has been an active volunteer for the anti-human trafficking and anti-torture movements, as well as for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  Kate received her BA in Economics from Randolph-Macon Woman's College.

Laura Jagla
Student Program Assistant, Public Diplomacy Speaker Series

Program on Security Governance 

Brian Ernst
Senior Student Research Assistant 
Brian is a former Peace Corps volunteer. He spent two years with the Peace Corps in Madagascar, serving in local communities to improve English-language programs and assisting with other capacity-building measures.  Before his service abroad, Brian earned his bachelor’s degree (double-major in English and Political Science) from Vanderbilt University. Now, as a student at the Korbel School, Brian plans to concentrate his studies on International Security and Development, exploring the effectiveness of international responses to conflict in Africa. Post-graduation, he hopes to work in the diplomatic field or with a nongovernmental organization as a policy analyst, specifically addressing conflict and stability on the African continent.

Pallavi Gulati
Student Research Assistant
Pallavi was born in New Delhi, India and moved to London, England at a young age. In 2009, she earned her undergraduate degree, with First Class Honours, in Politics and International Relations from the University of Manchester. Upon graduation from Manchester, she interned at the Parliamentary office of the former Minister of State for International Development, Gareth Thomas MP. She continued on to work at “The World Today” program at the BBC World Service, and as a political consultant at Insight Public Affairs, a London-based public affairs company. In addition to the Sié Fellowship, Pallavi has been awarded a US-UK Fulbright Scholarship and a scholarship by the British Universities North America Club Educational Trust.

Paul Tanghe
Student Research Assistant
Paul is a MA candidate in International Studies.  His research interests include Southeast Asia, comparative politics, maritime security, international law and regulation, and piracy.  A cavalry officer in the United States Army, Paul has led reconnaissance and tank units in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Korea, including service as a scout platoon leader in Baghdad, Iraq; a combat advisor in Zabul Province, Afghanistan; and a reconnaissance troop commander in Kandahar City, Afghanistan.  Paul is a native of Edina, Minnesota and graduated in 2004 from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a degree in Political Science.  In his free time, he is a volunteer firefighter and enjoys sailing and rugby.

Ying Hui Tng 
Student Research Assistant
Ying Hui is from Singapore. Her upbringing there has inspired her to seek a career in journalism and become an advocate for freedom of the press. She earned her BA in Political Science at the National University of Singapore, and while a student also worked as an independent journalist for The Online Citizen, the most popular alternative news website in Singapore. After graduation, she worked at CNBC for almost a year. Ying Hui has also written for Al Jazeera and Asian Correspondent, reporting on sensitive issues such as human rights in China and Singapore. At the Korbel School, she will be earning her Master's degree in International Studies. 

Matthew Walje
Student Research Assistant
Matthew is a recent graduate of William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, where he earned his BA in International Relations and Political Science.  As a student at William Jewell, he was named the Outstanding Junior in Political Science in 2010 and Outstanding Senior in 2011. He also studied in Santiago, Chile and Chania, Greece through The Fund for American Studies.  During his time as a student, Matt also served as a Sergeant in the Marine Corps Reserves and remains a Senior Analyst for 24th Marines.  He has been deployed in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to Norway with Operation Cold Response.  For his work in Iraq, Matt received a Navy and Marine Corps’ Achievement Medal.  At the Korbel School, Matt is earning his MA in International Human Rights.  He is also working as a Project Coordinator for the NGO Oceans Beyond Piracy and at the Sié Center on the Private Security Monitor research project.

Program on Terrorism and Insurgency 

Joel Day
Research Fellow
Joel is a Ph.D. candidate at the Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, holds a Masters degree in International Relations from the University of San Diego, and a B.A. in Political Science from Point Loma Nazarene University. Joel Day is interested in political violence, de-facto state governance, and secessionist movements. His research agenda includes the study of third-party negotiation of state partition, the creation of new states in the international system, and implications of secessionist movements on US national security and global stability. He has a several of publications on these topics, including in the Journal of Strategic Security and the Ottowa Journal of International and Public Policy. In addition to teaching at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Joel has served as a foreign policy advisor to a number of US Congressional campaigns and serves on several committees for the Democratic Party. From 2008-2009 he served as Director of Operations for Fair Trade Pictures, where he worked on a human trafficking film with Dr. Cornel West, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Ashley Judd and 13 Grammy Award winning artists (www.callandresponse.com). In the 2008 election cycle, Joel was Iowa Operations Director for a US Presidential Campaign. Joel has also worked with two California Assemblymembers, a number of Congressional campaigns, and the County of San Diego. Joel is also a three-time national college debate champion and a recipient of the National Security Act Scholarship. Joel is married to Lauren Ries and lives in Denver with their cats, Pigeon and Derrida.

