Tesari Council

National Security & Strategic Threat Council

The National Security & Strategic Threat Council (NSSTC) is a practitioner-led advisory body that brings together experienced leaders from national security, law enforcement, intelligence, financial crime, banking, enterprise risk, investigations, technology, and related fields. The Council advises Tesari on emerging threats, operational challenges, and the networks and relationships behind national security and strategic threats affecting government and industry. Its members bring independent professional judgment and distinct practitioner perspectives to those problems and, where appropriate, contribute analysis, dialogue, and public commentary to the broader national security and strategic threat community.

Brian Andersen is a retired Homeland Security Investigations Supervisory Special Agent and national security investigations leader with more than 20 years of federal experience across counterproliferation, export controls, sanctions, financial crime, human rights, war crimes, and government supply chain security.

As an architect and leader within HSI’s Government Supply Chain Investigations Unit, Brian focused on building the teams, tools, and investigative frameworks needed to identify and disrupt counterfeit, substandard, non-compliant, and fraudulently sourced goods entering U.S. government supply chains. That work directly impacted military readiness, warfighter safety, first responder protection, federal procurement integrity, and the security of critical government systems.

Brian also served as Assistant Attaché at the U.S. Consulate General in Frankfurt, Germany, coordinating cross-border investigations across Northern and Central Europe involving counterproliferation, sanctions evasion, financial crime, pharmaceutical diversion, visa security, and transnational criminal networks. Earlier, as a Senior Special Agent and undercover operative in HSI Boston’s Counterproliferation Investigations program, he developed covert commercial platforms to identify illicit procurement networks seeking controlled U.S. technology for sanctioned, restricted, and high-risk end users.

Across his career, Brian worked with HSI, CBP, BIS, DOJ, DCSA, and other federal and international partners across counterproliferation, trade enforcement, supply chain security, procurement integrity, and national security investigations.

At Tesari AI, Brian leads National Security Applications, translating decades of investigative experience into product, workflow, and customer-facing applications of the platform. His role connects product, engineering, growth, and customer engagement, helping ensure Tesari reflects how high-stakes investigations and compliance decisions actually develop. He helps shape use cases across export controls, sanctions, government supply chain security, procurement integrity, and cross-border risk, with a focus on moving investigators and compliance teams from fragmented information to defensible decisions before the operational clock runs out.

Amy McFadden serves as Senior Vice President, Head of Arcanum’s Strategic Intelligence Group, where she leads the company’s strategic intelligence production, analytic tradecraft, and national security engagement. She oversees integrated all-source analysis, strategic warning, and tailored intelligence support for government and commercial clients, ensuring Arcanum delivers clear, actionable insight that informs mission planning and operational decision-making. In this role, she guides the firm’s thought leadership on evolving threat landscapes, strengthens partnerships across U.S. and allied stakeholders, and aligns intelligence capabilities with Arcanum’s logistics, training, and advisory operations to provide end-to-end mission support.

Ms. McFadden brings more than 25 years of senior leadership experience across the U.S. Intelligence Community, with executive roles at the CIA and ODNI. Most recently, she served as Vice Chair for Strategic Engagement at the National Intelligence Council, where she oversaw the Intelligence Community’s premier analytic workforce and directed the production of National Intelligence Estimates and other assessments supporting the President and senior policymakers. She previously served as Associate Deputy Director for Analysis at CIA, overseeing thousands of analysts worldwide, and as Director of the President’s Daily Brief, responsible for the curation and delivery of the U.S. government’s most sensitive daily intelligence reporting.

Throughout her career, Ms. McFadden has led large, globally dispersed analytic teams, strengthened tradecraft standards, and translated complex threats into decision advantage for senior leaders in Washington and allied capitals. She is widely recognized for building high-performing organizations, integrating diverse intelligence streams, and delivering rigorous, policy-relevant analysis in fast-moving crisis environments.

Ms. McFadden has received numerous honors, including the Presidential Rank Award, CIA Director’s Award, Intelligence Medal of Merit, and the George H.W. Bush Award for Excellence in Counterterrorism. She holds a Master of Arts from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Arizona.

Doug Gilmer, PhD, is a 35-year veteran of law enforcement, a proud military veteran, and an executive leader in government. He retired from the Department of Homeland Security and Homeland Security Investigations in August of 2024, after 25-years of federal service, where in his last assignment he served as the Senior Law Enforcement Advisor at the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking in Washington, DC. While with HSI, Doug also served as the Unit Chief of the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Unit and as Chief of Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC).

