A Road Less Traveled: National Security Careers After Law School

September 23: Stephen Townley, Legal Director of TrialWatch, Clooney Foundation for Justice

On September 23, The Reiss Center on Law and Security & the National Security Law Society welcomed the first speaker of the 2024-2025 season of A Road Less Traveled: Stephen Townley, Legal Director of TrialWatch, Clooney Foundation for Justice.

Stephen Townley is Legal Director of TrialWatch at the Clooney Foundation for Justice.

Prior to joining The Clooney Foundation for Justice, Townley served as Deputy Legal Adviser to the U.S. Mission to the UN in New York and in Geneva. Previously, he served as Special Assistant to the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State.

Townley holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.A. from Yale College.

October 24: Tarun Chhabra, Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Technology and Security, National Security Council

On October 24, The Reiss Center on Law and Security & the National Security Law Society welcomed the second speaker of the 2024-2025 season of A Road Less Traveled: Tarun Chhabra, Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Technology and Security, National Security Council.

The Honorable Tarun Chhabra serves as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Technology and National Security on the National Security Council staff. From 2015-2017 he served as NSC Director for Strategic Planning and Director for Human Rights and National Security issues in the Obama Administration. He was a senior fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology in Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service and Director of the Project on International Order and Strategy at the Brookings Institution. Chhabra worked at the Pentagon as a speechwriter for two Secretaries of Defense and has been a visiting fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House and a graduate fellow at Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics. Chhabra also worked in the executive office of the United Nations Secretary-General.

Tarun Chhabra earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School as a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow for New Americans, an M. Phil. in International Relations from Oxford University (Merton College), where he was a Marshall Scholar, and a B.A. from Stanford University. Chhabra also studied at the Moscow State Institute for International Relations as a Fulbright Scholar. Chhabra was raised in Shreveport, Louisiana and is a first-generation American.

February 3: Hope Goins, Democratic Staff Director, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security

On February 3, 2025, The Reiss Center on Law and Security & the National Security Law Society welcomed the third speaker of the 2024-2025 season of A Road Less Traveled: Hope Goins, Democratic Staff Director, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security.

Hope Goins is a top strategist for high profile congressional investigations, a lead negotiator for transformative legislation, and a longstanding leader within the United States House of Representatives. She has extensive knowledge of the United States congressional oversight and legislative processes. She supervises negotiations between the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate, between the Department of Homeland Security and the White House on transformative legislation that impacts several industries and millions of Americans. In addition to her exceptional grasp of the legislative process, she supervises consequential Congressional investigations. Goins is a persuasive, collaborative communicator and is talented at building and nurturing relationships with Members of Congress, executive branch officials, and private sector stakeholders. Goins is also the author of The Adventures of Chloe and Chris: The Three Branches of Government, a children’s picture book that teaches the foundations of the United States Government. Goins frequently speaks on both national and international stages and has been frequently recognized for her leadership skills.

March 4: Alexis Blane, ’08, Special Counsel to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer

On March 4, 2025, The Reiss Center on Law and Security & the National Security Law Society welcomed the fourth speaker of the 2024-2025 season of A Road Less Traveled: Alexis Blane, Special Counsel to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer

Alexis Blane currently serves as Special Counsel to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, focusing on reproductive rights, education, and economic development.  She was previously Principal Deputy Counsel to NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, leading the City’s COVID response, as well as covering legal matters related to public safety, education, and civil rights.

After graduating from NYU, she clerked on the 4th Circuit for Judge Allyson Duncan and then went on to serve as an Attorney Advisor at the U.S. State Department.  She was the Governance Officer & Associate General Counsel of the Clinton Foundation and an advisor to social enterprises and nonprofits working on international justice issues.

Alexis holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law, a DPhil from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar, and an A.B. from Duke University, where she was an avid attendee of basketball games.  She lives in Brooklyn with two children, one scientist, and far too many books.

April 3: Zaid Zaid, Director, Head of U.S. Public Policy, Cloudfare

On April 3, 2025, The Reiss Center on Law and Security & the National Security Law Society welcomed the final speaker of the 2024-2025 season of A Road Less Traveled: Zaid Zaid, Director, Head of U.S. Public Policy, Cloudfare