Rebecca Bell-Martin
Student Research Assistant 
Rebecca Bell Martin studies Comparative Politics with special interests in Latin American studies, political violence, nonviolent social movements, alternative warfare, transnational organized crime, and the anthropology of politics and power. Her current research includes the sociocultural power of transnational criminal organizations in Mexico, media responses to violence in Mexico, the role of nonviolent movements in countering non-state actors, and U.S. defense policy in Latin America. Most recently, Rebecca was awarded the Harold W. Rosenthal Fellowship, through which she served in the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense. As a Mexico specialist, Rebecca advised senior defense leaders on Mexican affairs and security challenges and informed U.S. defense strategy and policy goals during a critical time in the U.S. - Mexico relationship. Rebecca earned her B.A. with honors from Whittier College where she triple-majored in Political Science, Cultural Anthropology, and Spanish Language. Rebecca is married to Mike Martin and is the very proud auntie of ten-year old Natalia.

Bryan Cramer
Student Research Assistant
Pursuing a Masters in International Studies at Korbel, Bryan attended the University of Redlands and earned a BA in International Relations. Prior to Korbel, Bryan served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia. There he did a variety of projects including helping a local health center create a computerized patient database and training several HIV positive women how to build and grow their own sustainable vegetable gardens. In International Relations, Bryan is interested in diplomacy and its uses in security, international crises, and solving conflicts. Outside of school Bryan enjoys listening to music, reading, swimming, watching and following football (both US and European), travelling, and drinking a nice glass of pinot noir. 

Austin Gerber
Student Research Assistant
Austin Gerber is a first-year Master’s student in the Global Finance, Trade, and Economic Integration program within the Josef Korbel School of International Studies. He plans to maintain concentrations in international security and the political economy of the European Union. Austin earned his B.S. in Food and Resource Economics from the University of Florida with minors in Leadership, Business Administration, and Agricultural and Natural Resources Ethics and Policy. He was a three-time national champion member of the UF AAEA Quiz Bowl team and an Eagle Scout of Troop 484 out of Clearwater, Florida. Austin is interested in the influence of new governments on the global economy, the impacts of changes in domestic security on trade and development and political and financial reform impacts both domestically and internationally. As an undergraduate his research was published by the University of Florida’s Honors Program and focused specifically on international trade patterns while looking at the impact of European Union tariffs on global wine trade. He studied abroad at the University of Paris Research Center in May, 2008 which focused on the food system and legislation of France. Also, he was able to study abroad in June, 2012 across Italy and focused on the impact of agriculture on the economy of both Italy and the European Union.

Matt Hagge
Student Research Assistant
Matt Hagge is interested in terrorism, insurgency, and counter-intelligence studies. He graduated from the University of Nebraska-Omaha in May 2011 with a degree in Criminal Justice and is now a second year graduate student at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies. Matt is obtaining his Masters in International Security from the Korbel School. His main research interests include law enforcement-centric counterterrorism and case-studies of US counter-intelligence failures. Matt’s main regional interests include North America, South America, and the Middle East. Prior to his employment with the PTIR, Matt worked as an intern with the Omaha Police Department’s Investigations Bureau. In October, he will be beginning an internship with the Colorado Information Analysis Center to supplement his work at the PTIR. Matt is from Omaha, Nebraska. He studied abroad in Ireland in 2010 and Costa Rica in 2011. Outside of academia, Matt enjoys spending time with friends, watching professional football, and playing intramural sports.

Kyleanne Hunter
Student Research Assistant
Kyleanne is an MA candidate in International Security. She earned her BA from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Since graduation, she has worked for a tech start-up, a defense contractor, and spent over a decade as an officer in the United States Marine Corps, serving as an AH-1W Super Cobra attack pilot on multiple deployments in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. She spent the last 2.5 years as the Marine Corp’s Liaison Officer to the House of Representatives. In addition to her liaison duties, she served as the military escort for several international Congressional Delegations for the chairman of the Armed Services, Rules and Veterans’ Affairs Committees.  At the Korbel School, she is a Research Assistant for the Program on Terrorism and Insurgency Research. In addition to her studies, Kyleanne races road and cyclocross bikes for a domestic elite team based out of Golden, Colorado.  

Patrick James
Student Research Assistant 
Patrick is a second year MA Candidate at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. While enrolled in the International Studies track, he is primarily interested in security issues, such as statebuilding in post-conflict environments, the behavior violent non-state actors during political transitions and asymmetrical forms of warfare. His current field of research centers on the political transitions throughout the Middle East, concentrating on the roles of the military and political Islamic movements. Patrick earned his BA from the University of North Texas where he majored in International Studies and minored in Arabic. Prior to pursuing his Master’s Degree, Patrick has extensive experience traveling throughout the Middle East and North Africa. While enrolled in an Arabic language institute in Egypt in early 2011, he was witness to the early stages of the Egyptian uprising from his residence in Cairo. Outside of school, Patrick enjoys playing bass guitar in his rock band, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors. 

Christopher S. McGeady
Student Research Assistant
Christopher is an MA candidate in International Security at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, where his primary research interests are terrorism, counter-terrorism, and homeland security, with a regional focus on the Levant area of the Middle East (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and Egypt). He earned his BA in Middle East Studies from Vanderbilt University, where he studied the region's history, politics, philosophies, and languages. While attending Vanderbilt he studied abroad at the University of St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland, where his primary focus was on international terrorism and the political economy of the Middle East. In his spare time Christopher enjoys good books, films, and TV shows, and is highly engaged in domestic political debate.

