Meet the New Faces of CMIST: Welcoming Our Faculty and Fellows
By Jess Regan
As another academic year begins, the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy & Technology (CMIST) welcomes an impressive group of new faculty, fellows, and students. By expanding our community with diverse expertise, CMIST strengthens its ability to address critical challenges regarding technology, policy, and security.
CMIST is pleased to welcome Connor Halloran Phillips as an assistant teaching professor. A Pittsburgh native, Phillips, who received his PhD from Harvard University and served as a postdoctoral scholar at Princeton University and Vanderbilt University, focuses his research on examining how federalism shapes partisan polarization and voter participation. His work analyzes interest groups' campaign contributions and ratings of state legislators to understand their strategies and assess their role in promoting polarization. This fall, Phillips will teach a course on American politics, entitled "The US Congress: Legislative Progress or Paralysis?," which offers students a deep dive into the legislative process.
Additionally, we are honored to announce that General Laura Richardson (Ret.), former commander of US Southern Command, has joined CMIST as a distinguished executive in residence. A veteran Army Aviator with a distinguished 38-year career, Richardson’s extensive experience in national security and policy will be an invaluable resource to CMIST and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).
CMIST also has welcomed an accomplished cohort of national security fellows who bring a wealth of operational experience. A seasoned mariner with five afloat tours and extensive experience in maritime security, Commander Bryan M. Kilcoin joins CMIST from the US Coast Guard. Major Gabrielle M. Nesburg of the US Air Force, a cyber warfare expert, has a distinguished background in military intelligence, where she pioneered solutions using artificial intelligence to solve complex problems. Before joining CMIST as a US Army War College Fellow, Lieutenant Colonel Glen S. Nettrour served as a signal officer with a respected career in combat and strategic security cooperation and deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Along with our national security fellows in Pittsburgh, we are delighted to introduce several non-residential fellows who are leaders in their respective fields, expanding CMIST’s expertise in global security, technology, and policy. Having served as a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and as legal adviser to the National Security Council, Honorable Judge James Baker of Syracuse University joins us as a senior fellow, bringing an abundance of experience in national security. Dr. Emma M. Stewart is a leading expert in power systems and critical infrastructure security, currently serving as the chief power grid scientist at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). We also welcome Dr. Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), whose extensive experience provides insights into regional strategy and international security.
Our new fellows are also at the forefront of integrating developments in cybersecurity and technology into recommendations for effective policies. Michaela Lee, who serves as the deputy chief cyber officer for operations for New York State and previously worked at the White House Office of the National Cyber Director, brings expertise in cybersecurity strategy and operations. Sarah Hipel is a strategist specializing in secure, connected infrastructure for energy and mobility systems and most recently served as acting chief technology officer at the US Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. With a background in space system cybersecurity and industrial policy, Lauryn Williams joins us after serving as chief of staff in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy. Their expertise bridges the gap between technology and the policy needed to effectively manage it.
Expanding our focus on the policy implications of technological innovations, several new fellows provide deep knowledge in international relations in geopolitics. Jamie Morgan, an expert on the impacts of emerging technology on warfare and policy in the Indo-Pacific, brings with her nearly two decades of public service experience, including in the US Department of Defense and the US Congress. A specialist in economic and foreign policy relations, Troy Stangarone focuses his research on the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region. And lastly, CMIST benefits from the expertise of James J. Townsend Jr. on European and NATO policy. He served as the deputy assistant secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy for eight years and is a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). With their combined experience, these fellows will position CMIST at the forefront of global policy discussions.
Finally, CMIST is thrilled to welcome our incoming students from undergraduate programs, graduate students from the Master of Information Technology Systems (MITS), and the inaugural class of the Master of Science in Security, Technology, and International Relations (MS STAIR) and its Accelerated Master’s Program.
As these talented individuals join the CMIST community, we look forward to the many ways that their range of knowledge and dedication will contribute to CMIST's continued success in the year ahead.