Zaid is currently Director, Head of U.S. Public Policy at Cloudflare. He is an expert on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and tech policy, with public and private sector experience. Zaid has excelled in the tech sector, in the legal world, and in the diplomatic corp, building upon his previous experience in each chapter of his career. At Cloudflare, Zaid leads the company’s public facing advocacy with the U.S. government, think tanks, and industry groups.  In 2023, he led Cloudflare’s launch of Project Cybersafe Schools at the White House, an initiative that provides free cybersecurity services to small public school districts in the United States. At Meta, Zaid led Strategic Response Policy for North America, where he and his team focused on U.S. politics and elections, and responded to high-profile incidents around the world. As a lawyer, Zaid served in the Obama Administration as Special Assistant to the President and Associate White House Counsel. In that role, he worked closely with numerous Executive Branch agencies and advised senior White House and Executive Branch officials on policy, risk management, and congressional investigations. While at the White House, he negotiated with Congressional staff on various investigations and represented a witness before the Congressional Select Committee on Benghazi.  As the Senior Attorney Advisor to the General Counsel at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Zaid worked on a number of sensitive policy issues, including an alleged covert action program in Cuba, the agency’s counter-terrorism vetting policy, and an LGBTI inclusion and nondiscrimination policy. In private practice at WilmerHale, Zaid worked on internal investigations and traveled extensively to the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Singapore representing clients. While in private practice, Zaid had a very active pro bono practice, filing briefs on behalf of clients in numerous Courts of Appeal in the United States, working with clients in Egypt, and representing a Guantanamo Bay detainee.  As a political officer in the Foreign Service, Zaid’s diplomatic career spanned one of the most significant modern eras in US foreign policy – the US invasion of Iraq. He served in Iraq as the liaison between the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraqi Governing Council and at U.S. Embassy Baghdad where he worked closely with the U.S. Military and the Transitional Iraqi Government on negotiating and implementing the Transitional Administration Law.  He also served in New York at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and at U.S. Embassy Cairo.  Zaid started his diplomatic career studying Arabic at the Foreign Service Institute in Tunis. Zaid is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Truman National Security Project fellow, an ICAP Fellow, a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, and was recently elected to the American Law Institute. He is the Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Council of Global Equality, and serves on the Board of Directors of iMMAP and HALO USA, the Board of Advisors of the School of Foreign Service, and the Board of Governors at Georgetown University. Zaid holds degrees from Columbia Law School, the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

September 28: Susan Hennessey, Chief Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice

On September 28, we welcomed our first speaker of the 2023-2024 season of A Road Less Traveled: Susan Hennessey, Chief Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, Department of Justice and former Executive Editor of Lawfare.

Susan Hennessey is Chief Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the United States Department of Justice.

Prior to joining the Department, Hennessey was a Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and Executive Editor of Lawfare.  Previously, she worked in the Office of General Counsel at the National Security Agency.

Hennessey graduated from Harvard Law School and the University of California, Los Angeles.

November 2: Ian Moss, Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Bureau of Counterterrorism, Department of State

On Thursday, November 2, 2023, we welcomed our second speaker of the 2023-2024 season of A Road Less Traveled: Ian Moss, Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Bureau of Counterterrorism, Department of State. 

Ian Moss is a Deputy Coordinator for the Bureau of Counterterrorism overseeing Countering Violent Extremism and Terrorist Detentions. He is responsible for developing and implementing a range of policies to counter Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremism (REMVE), to combat Terrorist Use of the Internet, and to prevent terrorist recruitment and radicalization to violence. Additionally, Ian is responsible for managing diplomatic efforts associated with foreign transfers of custody, the detention and repatriation of terrorists and terrorism suspects, and initiatives to rehabilitate and reintegrate former extremists.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Moss served at the Department of Defense where he practiced law in the military commissions at Guantanamo as an attorney with the Military Commissions Defense Organization.

Mr. Moss initially joined the Department of State as a Presidential Management Fellow, going on to serve in a variety of roles including as a Senior Adviser in the Office of Global Criminal Justice, and as the Chief of Staff to the Special Envoy for Guantanamo Closure. Ian also served as the Director for Human Rights and National Security Issues at the National Security Council.

Mr. Moss is a Marine Corps veteran and served on active duty as a Spanish and Albanian cryptologic linguist. He holds a B.A. in Spanish from the University of Texas at San Antonio, an M.A. in Comparative Politics from Northeastern University, and a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School. Ian is originally from North Carolina.

February 7: Priyanka Motaparthy, Director, Project on Counterterrorism, Armed Conflict and Human Rights at the Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School

On Wednesday, February 7, 2024, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society welcomed our third speaker of the 2023-2024 season of A Road Less Traveled: Priyanka Motaparthy, Director, Project on Counterterrorism, Armed Conflict and Human Rights at the Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School.

Priyanka Motaparthy is a Senior Human Right Clinical Instructor and Director of the Counterterrorism, Armed Conflict, and Human Rights Project. Prior to joining HRI, Motaparthy served as acting Emergencies director at Human Rights Watch, where she led the Emergencies division’s investigations and reporting on global atrocities and human rights crises. She brings particular expertise documenting human rights abuses in armed conflicts and exposing security force violations from her nine years as an investigator with Human Rights Watch. Motaparthy’s previous work includes documenting torture and rampant abuse in Syrian detention centers, potential war crimes in Syria and Yemen, excessive use of force by police and military in Egypt, and sexual and gender-based violence by security forces in South Sudan and Myanmar. She has advocated with international human rights bodies, governments, and other policymakers, pushing for accountability for such abuses. Earlier in her career, she published detailed reports on the abuses faced by migrant workers in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait.