Upon retiring from federal service, Doug chose to continue his work by creating Resolved Strategies LLC – a global justice solutions group (ResolvedStrategies.com). His work serves non-profits, NGOs, corporations, legislators, policy makers,

government agencies, the tech sector, and financial institutions, working in the field of human rights crime. His passion is building effective collaborations, connecting groups

with resources, providing training, and developing solutions to counter human trafficking and other forms of exploitative crime.

Doug holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Liberty University, a Master’s degree in Counseling (trauma focused studies) from Luther Rice University, a Master’s degree in

Natural Resources and Global Sustainability from Virginia Tech where he studied the push-pull factors leading to global migration and exploitation, and a PhD in Organizational Leadership from Columbia International University where his research and dissertation focused on the outcomes of multidisciplinary collaboration between law enforcement and victim service providers in countering human trafficking.

Doug is a well published author and popular speaker at conferences, universities, and groups nationwide.

In 2015, Doug was awarded a National Intelligence Medal for Intelligence Integration from the Director of National Intelligence. In January of 2025, Doug received the William Wilberforce Lifetime Achievement Award for his efforts in helping counter human trafficking globally.

Colonel (Ret.) Michael Fleming is a U.S. Army veteran, innovation strategist, and international

technology advisor with over 30 years of experience leading defense innovation, multinational

research partnerships, and dual-use technology development.

Currently serves as the Managing Director of MNF Global Solutions, LLC, providing advice and

consulting to companies seeking to enter the US DoD Markets. As a strategic consultant,

Michael advises U.S. and Israeli defense and dual-use technology companies on go-to-market

strategy, U.S. Department of Defense acquisition pathways, investor positioning, and operational

scaling. His recent work includes supporting technology firms in applied AI, autonomous

systems, tactical communications, ISR, and energy resilience.

Additionally, he acts as an advisor to Q-Branch, a Veteran-Owned, non-profit Dual-Use

Accelerator, assisting start-ups in penetrating the US Defense and civilian Markets. Michael also

works as a mentor with Starburst Aerospace in Tel Aviv, Israel, and as a volunteer mentor with

the NATO DIANA program, helping early-stage and growth-stage defense and aerospace

startups navigate DoD pathways, secure partnerships with U.S. government stakeholders, and

align solutions with emerging operational needs.

He previously served as the Director of the International Technology Center – Mediterranean

(ITC-MED) under the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM)

assigned to the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, where he established and led the Army’s

innovation engagement mission across Israel, Turkey, the UAE, and South Africa, building

strategic partnerships across government, industry, and academia.

Michael is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Engineering Management at Missouri University of

Science and Technology (MST), where his research focuses on improving the selection,

evaluation, and scaling of startups within innovation ecosystems -particularly in rural and

distributed environment. He also supports MST in developing new innovation and entrepreneurship programs, including the Ozark Foundry Innovation Center initiative.

He holds a B.S. in Ceramic Engineering from the University of Washington and an M.S. in Engineering Management from MST and is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College. He is a Defense Acquisition Certified in Program Management (Level III), Science and Technology

Management (Level III), and Test and Evaluation Management (Level II). He also completed the

Entrepreneurship Center Management Certificate program from the International Business

Innovation Association (InBIA).

With more than 40 years in investigations spanning law enforcement, digital forensics, intelligence, and the private sector, Paul Wright brings a rare perspective on how modern investigations must operate in an increasingly complex digital world.

Paul began his career in law enforcement, where he developed deep operational experience investigating serious crime and complex financial offences. He later moved into the private sector, where he has held senior leadership roles, including Associate Director at Deloitte and KPMG, Technical Director at Intel Security, and Co-Founder of the Coalition of Cyber Investigators.

Across these roles, Paul has worked at the forefront of cybercrime, fraud, corruption, and financial investigations, becoming an internationally recognized expert witness trusted in complex cases where digital evidence, open-source intelligence, and investigative methodology must withstand legal scrutiny.

Paul is also a leading advocate for “Human-at-the-Helm” intelligence — the principle that advanced technologies, including agentic AI, should augment investigative judgement rather than replace it, providing investigators with faster access to critical intelligence while preserving the expertise and instincts that drive real investigations.

