Fellowships

Mr. Crotty currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), where he supports their Organized Crime and Grand Corruption team on projects related to drug trafficking, money laundering, and transnational organized crime networks.

Jim Crotty joined The Cohen Group after 12 years at the US Department of Justice.

Mr. Crotty served as the Deputy Chief of Staff at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), where he assisted with strategic planning and communications, policy development, and the execution of major DEA programs and initiatives.

Prior to joining DEA’s front office, Mr. Crotty developed expertise across several geographic and functional areas. Mr. Crotty served as a Group Supervisor in the agency’s Chicago Field Division, where he oversaw a team of intelligence analysts supporting significant drug trafficking and money laundering investigations. From 2013 to 2018, Mr. Crotty served as a liaison officer at the US Embassy in London, where he was a primary point of contact for all drug-related matters in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as the region’s Cyber Coordinator. Mr. Crotty started his career with DEA in Washington, DC, where he conducted all-source intelligence analysis on drug trafficking trends in South America. Notably, in 2010, Mr. Crotty deployed to Afghanistan with DEA’s Foreign Advisory and Support Team, where he coordinated and deconflicted counterdrug operations between US and allied partners.

Before joining DEA, Mr. Crotty was an associate at PRTM Management Consultants’ national security practice group. In this role, he provided strategic and operational advice to clients in the Intelligence Community, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Defense.

He holds a JD from the University of Alabama School of Law, MA in Political Science from Boston College, and BA in Political Science from Auburn University, summa cum laude. He is also a former Presidential Management Fellow.

Robert Fardi is a highly regarded corporate leader, advisor, and entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in scaling companies and driving brand innovation across global markets. He has a proven track record of developing comprehensive communication strategies for prestigious corporate, government, and philanthropic organizations worldwide. As a founder and equity partner in two successful business ventures, Robert has cultivated a reputation for fostering global partnerships and delivering strategic insights that enhance brand reputation and engagement. His professional endeavors span diverse industries, including hyperscale data centers, global risk management AI platforms, and health organizations, reflecting a commitment to international causes such as STEM, space, defense, and geopolitics.

Currently, Robert serves as Senior Advisor to the CEO of the leading space and defense deep tech company, Rhea Space Activity (RSA), where he leverages his extensive experience in scaling companies and personal relationships with global executives to identify opportunities for RSA’s international expansion. His prior roles include Executive Vice President and equity partner at REQ, co-founding Unison Agency, and providing management consulting services to Fortune 100 companies at Accenture. Academically, he holds a BA in International Studies and an MA in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University, complemented by studies at the University of Nice and St. Peter’s College, Oxford. An active advisor on several boards, Robert is deeply involved in initiatives aimed at combating human trafficking, promoting STEM education, and fostering an understanding of the Middle East through his board roles at Conrad Foundation, the Middle East Institute and Banu Foundation.

Senior professional in fintech, national security and defense. Proven track record of entrepreneurial success innovating products and programs in finance, geo-economics and Special Operations. Effective at new business development, sales ‘closer’ & talent recruitment/retention. Prior VP for a corporate National Security division. VP Product at a Silicon Valley fintech Start-Up. Founded a registered investment advisory firm responsible for quantitative measurement & review of over $3.2 billion USD in private investment.

Shannon Van Sant is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS). Shannon’s open source research and analysis focuses on technology and national security, and she advises government and private clients on foreign malign influence and political interference from the Kremlin and Chinese Communist Party. Her research has included Beijing’s military-civil fusion policy, intellectual property theft, and U.S.-China competition in artificial intelligence.

Previously Shannon worked as a journalist and analyst for nearly 20 years, and lived for 11 of those years in Beijing and Hong Kong. Shannon reported on the ground across 20 provinces and autonomous regions in mainland China, on Chinese investment in Sub-Saharan and East Africa, and filmed documentaries on human rights and humanitarian issues, including the migration routes of North Korean refugees. Shannon’s work has been honored with a Human Rights Press Award from Amnesty International and the Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong, and in 2014 she reported on Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement. She is also a volunteer for World Central Kitchen, and in 2022 traveled to Prezmysl, Poland, to feed thousands of displaced Ukrainians fleeing Putin’s brutal war.