Motaparthy has worked throughout the Middle East and spent four years living in Cairo. She is a regular media commentator and her writing has appeared in outlets including CNN, Foreign Policy, Newsweek, and the New Yorker online.

Motaparthy received her J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar, and her B.A. with honors in literature and economics from Brown University. She speaks Arabic and Telugu.

March 1: Tess Bridgeman (’10), Co-Editor-in-Chief, Just Security; Senior Fellow & Visiting Scholar, Reiss Center on Law and Security. Former: Deputy Legal Adviser to the National Security Council; Special Assistant to the Legal Adviser, US Department of State

On Friday, March 1, 2024, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society welcomed our fourth speaker of the 2023-2024 season of A Road Less Traveled: Tess Bridgeman (’10), Co-Editor-in-Chief, Just Security; Senior Fellow & Visiting Scholar, Reiss Center on Law and Security. Former: Deputy Legal Adviser to the National Security Council; Special Assistant to the Legal Adviser, US Department of State.

Dr. Tess Bridgeman (@bridgewriter) is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Just Security. She served in the White House as Special Assistant to the President, Associate Counsel to the President, and Deputy Legal Adviser to the National Security Council (NSC) during the Obama administration. She also served at the State Department in the Office of the Legal Adviser as Special Assistant to the Legal Adviser and, prior to that role, as an Attorney Adviser in the Office of Political-Military Affairs.

Bridgeman is a Senior Fellow and Visiting Scholar at NYU Law School’s Reiss Center on Law and Security, where she created the War Powers Resolution Reporting Project. She chairs the American Society of International Law’s Strategic Initiatives Committee, is an affiliate at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), and lectures at Berkeley Law.

Bridgeman has a DPhil in International Relations from Oxford University, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar; a JD from NYU Law School, magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, which she attended as a Root-Tilden-Kern and Institute for International Law and Justice Scholar; and a BA from Stanford University.

March 4: Kelly Razzouk, Senior Director for Democracy and Human Rights, National Security Council. Former: Acting Chief of Staff, US Mission to the United Nations; Director of Policy and Advocacy, International Rescue Committee

On Thursday, April 4, 2024, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society welcomed our fifth and final speaker of the 2023-2024 season of A Road Less Traveled: Kelly Razzouk, Senior Director for Democracy and Human Rights, National Security Council. Former: Acting Chief of Staff, US Mission to the United Nations; Director of Policy and Advocacy, International Rescue Committee.

Kelly L. Razzouk is Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Democracy and Human Rights at the White House National Security Council. Prior to this role, Kelly was Acting Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

Kelly started her career as a U.S. State Department Intern and later became a Presidential Management Fellow after graduating from law school in Chicago (DePaul University College of Law). While at DePaul, Kelly was a Sullivan Human Rights Law Fellow. Throughout her career, Kelly worked in a number of State Department Bureaus, including: the Office of the Geographer for Global Issues, the Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor, the Bureau of International Organizations, at the U.S. Embassy Amman Jordan, and as a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.  Kelly has spent much of her career advancing key U.S. foreign policy priorities at the United Nations. In New York, Kelly served as human rights advisor to Ambassador Susan Rice, and then as Senior Policy Advisor to Ambassador Samantha Power where she led human rights policy and political prisoner advocacy. Kelly also spent two years representing the International Rescue Committee at the United Nations and as Director of Policy and Advocacy.

October 17: Rita Siemion, Senior Counsel, Senate Committee on the Judiciary

On Monday, October 17, 2022, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society welcomed our first speaker of the 2022-2023 season of a A Road Less Traveled: Rita Siemion, Senior Counsel, US Senate Judiciary Committee; Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center.

Rita Siemion works as Senior Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee under the leadership of Chair Durbin. She covers national security, human rights, and environmental issues for the Committee. Previously, she was the Director for National Security Advocacy at Human Rights First where she served as the organization’s international legal expert and advocated for US national security policies that respect human rights. Before joining Human Rights First, she worked on a range of national security issues as Senior Counsel at The Constitution Project, including surveillance, privacy, and constitutional rights in the digital age. She also previously served as an editor at Just Security, an online forum for the rigorous analysis of U.S. national security law and policy.

Ms. Siemion also teaches as an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center where she teaches courses on national security and human rights and has previously taught courses on foreign relations and covert action. She has also taught courses on national security at American University Washington College of Law and courses on legal writing at the George Washington University School of Law.

She holds an LL.M. in National Security Law, with a certificate in International Human Rights Law, from the Georgetown University Law Center, where she graduated with distinction and was a peer review editor for the Journal of National Security Law & Policy. She received her J.D., with honors, from the George Washington University School of Law.

November 17: Arsalan Suleman, Counsel, Foley Hoag LLP

On Thursday, November 17, 2022, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society welcomed our second speaker of the 2022-2023 season of a A Road Less Traveled: Arsalan Suleman, Counsel, International Litigation & Arbitration Practice, Foley Hoag LLP; Former: Acting Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, U.S. Department of State.