Graham Miller
Student Research Assistant 
Graham graduated cum laude from the University of Richmond in 2009 with his BA in History. Since graduating, he has worked at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. as an analyst in the strategy and development group. During his time at National Geographic his responsibilities included strategic planning and corporate integration, as well as business development functions with domestic and international partners across various media ventures. At the Korbel School, Graham is pursuing an MA in International Security.

Jonathan Pinckney
Student Research Assistant
Jonathan is an MA candidate in International Studies. Jonathan received his BA in International Affairs from Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts, graduating summa cum laude with additional special department honors. Since graduation, Jonathan has lived and worked in Egypt and India, where he helped establish the Bestsemester India Studies Program. He also served on a volunteer basis as the Director of Operations of BIRDS International, an NGO working to poverty in South India. At the Korbel School, Jonathan is working as a Research Assistant for the Program on Terrorism and Insurgency Research. His research interests include the Middle East, South Asia, Religion and the State, and the Theory and Practice of Nonviolent Resistance. Upon completion of his MA degree, Jonathan plans to earn his doctorate.

Kristina Ryan
Student Research Assistant
Kristina is interested in civil war studies, more specifically, the effect of United Nations peacekeeping on the length of a civil conflict. She hopes to expand on this topic by focusing on how economic and trade relations affect the outcome and duration of a civil conflict. Her field of study at the Josef Korbel School is Global Finance, Trade and Economic Integration. She does not have prior work experience in the field of international studies, but she hopes to someday work in the field of political risk analysis or international trade policy. While she has lived in Colorado for over a decade and absolutely loves the mountains, she is an ocean girl at heart as she loves scuba diving and snorkeling. Fittingly, her favorite animal is the great white shark. Contrary to what you might expect, her favorite movie is not Jaws, but rather The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. 

Brian Sara
Student Research Assistant
Brian is pursuing a Master of Arts degree at the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies. Brian’s research interests include ethnic- and religious-based conflict, and U.S. foreign policy towards resistance movements, failed states, authoritarian regimes and newly independent nations. Prior to his time at the Korbel School, Brian worked as a consultant for Zywave, a growing software company, and as an intern for the multinational financial services firm, KPMG. His interest in international affairs came out of an academic background in cultural anthropology and a yearlong volunteer placement as an English tutor for refugees displaced by ongoing violence in Burma. Brian holds an Honors B.S. in Business and Anthropology from Marquette University. He is a native of Wisconsin and a graduate of the FBI Citizens' Academy. Brian is engaged to Lauren Miller, a physical therapist.

Ariana Shockley
Student Research Assistant
Ariana is an MA candidate in International Security at the Korbel School of International Studies. She graduated from Iowa State University in May of 2012 with a BA in Political Science. Her areas of interest include weapons trade, American foreign policy, nuclear non-proliferation, and multilateral organizations. Ariana’s previous research experience includes the origins of constructivism and exploring the causal relationship between international weapons trade and state participation in regional security organizations.

Program on Fragile States 

Fletcher D. Cox
Research Fellow
Korbel School of International Studies with concentrations in Comparative Politics and International Political Economy.  His current research interests include politics of development policy, domestic-international interactions in post-conflict reconstruction, and religion and social cohesion in deeply-divided societies.  Fletcher has six years of professional experience managing relief, recovery, and economic development programs in Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, Rwanda, and Haiti.  This work has included designing, implementing, and evaluating multi-sectoral programs, with representation and liaison experience with government bodies, U.N. agencies, international donors, military personnel, and NGOs in disaster and post-conflict settings.  He has studied international affairs, politics, economics, and religion at William Jewell College (BA), Georgetown University, and Harvard University (MTS).

Matthew Klick
Research Fellow
Matthew is a Doctoral Candidate and the managing editor of Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations, a publication of the Academic Council on the United Nations System, and a lecturer in political science at the University of Colorado Denver.  His current research concerns the influence of informal and non-state actors in determining statebuilding and development outcomes in Guatemala. Matt comes from Alaska previously, where he obtained his MS in Resource Economics, and where he studied the political developments of local and indigenous groups reacting to resource development throughout the Arctic.  He worked at the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage and as a guest researcher at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute in Oslo, Norway.  Matt was also the Country Director of the Alpine Fund in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, a small NGO working with at-risk youth in Bishkek.

Jessica Harig
Student Program Assistant 

Jennifer Wilson
Student Program Assistant
Jennifer received her BA in Art History and MSW in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  She is pursuing an International MBA with a concentration in International Development from the Daniels School of Business at the University of Denver. Jennifer has enjoyed the opportunity to work on various projects in the US, UK, South Korea, and, most recently, South Africa where she just completed an internship with the United Nation's Office on Drugs and Crime. She has been working with the Program on Fragile States since September 2011 and is preparing to graduate in June 2013.