Don Borelli retired as Special Agent in Charge of the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), and was responsible for top investigations and counterterrorism missions that spanned the globe. He currently serves as a Senior Vice-President of the Soufan Group.

Rob Usey is a visionary and innovator at the intersection of human intelligence and information systems. IBM acquired his first company in 1998, KnowledgeX, which was an early pioneer in social networking, semantics, and data mining.

Dr. Stewart has a PhD in Geography and an MA in Political Science from the University of Florida. She also completed a BA in International Relations from New College Florida and was a study abroad student at the American University in Cairo. She is a former Fulbright Scholar to Jordan.

Dr. Reeves’ experience with non-traditional security and conflict include leading the development of a ‘civil unrest’ research team with Veratect Corporation, working with the United Nations on human development, researching nationalism in Asia with the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and teaching courses on Asian security at Peking University.

Steve Orrin is Chief Technologist at Intel Federal. He is the former Director of Security Solutions at the Intel Corporation. He served as Chief Security Officer of Sarvega, Inc. (acquired by Intel, Inc.), a computer and network security startup that deployed the world’s first XML appliance in production in 2001.

Dan O’Shea is Founder and President of Daniel Risk Mitigation, a security risk consultancy in Tampa, Florida. An asymmetric warfare specialist with extensive overseas and combat experience, O’Shea is a recognized subject matter expert in terrorism, travel safety, and kidnapping mitigation strategies.

James O’Neill has served in all aspects of the criminal justice system and has interacted with government agencies throughout the world. He served for over 20 years in the NYPD finishing within the Intelligence Division while working with Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

Mishkat al-Moumin was the first Minister of the Environment in the Interim Iraqi government of 2004-2005, where she set up the entire structure for this new ministry. She is also the founder and CEO of Women and the Environment Organization operating in Iraq (WATEO), an NGO funded by the United Nations that works among rural women in the Iraqi Marshlands.

Chris Mason served 23 years in the US government as a Naval Officer and Foreign Service Officer. Most recently, he was a Political Officer on the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Paktika Province in Afghanistan.

Michael F. Litzelman recently returned to the Information Operations (IO) Directorate in the Pentagon after serving in Kabul, Afghanistan as the Senior Civil Affairs (CA) Planner for ISAF Joint Command (IJC), and later as the Deputy Director for Information Operations with 5/2 Stryker Brigade in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Andre Hollis is Chief Executive Officer of Tiger International Advisors, a global commercial due diligence and strategic business counsel. Prior to joining Tiger International Advisors, Mr. Hollis acquired significant experience monitoring transnational illicit activities as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Counternarcotics.

Robert Cassidy is the Andersen Fellow in Defense and Foreign Policy at Wesleyan University. Colonel (Retired) Cassidy has Master’s degrees in International Relations and Security Studies from Boston University, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and the Naval War College. He earned the Diplome d’Etudes Superieures de Defense from the Ecole de Guerre and received his doctorate from the Fletcher School. He is the author of three books: War, Will, and Warlords; Counterinsurgency and the Global War on Terror; and Peacekeeping in the Abyss. He taught on the Strategy and Policy and Joint Military Operations faculty at the Naval War College, where he also served as the Senior Army Advisor and as a CNO Fellow in the CNO Strategic Studies Group. Cassidy has served as a special assistant to two senior commanders in Afghanistan, a director of assessments for the Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan, a Task Force 714 chief planner and liaison to Afghan theater commander, a battalion commander in Kuwait, and as a special assistant to the US Army Europe Commander.

William J. Newcomb is a visiting scholar at the U.S.-Korea Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. In 2011, he was appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to serve on the Panel of Experts established pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1874 (2009). He remained on the panel, serving as the expert on finance through June 2014, when he resigned. A former US government economist, Mr. Newcomb retired in 2008 from the US Department of the Treasury, where he had been Senior Economic Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis. Mr. Newcomb had previously served in various positions at the US Department of State and the US Central Intelligence Agency. He served in the US Army from 1970 to 1972.

Justin Seitz is a respected cyber security and open source intelligence practitioner who has trained and consulted with Fortune 500s, law enforcement agencies, and governments around the world. Justin is the author of two Python hacking books, instructor for the AutomatingOSINT.com training program, and the creator of the open source intelligence tool Hunchly. Justin is currently a member of the Technical Advisory Board for the International Criminal Court.