Arsalan Suleman is a counsel in Foley Hoag’s International Litigation & Arbitration Practice. His practice focuses on representing sovereign States in international disputes, including before the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, UN treaty bodies, U.S. courts, and other tribunals and dispute resolution forums. He primarily advises sovereign States and State-owned companies in Africa, the Middle East, and Central, South and Southeast Asia.

Arsalan is the former U.S. Department of State Acting Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the world’s second largest international organization after the United Nations. He engaged with the OIC and its member states on bilateral and multilateral foreign policy issues, including via remarks before and participation in Heads-of-State Summits and Ministerial Level Meetings. Arsalan launched the first-ever U.S.-OIC annual bilateral consultations, institutionalizing the U.S.-OIC relationship via an annual dialogue process. He engaged with the OIC, OIC member countries, and relevant civil society on a broad range of foreign policy issues, establishing partnerships in areas of mutual interest such as human rights, countering violent extremism, health, education, entrepreneurship, and science and technology. Prior to that he served as Counselor for Multilateral Affairs in the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, where he drafted several UN resolutions, delivered remarks in various UN forums, and engaged with senior UN officials and special procedures mandate holders.

February 16: Albert Sanders, Director of Government Affairs & Public Policy, Google Cloud

On Thursday, February 16, 2023, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society welcomed our third speaker of the 2022-2023 season of A Road Less Traveled: Albert Sanders, Director of Government Affairs & Public Policy, Google Cloud. Former: Associate Counsel to President Barack Obama, Office of White House Counsel; Counselor to the General Counsel, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Albert Sanders is an attorney and strategic advisor with experience counseling corporate leaders, U.S. Senators, Cabinet Secretaries, and the President of the United States.

Currently, as Director of Government Affairs & Public Policy for Google Cloud, Albert leads a team of attorneys and subject matter experts who advise Google executives on regulatory issues impacting global infrastructure, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, the regulation of data, and human rights. Albert works directly with public and private stakeholders in developing countries who are leveraging cloud computing technology to drive innovation, improve local economies, and enhance digital literacy.

Prior to joining Google, Albert was Associate Counsel to President Barack Obama in the Office of White House Counsel, where he provided legal and strategic counsel on cybersecurity, privacy, congressional investigations, and high stakes litigation. Albert’s public service experience includes serving as Counselor to the General Counsel at the Department of Homeland Security and as Judiciary Committee Counsel to Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the Assistant Majority Leader.

Albert began his career in private practice as a litigation associate at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Washington, DC. He is licensed to practice in California and Washington, D.C.

March 6: Katrina Mulligan, Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Army, U.S. Department of the Army

On Monday, March 6, 2023, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society welcomed our fourth speaker of the 2022-2023 season of A Road Less Traveled: Katrina Mulligan, Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Army, U.S. Department of the Army. Former: Principal DASD for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, U.S. Department of Defense.

Katrina M. Mulligan was the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict (SO/LIC), a portfolio that included special operations, irregular warfare, counterterrorism, counter-narcotics, and information operations policy issues. She also assisted the Assistant Secretary of Defense for SOLIC on oversight of special operations peculiar administrative matters on behalf of the Secretary.

Katrina was previously the acting Vice President for National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress. She also served in senior roles in the National Security Division in the Department of Justice, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and at the National Counterterrorism Center.

From 2013-2014, Katrina served on the National Security Council Staff as Director for Disclosures Response where she facilitated the government’s response to unauthorized disclosures of intelligence information.

Katrina has received multiple awards for exceptional and meritorious civilian service from the Intelligence Community and Department of Justice. She is an alumna of the University of Chicago and received a juris doctorate degree from the UCLA School of Law.

April 3: Jeohn Favors, Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, National Security Division, Department of Justice

On Monday, April 3, 2023, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society welcomed our fifth and final speaker of the 2022-2023 season of A Road Less Traveled: Jeohn Favors, Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, National Security Division, Department of Justice. Former: Official, Central Intelligence Agency, U.S. Department of State, National Security Council.

Jeohn Salone Favors is Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the National Security Division of the Department of Justice. Previously, he was an associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where he litigated high-stakes corporate and commercial disputes and worked on cybersecurity and data privacy, crisis management, corporate governance, and white collar and regulatory compliance matters for a wide range of clients.  Before attending law school, Mr. Favors worked as a national security professional for more than a decade.  His prior service in government includes domestic and overseas assignments as a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State, as an operations officer with the Central Intelligence Agency, and as a member of the National Security Council staff at the White House.

At the White House, Mr. Favors helped manage the U.S. Government’s response to post-Arab Spring instability and ever-evolving counterterrorism threats emanating from the Middle East, and was a member of the small team of White House personnel tasked by President Obama to orchestrate and oversee the administration’s historic outreach to Iran, which ultimately culminated in the Iran nuclear deal.  Years later, as an advisor to the 2020 Biden-Harris campaign and member of President-Elect Biden’s Transition Team, Mr. Favors co-led policy development and strategic planning for the incoming Biden-Harris administration’s readiness review of the U.S. Intelligence Community.  Mr. Favors’s expertise and interests span a host of foreign affairs, defense, intelligence, counterintelligence, counterterrorism, cybersecurity, weapons proliferation, sanctions, and law of armed conflict topics.

