Come learn from a panel of graduate students at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) about what it’s like to specifically study NPTS. Bring your questions, and be ready for the group to discuss topics like why they attended grad school, what skills are they developing and how they want to use their degree. Open to all students. Click HERE to register in Handshake and get the Zoom link.
Here are the panelists for Wednesday, April 28 at 7 pm EST:
ELLE ZESKY is a second semester NPTS student from Syracuse New York. She is also perusing the Financial Crime specialization and serves as the Graduate Assistant for the Cyber Collaborative. Elle’s background includes working in cyber security, information technology, data science, counter human trafficking and intelligence. Elle is passionate about accessible cyber education, blockchain technology, cyber capacity building and countering disinformation, radicalization and extremism online.
CYRUS JABBARI is currently working at Analytic Services, Inc. (ANSER) as a Technical Analyst, assigned to the Pentagon within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)). His work includes supporting and briefing the acting Under Secretary and the acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, performing data analytics on DoD research, development, test, and evaluation, and developing new tools for analysis and implementation of DoD Modernization Priorities. He is a recent graduate of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS), having attained an MA in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies and advanced language training in Persian (Farsi). He holds a BA in International Relations from the University of Southern California. Mr. Jabbari has worked at organizations including the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, the Department of State, the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the United Nations Weapons of Mass Destruction Branch, and the Congressional Research Service.
BEN MATTERN is in his final semester at the Middlebury Institute studying Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies (NPTS) with a specialization in Financial Crime Management. His research at the Institute focuses on counter threat financing and Russian financial crime with particular emphasis on cryptocurrency and other emerging technologies. Ben currently works for the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies and volunteers with CipherTrace’s Defenders League conducting crypto asset recovery investigations. Before coming to the Institute, Ben completed his undergraduate studies at Lehigh University and worked for a financial technology company in Moscow and New York City, where he was responsible for sales and strategic partnerships in the eastern United States.
RAYNA ROGERS is a master’s candidate in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey. She’s a Graduate Research Assistant at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies using open-source tools to understand technological advancements of countries’ nuclear weapon programs.
This is the third of four events this spring in a series of events about graduate school. There will be another about graduate programs at MIIS in Translation and Localization Management on May 6.
The series is a collaboration between the Center for Careers and Internships, the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs’ Student Advisory Board, the Model UN club at Middlebury, and the Student Council at MIIS.