Senior Research Fellow Jamie Barnett is currently serving under an IPA agreement as Chief, Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau, for the Federal Communications Commission. On Wednesday, March 28, he will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, at a hearing entitled “Cybersecurity: Threats to Communications Networks and Public-Sector Responses.” The hearing starts at 10 am and will be webcast live on the Committee's website. 
The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies is pleased to announce that The Honorable Stephen M. Duncan, who served as Assistant Secretary of Defense in the administrations of two Presidents, and as the senior Department of Defense counterdrug official, has been named a Senior Fellow of the Institute.
Commenting on the appointment, Potomac Institute Chairman and CEO Michael Swetnam said, "Steve is one of the most talented and experienced senior leaders that this country has ever produced. His addition to our growing cadre of experts is something I am truly proud of."
Read more: The Honorable Stephen M. Duncan Is New Senior Fellow
Associate Academic Fellow Khatuna Mshvidobadze, MBA, joined the Potomac Institute in 2011. A native of Georgia, Ms. Mshvidobadze became interested in cyber security issues in 2008, when the country experienced a cyber attack in conjunction with an invasion by Russian forces. She is currently involved in a research project to assess the role of social media in the recent Russian elections. In this video, she talks about the experience of living in a country that has experienced a cyber assault and the opportunity to work with the new Potomac Institute Cyber Center (PICC). Click below to watch.
Prof. James Giordano, PhD, is Vice President for Academic Programs and Director of the Center for Neurotechnology Studies at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. In an interview with Nature, he discussed the effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the context of the Afghanistan killing spree allegedly committed by US Army sergeant Robert Bales. Prof. Giordano says TBI can produce a wide range of symptoms in sufferers, and it's difficult to predict whether it will cause violent behavior in any one individual. 
BGen David Reist, USMC (Ret.), is Vice President of Strategy & Planning at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. As a guest panelist at a March 7 Global Voice Hall/American University forum on "Iraq, a Look Back," he took part in a discussion of the US mission in Iraq and the ongoing debate over what was accomplished. Panelists looked at issues ranging from the US case for war to concerns over whether chaotic events in Iraq have created an opportunity for the ascendance of Iran.