Mr. Favors received a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University in 2005 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2017.  During law school, Mr. Favors worked as a student attorney and public defender in Massachusetts state courts, and served as a member of the trial team that defended and won acquittal of former New England Patriots professional football player Aaron Hernandez in a jury trial for double murder.  He also served as a Class Marshal, Co-President of the National Security and Law Association, and a member of the executive boards of the American Constitution Society and Black Law Students Association.  Mr. Favors is a native of rural South Louisiana and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

October 19: Alex Abdo, Litigation Director, Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University

On Tuesday, October 19, 2021, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society welcomed our first speaker of the 2021-2022 season of a A Road Less Traveled: Alex Abdo, Litigation Director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

Alex Abdo is the inaugural litigation director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. He has been involved in the conception and litigation of nearly all of the Institute’s legal challenges, including a lawsuit challenging the government’s system of “prepublication review,” which requires millions of former employees of the intelligence agencies to submit their manuscripts to government censors prior to publication; the Institute’s challenge to the constitutionality of President Trump’s blocking of critics from his @realDonaldTrump Twitter account; and the Institute’s challenge to the pervasive secrecy of the Office of Legal Counsel’s formal written opinions.

Prior to joining the Institute, Abdo worked for eight years at the ACLU, where he argued the appeal that resulted in the Second Circuit’s invalidation of the NSA’s call-records program.

Abdo graduated from Yale College and Harvard Law School. After law school, he clerked for the Hon. Barbara M.G. Lynn, U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas, and for the Hon. Rosemary Barkett, U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

November 15: Akunna Cook, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Southern Africa and Economic and Regional Affairs, U.S. Department of State

On Monday, November 15, 2021, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society welcomed Akunna Cook, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Southern Africa and Economic and Regional Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, our second speaker of the 2021-2022 season of a A Road Less Traveled.

Akunna Cook serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in the Biden-Harris Administration.  In this role, Ms. Cook oversees the development of U.S. foreign policy for Southern Africa, as well as economic and regional issues including trade, investment, climate, health, multilateral engagement, democracy, and human rights.  Previously, Ms. Cook was the founder and principal at Drake Road Strategies where she advised individuals and organizations on public policy strategy and advocacy.  She was also the inaugural executive director of the Black Economic Alliance, a non-partisan organization focused on driving economic progress in the black community through policy development, advocacy, and supporting candidates for office. Ms. Cook practiced law at a large international law firm, where she advised former Attorney General Eric Holder on political and legal strategy related to redistricting around the country. She also advised a variety of clients on public policy, government affairs, and corporate governance. Ms. Cook was also a legal fellow in the office of U.S. Senator Chris Coons.

Ms. Cook began her State Department career over 20 years ago as a Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellow.  She served for almost ten years as a career diplomat with the State Department where she focused on economic and political development. Ms. Cook’s foreign service assignments included service overseas in China, South Africa, and Iraq, and several years in Washington serving in the Africa Bureau in various roles.  She is a graduate of the Yale Law School and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She is also a summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Howard University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and business administration. Ms. Cook is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the Washington, D.C. bar. She is also a member of the Alliance for Justice Board of Directors.

February 9: Ben Huebner, Chief, Civil Liberties, Privacy, and Transparency Office, Office of the Director of National Intelligence

On Wednesday, February 9, 2022, Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society resumed our 2021-2022 season of A Road Less Traveled by welcoming our third speaker: Ben Huebner, Chief of the Civil Liberties, Privacy, and Transparency Office at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Ben Huebner is Chief, ODNI Civil Liberties, Privacy, and Transparency Office. In this role, he serves as an independent, primary advisor to the Director of National Intelligence and other senior DNI officials to ensure that the Intelligence Community’s missions, programs, activities, policies, and technologies protect privacy and civil liberties. He serves as ODNI’s primary liaison with the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), the designated ODNI Senior Agency Official for Privacy, and ODNI’s Information Sharing Environment Privacy Official. He also leads the effort to implement the Principles of Intelligence Transparency for the Intelligence Community. Mr. Huebner previously served at CIA as the Agency’s first full-time Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer. Prior to CIA, Mr. Huebner was the Counsel for Intelligence to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the Department of Justice, where he advised the Department leaders on intelligence-related matters, including intelligence operations, litigation and oversight. At DOJ, he also developed and managed oversight programs related to intelligence collection conducted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. He has also worked on the Hill and clerked for the Honorable David S. Tatel, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Mr. Huebner is a graduate of Haverford College and the New York University School of Law.

March 4: Ruchi Gill, Deputy Chief Counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

On March 4, 2022, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society welcomed Ruchi Gill, Counsel at Latham & Watkins and former Deputy Chief Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, our fourth speaker of the 2021-2022 season of A Road Less Traveled.

