The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies is pleased to announce that Miriam Jackson has been promoted to the position of Assistant VP for Financial Management.  Ms. Jackson joined the Institute in October of 2007, as a Staff Accountant. She then acquired additional duties and responsibilities as a Contracts Administrator, in 2008.  In 2010, Ms. Jackson was honored as a recipient of a Potomac Institute Corporate Officers' Award for her outstanding service.  Prior to joining the Potomac Institute, Ms. Jackson was employed as a Staff Accountant in the Finance Departments of the National Heritage Foundation (NHF) and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC).  She previously interned at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) in the office of the Chief of Budget.

Commenting on Ms. Jackson's promotion, Vice President for Financial Management and CFO Gail Clifford said,  "She is one of our greatest assets and an essential member of the Finance & Contracts division. Her professionalism and thirst for knowledge make it a pleasure to work with Miriam."

Regarding her new role at the Institute, Ms. Jackson said, "I am so appreciative and so very grateful for this opportunity. When I joined the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, I knew I made a great career choice. I would like to thank our CFO, Gail Clifford, for her support and continuous guidance. I love working with everyone here, and I am very excited about many more years working together."

Ms. Jackson graduated from Bowie State University with a Bachelor of  Science degree in Business Administration – Information Systems. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Financial Management and Information Systems.    

Trevor Huffard is a Research Associate. Trevor received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Santa Clara University and his Bachelor of Science in Commerce from the Levy School of Business. He formerly worked at Daversa Partners and is excited to begin in the world of science and technology policy.

Dr. Robert Hummel Chief Scientist of the Potomac Institute in the CEO’s Office and is a member of the Center for Revolutionary Scientific Thought.  He is the author of the recent Potomac Institute book on “Alternative Futures for Corrosion and Degradation Research,” and is also serving customers in DARPA and OSD.  He is the principle author of the Institute’s forthcoming book on machine intelligence.  He is currently researching material sustainment of materiel that is subject to atomic degradation.

Prior to joining the Potomac Institute, he served as a program manager at DARPA for nearly nine years, managing and initiating projects in information exploitation, computer science, and sensor design.  Prior to joining DARPA, he was a tenured faculty member at NYU’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences in the Computer Science Department, where he did research in computer vision and artificial intelligence.  

Dr. Hummel’s PhD is from the University of Minnesota in mathematics, and he holds a B.A. from the University of Chicago, also in mathematics.

Kevin graduated from Western Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science in Law Enforcement & Justice Administration and minors in Homeland Security and Criminalistics in May of 2019. As an undergraduate, he worked as a research assistant on projects pertaining to terrorism research. After graduating, he interned at the Homeland Security Investigations-Chicago in the financial crimes unit. In January 2020, he co-authored an article published in Security Magazine titled "Death by Association: Family Terror Networks." He also earned his Master of Arts in Public Safety Administration from Western Illinois University in July 2020. As a graduate student, he worked as a teaching assistant in the Law Enforcement & Justice Administration Department. He looks forward to contributing as much as he can to the International Center for Terrorism Studies.

Carrie Zuckerman is a Research Assistant at the Institute. Prior to joining the Institute, Carrie received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a minor in Astrophysics at U.C. Berkeley. During college, she contributed to astrophysics research focused on improving ground-based exoplanet imaging. She also previously served as a Science and Technology Policy Intern at the Potomac Institute where she researched solutions to the issue of space debris.

Sabrina Worcester is the Human Resources Manager and Strategic Planning Analysis Research and Concepts Research Associate at Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. In this role, she is currently supporting research efforts relating to strategy and execution, including Science and Technology Transition Planning to the Defense Health Agency (DHA) Research and Development Directorate (J-9). She has also worked on several efforts that tailor science and technology policy options for government customers including the Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative (ADL), Office of Naval Research (ONR) and Indian Head EOD Technology Division (IHEODTD). In addition to working as a Research Associate, Ms. Worcester currently serves as the HR Manager.

Before joining the Institute as a Research Analyst, Dr. Nicole Gould earned her Bachelor of Science in Cellular, Molecular, and Physiological Biology from Christopher Newport University. She then earned her doctorate in Molecular Medicine from The University of Maryland, Baltimore where she investigated how bone cells respond to mechanical and hormonal stimulation. She then completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis where she conducted studies to better understand the essential biological processes that promote healing after bone fracture. 

Dr. Sloan’s 20 years of active duty in the U.S. Air Force coupled with her Ph.D. and master’s degree in Psychology and a bachelor’s degree in International and Comparative Political Science have developed a deep perspective across many cross-cutting issues regarding national security and future command and control. Her experience as an Intelligence and Operations Officer, created a profound appreciation for strategic level examination of key issues associated with organizational and force design transformation.