His Highness received his primary and secondary education at The Capital Institute in Riyadh. After advanced education in English in the UK, he joined the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), where he received pilot training followed by tactical training in the US. He graduated from the US Air Force Command and Staff College.

In November 2011, Prince Fahad was appointed to a new position as a President of the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) and Chairman of the board of Saudi Arabian Airlines. GACA is responsible for the running of all national airports and controls civil air traffic within the kingdom. During his tenure, Prince Fahad oversaw the introduction of the modern fleet to the Saudi Arabian Airlines 747-8 cargo, 777, and 787. Having established GACA on a very firm footing, Prince Fahad left the government in 2015.

Today, Prince Fahad spends his time focusing on non-profit and giving back to the public. Prince Fahad is also a member of the board of trustees at The Princess Seetah Bint Adbulaziz Foundation For Social Excellence.

Michelle A. Hughes is the Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of VALRAC Innovation, LLC, a company dedicated to preparing the next generation to restore and strengthen the rule of law at home and abroad. She is also the Chief of Global Strategy for InternetBar.org, Inc. and InternetBar.org Institute, Inc., and a Senior Fellow at the National Defense University, Joint forces Staff College. She was formerly a Senior Executive in the U.S. Department of Defense, where she was the only designated “Highly Qualified Expert” for Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform (SSR).

Colonel Kevin D. Stringer is Deputy Director, Strategy, Plans, and Policy (SOJ5) at Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR). A Eurasian Foreign Area Officer and Strategist, Colonel Stringer previously served as Director (J5), Strategy and Plans, Operation Gallant Phoenix in Jordan; Director (J5), Strategy, Plans, and Policy, SOCEUR; and Division Chief (J%#), NATO, Western Europe, Israel, and SOF Defense Institutional Building, SOCEUR. For interagency assignments, he was US Africa Command’s (AFRICOM) Liason Officer to the Department of State. Colonel Stringer has held command and staff positions in the 8th Infantry Division, the Southern European Task Force (SETAF), European Command (EUCOM), Special Operations Command Africa (SOCAFRICA), Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH), and Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).

With a Bachelor of Science degree from the US Military Academy at West Point, he earned a PhD in International Affairs from the University of Zurich, an MA in International Relations from Boston University, and an MA in Strategic Studies from the US Army War College. Colonel Stringer was a distinguished graduate of both the US Military Academy and the US Army War College. His expertise and research interest areas include irregular warfare, special operations, and financial networks.

Robert Jones is recently retired from over 26 years of active and reserve military service; mobilizing from his duties as a Deputy District Attorney to serve the final eight years in a wide range of critical positions within the Special Operations community, to include service in the Philippines and Afghanistan.

Dr. John Bodnar is an Adjust Professor and associate at the Institute for the Future at Anne Arundel Community College. He served as an intelligence analyst for SAIC and the intelligence community. He is the author of Warning Analysis for the Information Age: Rethinking the Intelligence Process, published by the Joint Military Intelligence College.

Dr. Susan Martin has more than 20 years experience in Human and Cognitive Engineering. She led the Boeing Defense Systems team in the development of models for the future operational environment.

Captain Peter O’Brien is a strategic consultant. With over 30 years of analytical and leadership experience, he served as Director of Fleet Intelligence for Fleet Forces Command, and Commander of the USSTRATCOM STRATJIC.

Sean is a Data Scientist and Consultant with expertise in Big Data Architecture, Data Visualization, and Data Science and Analytics. Sean works with C4ADS to architect a cloud based big data platform for the collection, storage, enrichment, and processing of unstructured text, image, and numerical data. This platform enables C4ADS analysts to search through, analyze, and visualize millions of semi structured documents. Sean interviewed almost all of the C4ADS analysts, in addition to C4ADS senior leadership, in order to ensure that the technological solution complemented the human element. As the C4ADS data platform has developed and been implemented, Sean continues to provide technical expertise and strategic direction to bolster C4ADS analytic capabilities.

Outside of his work with C4ADS, Sean has advised Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community clients from the strategic to tactical levels, developed technical documentation and roadmaps, briefed stakeholders at the Senior Executive Service (SES) level, and has conducted executive level studies to assess client data maturity.

Currently, Sean continues to expand his abilities in the areas of cloud architecture, machine learning, and data visualization. Sean holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Columbia University in the The City of New York.