Ruchi Gill is counsel at Latham & Watkins and advises clients on complex national security matters. Before this role, she was Deputy Chief Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, advising on legal matters and legislative activity related to U.S. foreign policy and national security for Chairman Bob Menendez and the Committee’s Democratic staff. She previously worked at Covington & Burling LLP on a variety of international matters, including in connection with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, U.S. export controls and sanctions, and international arbitration.  She also served at the U.S. Department of State from 2007 to 2017 in various roles: an attorney-adviser and special assistant to the Legal Adviser, a foreign affairs officer in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, an economic officer in Guangzhou, China, and a paralegal specialist. Ruchi graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and the Georgetown University Law Center, where she served as an editor of the Georgetown Law Journal.  She is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

April 6: Jonathan Lee, Director of Global Public Policy, WhatsApp

On April 6, 2022, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society concluded the 2021-2022 season of A Road Less Traveled with our fifth speaker: Jonathan Lee, Director of Global Public Policy at WhatsApp.

Jonathan is currently Director of Global Public Policy at WhatsApp, where he helps develop and execute public policy strategy and engagement across the globe for the world’s largest private messaging service. Previously, Jonathan served as Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Director for Human Rights and National Security Issues on the National Security Council; and Special Assistant to both the Deputy Secretary of Defense and the General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Defense. He helped lead efforts to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell at the Department of Defense and worked on closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center. He has also worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company.

September 28: Camille Stewart, Head of Security Policy for Google Play and Android

On Monday, September 28, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society welcomed our first speaker of the 2020-2021 season of a A Road Less Traveled: Camille Stewart, Head of Security Policy for Google Play and Android at Google and former senior policy advisor at DHS in the Obama Administration.

Camille Stewart is Head of Security Policy for Google Play and Android at Google, where she leads cybersecurity, privacy, election integrity, and misinformation policy efforts. Prior to Google, Camille managed cybersecurity, election security, tech innovation, and risk issues at Deloitte. Camille was appointed by President Barack Obama to be the Senior Policy Advisor for Cyber Infrastructure & Resilience Policy at the Department of Homeland Security. She was the Senior Manager of Legal Affairs at Cyveillance, a cybersecurity company after working on Capitol Hill. Camille is a Truman National Security Fellow, and Council on Foreign Relations Term Member. Camille is on the Board of Women of Color Advancing Peace & Security and leads the Cybersecurity & Emerging Tech working group. She also leads a project with a DC think tank addressing the exfiltration of national security-related tech and IP through the courts.

October 26: Nabiha Syed, President of The Markup

On Monday, October 26, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society welcomed Nabiha Syed, President of The Markup, our second speaker of the 2020-2021 season of a A Road Less Traveled.

Nabiha Syed is President of The Markup. She oversees The Markup’s strategy, growth plans and business operations. Nabiha also oversees legal, communications, personnel and other operational matters. Before joining The Markup, Nabiha was vice president and associate general counsel at BuzzFeed, where she counseled on newsgathering, libel, and privacy matters worldwide. Under her leadership, the company successfully defended against libel litigation arising out of the publication of the Steele dossier and initiated numerous notable access litigations. Prior to BuzzFeed, Syed co-founded the nation’s first media access law clinic, currently in its 10th year of operation at Yale Law School, and served as a First Amendment Fellow at The New York Times. Nabiha has been described as “one of the best emerging free speech lawyers” by Forbes magazine, and a “real reporter’s lawyer” by the Reporter’s Committee for the Freedom of the Press, which recognized her with an inaugural award in 2018. She is also a lifelong Girl Scout.

February 1: Ronnie Newman, National Political Director of the ACLU

On February 1, 2021, Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society resumed our 2020-2021 season of A Road Less Traveled by welcoming our third speaker, Ronnie Newman, National Political Director of the ACLU.

Ronald Newman joined the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in February 2017.  As National Political Director, he manages the ACLU’s National Political Advocacy Department (NPAD). Prior to the ACLU, Ronald served as Director of Human Rights and Refugee Protection on the National Security Council in the Obama Administration, serving under National Security Advisor Susan Rice. There, he led Administration efforts to expand the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, planned and coordinated President Obama’s September 2016 Leaders’ Summit on Refugees at the United Nations, managed U.S. engagement with the United Nations Human Rights Council, and directed a range of other White House and interagency actions in the areas of human rights, immigration and refugee protection.  He coordinated major Administration initiatives involving all key diplomatic, law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and engaged regularly with representatives of foreign nations, state and local governments, and non-profit advocacy organizations.  Prior to that, he served as an Attorney Advisor in the Legal Adviser’s Office at the U.S. Department of State, under Legal Advisor Harold Koh.  Ronald graduated summa cum laude from Morehouse College, and holds a J.D. from Yale Law School. 

March 1: Alissa Starzak, Head of Public Policy at Cloudflare

On March 1, 2021, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society welcomed Alissa Starzak, Head of Public Policy at Cloudflare, our fourth speaker of the 2020-2021 season of A Road Less Traveled.