Before joining Potomac Institute, Dr. Sloan most recently served in the newly established Air Force Futures directorate at Headquarters Air Force in Washington DC. In this role she led the development of key concepts that were core to the development of a new Air Force future force design, specifically the development of a game changing sensing grid concept. This concept reoriented $19 billion to support operations and over $375 million in key experiments to advance development of Joint All Domain Command and Control. Dr Sloan’s collaborative and innovative approach brings fresh perspective to the Institute, ensuring our team provides novel and relevant solutions to our clientele through our publications and events.

Dr. Jason Blessing is a Research Analyst with the Potomac Institute. His expertise as a political scientist includes cyber conflict and strategy, the geopolitics of commercial surveillance software (“spyware”), and NATO. Prior to joining the Institute, Dr. Blessing has held affiliations with the American Enterprise Institute, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and the United States Institute of Peace. 

Dr. Blessing received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He also has a M.A. from Virginia Tech and a B.A. from the College of William & Mary. Before pursuing his doctorate, Dr. Blessing investigated fraud operations in the financial sector by leveraging technical compromise data, behavioral patterns, and regulatory expertise.

Prior to joining the Institute, Dr. Claire Costenoble-Caherty received her doctorate in Emerging Infectious Diseases from the Uniformed Services University in 2020, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from The University of Maryland College Park in 2013. She conducted her doctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Ann Jerse, where she developed murine models of gonorrhea/chlamydia coinfection and upper reproductive tract infection, and studied the immune response in the context of such infections.

Steve Montgomery joins Potomac Institute as a Research Analyst. Mr. Montgomery completed a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering at Rowan University in 2013 and a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering at Auburn University in 2019. While at university, he conducted research on biopolymers, a modeling tool for the EPA, drug crystallization, transdermal drug delivery, and graphene catalysts for alternative fuels production. He most recently worked as an R&D Process Engineer for Danimer Scientific, a world leading biopolymer company producing biodegradable PHA plastic at a commercial scale.

Sharon Layani is a Research Fellow in the S&T Division. She provides assessments of emerging science and technology trends, government acquisition strategies, strategic planning, and policy recommendations.  Prior to this she served as Research Associate and Research Coordinator at the International Center for Terrorism Studies. Her work focused on counterterrorism, international security, and rule of law issues. She provided research support and analysis for books, such as NATO: From Regional to Global Security Provider (2015) and The Islamic State: Combating a Caliphate Without Borders (2015), and assisted on a number of counterterrorism reports and projects. Ms. Layani served on the senior staff for Terrorism: An Electronic Journal and Knowledge Base and coordinated foreign policy and national security-related seminars. Ms. Layani graduated from the University of Michigan with a double major in Political Science and Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience, and a minor in International Studies focusing on the Middle East.

Rosalie Loewen works as a Research Economist for the Potomac Institute. Ms. Loewen has broad experience in economic and policy research and analysis with a focus on quantitative methodologies. In the research arena, Ms. Loewen’s experience includes work in British Columbia measuring and predicting the effects of new genomics technology uptake. Within the public sphere, Ms. Loewen was privileged to serve two overseas tours with the US government as a diplomatic officer. Ms. Loewen spent her early career in the private sector, in finance, as a mergers & acquisitions analyst with a focus on modelling net present value. Ms. Loewen holds a master’s degree in Economics from the University of British Columbia, a master’s degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins’ SAIS, and graduated from Harvard College magna cum laude.

Dr. Alyssa Adcock is a S&T Policy Research Fellow. At the Institute, she has been involved with several efforts focused on providing strategic S&T recommendations and technical forecasting to government customers including ongoing work with NASA. Dr. Adcock obtained her Ph.D. from Georgetown University in Inorganic Chemistry. Her graduate research focused on bismuth and rare earth element materials to address energy, lighting, and security needs as well as uranium chemistry relevant to nuclear waste and environmental management. Prior, she received her B.S. in Chemistry at Jacobs University in Germany and served as an intern at the Carnegie Institute of Washington’s Geophysical Laboratory focusing on origin of life and geochemistry research. Dr. Adcock is a member of the Graduate Education Advisory Board of the American Chemical Society.

Joseph Parrish brings analysis and academic research skills to the Institute as a Research Associate. After graduating high school, he served as an Infantryman in the Marine Corps for over six years. After his military service, Joseph would earn a Bachelor of Science in Diplomacy & Military Studies from Hawaii Pacific University. While there, he worked as a research assistant, studying the history of US-Kurdish relations. He also studied counterterrorism and Islamic fundamentalism at the University of Haifa in Israel, where he participated in the 21st Century Peace & Conflict Seminar. Before joining the Institution, his most recent position was as a Research Analyst at Diligentiam LLC., where he researched, analyzed, and evaluated developing trends in the geopolitical sphere.