Zaid A. Zaid has spent more than two decades at the intersection of technology policy, law, national security, and diplomacy, with deep experience navigating the federal government, the private sector, and the international stage.

Most recently, Zaid served as Director and Head of U.S. Public Policy at Cloudflare, where he led the company's public advocacy efforts with the U.S. government, think tanks, and industry groups on AI governance, cybersecurity, and cloud security. He served on the IT Sector Coordinating Council's Cloud Security Working Group and represented Cloudflare in key White House and National Security Council engagements on trusted technology and cloud risk management.

Before Cloudflare, Zaid served as Head of Strategic Response Policy for North America at Meta, leading the team responsible for U.S. politics and elections, serving as policy lead for the 2020 U.S. Election, and writing the company's terrorist incident response playbook and crisis policy protocol. He coordinated Meta's response to high-profile international incidents, including the 2019 coup in Myanmar, the assassination of a senior Iranian general, and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Prior to joining the tech sector, Zaid served as Special Assistant to President Obama and Associate White House Counsel, advising senior Executive Branch officials on national security matters, congressional oversight, and regulatory compliance, and representing a witness before the Congressional Select Committee on Benghazi. He also served as Senior Attorney Advisor in the General Counsel's Office at USAID, working on sensitive issues including an alleged covert action program in Cuba and counter-terrorism vetting policy.

In private practice at WilmerHale, Zaid represented international financial institutions on cross-border investigations and regulatory matters before the DOJ, SEC, and FINRA, including FCPA-related due diligence. That work took him extensively to Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Singapore, advising a major international bank on multi-jurisdictional compliance matters. He also maintained an active pro bono practice, including representing a Guantanamo Bay detainee.

Before law school, Zaid served as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer during a pivotal period in modern U.S. foreign policy, serving in Baghdad as a liaison between the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraqi Governing Council, and later working with the U.S. military and Transitional Iraqi Government on the Transitional Administration Law. He also served at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, where he was Special Assistant to the Ambassador beginning weeks before September 11, 2001.

Zaid is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Truman National Security Project Fellow, and a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. He holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School, an M.A.L.D. from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and a B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

Alma Angotti is a recognized expert in financial crime compliance and economic sanctions with more than 30 years of experience in both regulatory enforcement and global consulting. Alma has held senior enforcement roles at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes

Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). She brings deep subject-matter expertise in regulatory compliance, including Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-money Laundering (“BSA/AML”), sanctions and counter-terrorist financing (“CFT”).

At FTI Consulting, Alma advises clients on compliance risk assessments, remediation strategies, enforcement preparedness and regulatory investigations. Her clients include global and mid-sized financial institutions; global fintech firms; digital assets and payments institutions; stablecoins and cryptocurrency platforms; broker-dealers; hedge funds; casinos; and multinational corporations.

Alma formerly led the UK and EU financial crime advisory team in London, for a large global consulting firm. She has also served as the interim Deputy CCO and Interim CCO for two major global payments companies.

Alma serves on the advisory boards of the Global Digital Asset and

Cryptocurrency Association and the Digital Dollar Project. At FinCEN and FINRA, she designed and led the AML enforcement programs and regularly trains regulators and government officials worldwide on AML and financial crime compliance matters. Additionally, she has been approved to be an independent compliance monitor by federal and state regulatory agencies, including FinCEN, the SEC, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) and the New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”).

Alma holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia and a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from West Virginia University.

Stacia serves on the Boards of Directors of LexisNexis Special Services and CoreCivic. She previously served on the boards of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and other nonprofit organizations.

She is a former Director of the U.S. Marshals Service, presidential appointee, and national security executive with more than 30 years of federal service and extensive leadership experience across government and private industry.

Appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she served as Director of the U.S. Marshals Service after previously serving as the U.S. Attorney General’s Federal Detention Trustee under President George W. Bush. Throughout her career, she held senior positions including Acting Deputy Director, Assistant Director of Judicial Security and Prisoner Operations, and Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal for the District of South Carolina. She also served for ten years in the U.S. Marshals Service Special Operations Group, leading complex investigative, protective, and emergency response operations.

During her tenure as Director, the U.S. Marshals Service apprehended more than 550,000 fugitives and sex offenders. She led major operational and technology transformations, managed multibillion-dollar programs, and oversaw critical national security and public safety operations.