Alissa Starzak is the Head of Policy at Cloudflare, a web security and optimization company. Prior to joining Cloudflare, Starzak worked for the U.S government in a variety of national security positions, including serving as General Counsel of the U.S. Army, Deputy General Counsel (Legislation) at the Department of Defense, counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and assistant general counsel at the Central Intelligence Agency. She also worked in private practice in Washington, D.C., and clerked for The Honorable E. Grady Jolly, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She graduated from Amherst College and the University of Chicago Law School, where she served as an editor of the University of Chicago Law Review.

April 5: Maher Bitar, Senior Director for Intelligence Programs, National Security Council

On April 5, 2021, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society concluded the 2020-2021 season of A Road Less Traveled with our fifth speaker: Maher Bitar, Senior Director for Intelligence Programs at the National Security Council.

Maher Bitar currently serves as Senior Director for Intelligence Programs at the National Security Council. Before this appointment, he served as General Counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). He previously served as Director for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs on the White House National Security Council staff. On detail from the Department of State, he served as Foreign Affairs Officer in the Office of the Special Envoy for Middle East Peace. Maher holds a Juris Doctor from Georgetown Law and is a member of the Maryland Bar. A graduate of Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Maher also received a Master of Science in Forced Migration from Oxford University’s Refugee Studies Center while on a Marshall scholarship and has worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Malaysia and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jerusalem.

Beth George – September 24

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On September 24, 2019, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society hosted Beth George, Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Reiss Center and partner in the San Francisco office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, for the first session of our 2019-2020 series featuring national security law and policy practitioners. Beth most recently served as the deputy general counsel (legislation) at the US Department of Defense under the Obama administration. In that role, she led an office of lawyers who provided legal advice and support to the Department, particularly the Office of the Secretary of Defense, in the areas of legislation and other congressional matters affecting the Department. Previously, Beth served as an associate counsel in the White House counsel’s office, where she worked on national security matters. Beth joined the federal government as an honors attorney in the US Department of Justice’s national security division. She first served as an attorney in the Office of Intelligence, where she worked on surveillance and operational matters. Later, she joined the Office of Law and Policy, where she worked on sensitive policy matters. George also served on detail to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, where she served as the sole legal counsel to a team of bipartisan professional staff members assigned to review intelligence collection activities. Beth clerked for Chief Judge Theodore A. McKee on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, PA. She holds a JD, magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, from New York University School of Law, and a BA, summa cum laude, from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. You can follow her on Twitter @_Beth_George.

Spencer Boyer – October 29

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On October 29, 2019, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society hosted Spencer P. Boyer, Director of the Washington Office of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, for the second session of our 2019-20 series featuring national security law and policy practitioners. In this capacity, he represents the Brennan Center among policymakers and thought leaders throughout Washington; advances the Brennan Center’s federal advocacy strategy on major democracy, justice, national security, and civil liberties issues; and oversees the operations of the DC Office. He served in senior roles in both terms of the Obama administration. From 2014-17, he was the National Intelligence Officer for Europe in the National Intelligence Council—the center for long-range strategic thinking within the US Intelligence Community. From 2009-11, he was a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. In both roles, he was a key adviser to top government officials on challenges to Western democracy and the intersection of national security and civil liberties post-9/11. Spencer has served as Executive Director and War Powers Initiative Director at the Constitution Project, based at Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute. He has also been a senior analyst or visiting scholar with numerous think tanks. He began his professional career as an Associate with the international law firm of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue in Washington. Subsequently, he worked in The Hague as a Law Clerk to the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, in Zurich as a Staff Attorney at the Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Accounts in Switzerland, and in Paris as Counsel at the International Court of Arbitration. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and received his JD from NYU School of Law, where he specialized in public international law and the work of international organizations. While at NYU, he also obtained a master’s degree in French Studies, with a concentration in French politics, history, and economy.

Anna Makanju – February 11

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On February 11, 2020, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society hosted Anna Makanju, public policy and legal expert working at Facebook, for the third session of our 2019-20 series featuring national security law and policy practitioners. At Facebook, she leads efforts to ensure election integrity on the platform. Previously, Anna was the Special Policy Advisor for Europe and Eurasia to Vice President Biden, Senior Policy Advisor to Ambassador Samantha Power at the United States Mission to the United Nations, Director for Russia at the National Security Council, and the Chief of Staff for European and NATO Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. She has also taught at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and worked as a consultant to a leading company focused on space technologies. Anna received her law degree from Stanford University, and her legal career was spent working at the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals as law clerk to Judge Theodore McKee, and in the international arbitration group of Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton LLP. Anna was born and spent her childhood in the Soviet Union before immigrating to the US.

