JAMES T. KIRKHOPE - President and Founder of the Terrorism Studies Group and the affiliated Terrorism Studies Network. Possessing over 20 years experience, Mr. Kirkhope is a recognized expert in the field of terrorism and homeland security and has published in academic journals, books, and electronic media on terrorism and related issues since 1989. Additionally, Mr. Kirkhope has coordinated research for over 55 books and another 30 reports, articles, and scholarly publications; served on the editorial staff of 4 academic journals; and lectured in Boston, Brussels, Cape Town, London, New York, Pretoria, San Diego, Tampa, Warsaw, and Washington, D.C. He has been interviewed by broadcast and print media in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, the Republic of (South) Korea, Russia, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Mr. Kirkhope has also worked as research director, analyst, administrator, and project manager for a variety of terrorism and public policy projects in the U.S. and South Africa. He currently serves as Executive Director for the Council of Emerging National Security Affairs (CENSA) based in Washington D.C., and in 2006 joined the Editorial Board of the international Journal of Business Continuity and Emergency Planning published in London. Mr. Kirkhope holds an M.A. in Political Science from Columbia University, an M.A. in International Affairs from The George Washington University, and a B.A. in both History and Psychology from Bowling Green State University. Click here for a complete list of Mr. Kirkhope's publications.

OLIVIER GUITTA - Senior Fellow. Olivier Guitta is an Adjunct Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He is a Counterterrorism and Foreign Affairs consultant in Washington D.C., and his clients include private companies, financial institutions, law firms and think tanks. He is the founder and editor of the counterterrorism newsletter The Croissant, whose subscribers include governments and law enforcement agencies. Mr Guitta briefed some 2008 US presidential candidates on counterterrorism. He also testified for the European Union Parliament. He is a contributing expert to the Counterterrorism blog (counterterrorismblog.org), picked by US News and World Report as one of the best blogs of 2006. He has also been a guest expert on Fox News, Canadian TV and ABC radio to name a few. He guest lectured at the National Defense University in Washington DC. He also lectures around the country mostly on Radical Islam, terrorism and foreign affairs. Mr Guitta's articles on Radical Islam , the Middle East, Europe and Africa have been published in numerous outlets (You can find his latest work here: www.thecroissant.com/about.html), including the Weekly Standard, Jane's, The Examiner, Jamestown Terrorism Monitor, The Middle East Times, Middle East Quarterly, Journal of International Security Affairs, National Post (Canada), Valeurs Actuelles (France), Asia Times (Honk Kong), The National (UAE), Jerusalem Post, New York Press etc. He can be reached directly at: info@thecroissant.com.

MATTHEW KOVNER - Senior Fellow. Matthew Kovner works as an intelligence analyst in the private sector specializing in Middle East security and Homeland Defense. Mr. Kovner has consulted on projects for multiple U.S. Government entities and Fortune 500 companies. Mr. Kovner received his BA in History from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and MA in Security Policy Studies from the George Washington University and completed Arabic language training at the Arabic Language Institute in Fez, Morocco.

AARON MANNES - Senior Fellow. Aaron Mannes is a writer living in suburban Maryland. In addition to authoring Profiles in Terror, he has written on Middle East affairs and terrorism for numerous publications including Policy Review, The Wall Street Journal-Europe, The Jerusalem Post, National Review Online, The Forward, Middle East Insight, and The Journal of International Security Affairs. Mr. Mannes also speaks to groups throughout the United States and has been interviewed on radio shows worldwide. From 1998 to 2001, Mr. Mannes was the Director of Research at the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), where he wrote numerous papers and helped to establish MEMRI as the English speaking world’s leading source of translations and analysis of the Middle East media. Mr. Mannes holds a Master’s degree from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. To reach Mr. Mannes directly: author@profilesinterror.com.

BLAIR SONDKER - Senior Fellow. Mr. Sondker is Consultant - Counter-terrorism programs at Detica. Previously he served as the principal analyst and project lead for the Global Risk Matrix at the Terrorism Research Center and Total Intelligence Solutions. He built and managed the creation of the Global Risk Matrix -- a massive analytical product that examined eleven varieties of risk for over 200 countries. During his tenure with the Terrorism Research Center and Total Intelligence Solutions he undertook long term research projects that examined the biological and sociological characteristics of IED makers in South Asia and the Middle East. Blair Sondker has received his Masters in International Security and his Bachelor's in Anthropology and has served as a research assistant to both the Center for Strategic and International Studies and U.S. Northern Command.

DON RASSLER - Research Fellow. Mr. Rassler has worked in the non-profit sector for a number of human rights organizations supervising and conducting a variety of research projects including: a documentary and a field-based research project on Tibetan refugee escape routes in Nepal; a project analyzing the Indian government’s application of Special Security legislation in the state of Jammu and Kashmir; and a review of governance in Central Asia. He holds a BS in Anthropology from the University of Oregon and earned a Master of International Affairs at the School of Public and International Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University expected Spring 2007.

VIVEK NARAYANAN - Adjunct Research Fellow. Mr. Narayanan has both served in the U.S. government and worked as a terrorism research associate at the International Center for Terrorism Studies at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. He holds a Master of Arts degree in International Studies from American University.

DONALD K. WEDDING, P.E., PH.D. - Senior Adjunct Fellow for Data Mining, Mathematical Modeling, and Software Engineering. Dr. Wedding has worked in the private sector, taught in academia, and served the U.S. Navy as a civilian in his field for over 20 years. He earned a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Engineering Science from the University of Toledo as well as a M.S. in Management from the University of Akron.