Mr. Farro is a Level III Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) Certified Acquisition Professional with over 40 years’ experience.

From his initial assignment as a Procurement Intern for the Defense Logistics Agency’s Defense Personnel Support Center (DLA DPSC), Philadelphia, PA, he has worked various and ever more challenging assignments across both the Interagency and International spectrum.

Management positions supervising the activities of Contract Specialists took him to Washington, DC, where he was on special assignment to the Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (DoT FHWA).

After a successful tenure at DoT FHWA, Mr. Farro received his TS/SCI clearance and worked as a Major Systems Program Integrator for the Tri-Service Standoff Attack and Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (TSSAM and JASSM) programs. For his work on the JASSM program, he received awards from the U.S. Air Force’s Senior Acquisition Executive and the Director, Defense Contract Management Command (DCMC).

For his excellent work on the JASSM program, Mr. Farro was selected as the Program Manager for the Defense Logistics Agency’s (DLA) Corporate Workforce Management Reports (CRMR) program. He was able to turn the program around from a chronic underperformer into an example of efficient acquisition providing DLA a workforce management capability that came in ahead of schedule and under budget.

His following assignments in support of the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), earned him two Combat Commanders Medals for Acquisition Excellence. At the conclusion of his support to USSOCOM and subsequent tours on the staffs at the Naval Sea Systems Command and Defense Contract Management Agency, Mr. Farro assumed responsibility for the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) evaluation. He worked closely with the President’s Office of Management & Budget assuring that MDA’s performance supported allocated resources. His efforts on the PART evaluation permitted him to earn entry into the National Defense University’s Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF) where he earned his Master’s Degree in National Security Strategy.

At ICAF, Mr. Farro completed his Senior Acquisition studies and was certified as a Senior Acquisition Professional. After ICAF, he completed another special assignment, this time with the Joint Chief of Staff’s Logistics Directorate (J4). His duties were that of Study Director for the Mobility Capability Study (MCS). During that time, Mr. Farro was promoted to Director, Research & Development Division of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Inspector General (NASA IG).

His leadership on the NASA IG’s audit of their Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts and his interaction with the President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency ensured that acquisition funds were spent wisely and effectively. From the NASA IG, he rejoined the Department of the Navy (DON), currently supporting DON and Department of Defense initiatives to enhance U.S. international engagements with longtime allies Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden and maturing relationships with other allies, e.g., Chile and Iceland.

Mr. Farro is retired from Civil Service. After retirement, he joined E3R, Inc., (a Service Disabled Small Business) as Senior International Cooperative Analyst/Engineer. His primary duties supported the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Code N94 (Senior Naval Representative)/Office of Naval Research – Global and Naval Information Warfare Systems Command – Pacific.

He has joined the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies as a Research Fellow.

Jonathan Christopher Roberson is a Research Associate in the S&T Policy Division. Jonathan earned his Juris Doctorate from Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He also holds a Master in Public Administration. Jonathan has worked on all three levels of American Government in policy. He first served as a Congressional Intern on Capitol Hill in the House of Representatives. He served as a legislative aide in both the Louisiana State Senate and Texas State Senate. Lastly, he also served a Mayoral Fellow in the local government of his hometown in Shreveport, Louisiana. Before to attending law school, Jonathan was a K-12 educator for 13 years. He earned his B.A. in English from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Jonathan enjoys stand-up comedy, traveling, and writing.

Dwight Lyons is a Senior Research Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies and the Director of the Concepts and Analyses Division. He holds a masters degree in physics, served in the U.S. Army, and in addition has over 26 years providing analytical and technical support for Naval operations, developing systems and processes, operational and strategic planning, definition and management of Science and Technology (S&T) programs, experimentation, transition of successful S&T products, research program financial management, and participation in “real-world” military operations. He has worked on a number of programs, formulating and executing S&T programs, conducting technology assessments and applications to military operational needs, working with teams at ONR and DARPA, military laboratories, and operational commands, and including both near-term transitions and the development of strategic long range S&T plans. Mr. Lyons is recognized as a leading expert in the analytical and technical support of warfighting and S&T programs.

Dana Shepard Director of Programs for the Potomac Institute. Prior to this role, she spent almost a decade working in nonprofits focused on areas such as social emotional learning, improving outcomes for at risk youth, and oceanic conservation. Her experience includes grant writing and management, research, strategic planning, process design and improvement, data analysis, and fundraising. Ms. Shepard previously interned at the Constituency for Africa and spent over a year studying and working in Cameroon.

Ms. Shepard received a master’s degree in public administration from the University of South Florida, where she was selected as a Presidential Management Fellowship finalist. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Dickinson College.