Vance Serchuk – March 9

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On March 9, 2020, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society hosted Vance Serchuk, executive director of the KKR Global Institute, the geopolitical analysis unit of the global investment firm KKR, for the fourth session of our 2019-20 series featuring national security law and policy practitioners. In this capacity, he works on KKR’s investments in defense, aerospace, and emerging markets. Vance is also an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, DC. Prior to joining KKR in 2013, Vance served as the senior national security advisor to Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Connecticut) and a professional staff member on the Senate Homeland Security Committee. In this capacity, he worked on a broad range of international security issues, including Iran and Russia sanctions, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Asia-Pacific strategy. In 2013, he lived in Japan as a Council on Foreign Relations Fellow and was a monthly columnist for the Washington Post. His writings have also appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, National Review, and Politico. Vance is a summa cum laude graduate of Princeton University, holds a JD from Yale Law School, and was a Fulbright scholar in the Russian Federation. He has served for the past 8 years as an intelligence officer in the US Navy Reserve, deploying overseas in support of Naval Special Warfare. He was recently named as a member of the congressionally-appointed Syria Study Group. Vance has also taught as a lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School.

Josh Geltzer – April 16

On April 16, 2019, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society hosted the final 2018-19 session of A Road Less Traveled, our career series featuring national security law and policy practitioners. Students heard from Joshua Geltzer, Executive Director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law, which focuses on constitutional impact litigation and public education on everything from whistleblower protections to the travel ban to DACA.

Geltzer has had a wide-ranging career following law school: prior to his advocacy work at ICAP, Geltzer served in the Obama Administration as Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council. He also served in government as a national security lawyer, including as Deputy Legal Advisor at the National Security Council and before that as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the Department of Justice. His work in government spanned issues such as closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, the counter-ISIL campaign, and Americans held hostage overseas. He was a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Additionally, Geltzer is an editor of Just Security and has been a prolific public writer, appearing in The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, Politico, and the Washington Post, among others. He can be found on Twitter at @jgeltzer.

Geltzer shared insights on his constitutional advocacy work, experience in government, and advice for law students on navigating national security careers and making an impact both in and out of government.

Hina Shamsi – April 8

On April 8, 2019, the Reiss Center on Law and Security, the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, and the National Security Law Society hosted Hina Shamsi, Director of the ACLU National Security Project, for the fourth session of our 2018-19 series featuring national security law and policy practitioners. Prior to her work at the ACLU, Shamsi was the acting director of Human Rights First’s Law & Security Program and previously served as senior advisor to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions. She spoke with students about her career path after law school and her experience working in the public interest national security and human rights field.

Wally Adeyemo – March 26

On March 26, 2019, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society hosted Wally Adeyemo, Senior Advisor at BlackRock, for the third session of our 2018-19 series featuring national security law and policy practitioners. Prior to his work for BlackRock, Adeyemo was the former Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, as well as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Treasury. He spoke with students about his career path after law school and his experience working at the intersection of law and economics in both the public and private sector.

Margaret Taylor – February 12

On February 12, 2019, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society hosted Margaret Taylor, Senior Editor at Lawfare and Fellow at the Brookings Institution, for the second session of our 2018-19 series featuring national security law and policy practitioners. Taylor previously served as the Democratic Chief Counsel of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as an attorney with the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State.

Taylor spoke with students about her career path during and after law school, including her experience working on Capitol Hill and in the Executive Branch. She began by discussing her longstanding interest in public international law, and the courses and activities she found most formative while in law school. She discussed her work at the State Department and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as her transition from advising Executive Branch clients to Congress. She considered ways that lawmakers can influence the debate on foreign policy issues through hearings, resolutions, and other methods, even without the pulpit of the presidency. Taylor also described her current role as Senior Editor and Counsel with Lawfare and fellow at Brookings, along with the new experience of working in a more public-facing role after spending the earlier part of her career as an advisor to policymakers.

In her advice to students interested in a career in national security law, Taylor emphasized the need for seizing opportunities as they arise. She highlighted the importance of approaching these challenges with confidence in one’s own expertise, coupled with an honesty about areas in which one can learn and grow. Taylor explained that she allowed her desire to pursue work of genuine interest to guide her career decisions, and she encouraged students to do the same, and to embrace serendipity and be willing to take risks – wherever that might lead them.

You can follow her on Twitter @MargLTaylor.

Rachel Goldbrenner – January 25

On January 23, 2019, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and the National Security Law Society hosted Rachel Goldbrenner, Executive Director of the Reiss Center on Law and Security for the inaugural session of our 2018-19 series featuring national security law and policy practitioners. Prior to heading the Reiss Center, Goldbrenner served in a number of national security roles in the White House and State Department, including as a senior advisor to U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power and as a director for multilateral affairs and human rights at the National Security Council. She has also practiced as an international litigator and served at several think tanks and advocacy organizations.

In her roundtable discussion with current NYU law students, Goldbrenner discussed her career path both leading into and following law school. She discussed the challenges and rewards of government service and gave her advice for students interested in pursuing a career in national security. Turning to her current role, she also provided an overview of the Reiss Center’s renewed agenda, plans for the future, and opportunities and resources for students interested in national security at NYU Law.