Stacia was recently appointed Chief Operating Officer of The KACE Company, specializing in digital intelligence, forensics, cybersecurity, and national security mission support.

Her honors include the U.S. President’s Distinguished Service Award and the Attorney General’s Edmund J. Randolph Award for Distinguished Service. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Mr. Demers has nearly 30 years of experience in the US Intelligence and Law Enforcement communities across 4 different agencies: DOJ, FBI, Treasury and ODNI. He spent his career solving the nation's toughest national security challenges in highly dynamic threat environments through building programs and developing analytic and technological solutions.

He is Founder and CEO of Corvidae Global Consulting that provides decision advantage to C-Suite executives by translating decades of investigative rigor and analytic tradecraft into the tactical roadmap for organizations to proactive mitigation and targeted discovery of illicit networks.

David Niccolini is an entrepreneur and investor in the enterprise risk management space. With almost 30 years of professional experience, his work has spanned six continents, and his expertise is now sought after by multinational corporations, high-net-worth family offices, and senior executives from business, non-governmental organizations, and the U.S. government. Examples of his varied work include security and logistics at the 2016 Rio Games, fraud investigations around the Deepwater Horizon Fund, protection of a 2020 U.S. Presidential Primary campaign, and managing a complex stalking case facing a prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist. Mr. Niccolini’s companies have achieved Inc. 5000 (4x), Entrepreneur360™, and Best Security Solution by both Private Asset Management (2x) and Family Wealth Report. In recent years, David has become a passionate advocate to fight human trafficking around the globe through venture backed, for-profit models.

Karanai Ravenscroft is the Co-Founder and COO of Sovereign Bank International, a privately held international banking institution headquartered in the federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Her leadership philosophy favors measurable impact, ensuring every initiative aligns with purpose and fosters environments where innovation thrives and positive change is inevitable. Passionate about building meaningful connections and ventures that make a tangible difference, Karanai prioritizes contributions that leave a lasting imprint on individuals, communities, and industries.

Professional Journey and Resilience:

With over 15 years of experience working in the Caribbean region, Karanai has developed deep expertise in financial services, international banking, and regulatory framework, combining her early career roots in private equity and family offices, focusing on financial and regulation technology, along with machine learning applications, and future-forward initiatives.

She co-founded Sovereign Bank International in 2023, building on her extensive background in financial operations, strategy, and regional development to drive innovative solutions in global finance, wealth management, agile banking services, compliance-driven reg-tech platforms, and machine learning tools for AML/CFT/AP, risk assessment, and enterprise-wide risk insights.

Always seeking the root of real change, she embodies the belief that "scale begins with a single step, a single person, a single decision”; a principle that has enabled her to create lasting value on an international scale through strategic ventures and community-focused initiatives.

As a proud member of the Osage and Cherokee Nations, she is deeply committed to enriching tribal and indigenous communities through active support of economic development and education for First Nations and Developing Nations, harnessing the power of shared knowledge and opportunity to drive equitable progress.

Jeff Rittener served as the Chief Trade Officer and Vice President of the International Trade Group at Intel Corp. Over his distinguished 34-year career, he demonstrated exemplary leadership with global teams and strategically influenced the trade environment to drive business strategy, open new market opportunities, and ensure compliance. He is currently a member of the Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee (RPTAC) at the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security and serves on the Advisory Council of the Asia Society of Northern California. Additionally, he provides consultation, advice, and feedback on cross-border trade matters through Rittener Trade Services LLC and his bi-weekly podcast, RittenerReflections.com.

William “Chip” Usher is a highly experienced intelligence leader and strategic thinker with more than three decades of service in the U.S. intelligence community. He currently serves as Senior Director for Intelligence at the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), a Washington-based think tank focused on issues of national competitiveness, technology, and security.

Before joining SCSP, Chip spent 32 years at the Central Intelligence Agency, where he held senior analytic and leadership roles as a member of the Senior Intelligence Service and was awarded the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal. His career at the CIA included extensive work on geopolitical analysis, regional expertise in the Near East, East Asia and Eurasia, and on the transformation of intelligence tradecraft in an era of rapidly expanding data and digital technologies.

At SCSP, he advises on strategic intelligence issues, with particular focus on how emerging technologies like artificial intelligence are reshaping national security and the global intelligence landscape. He is frequently quoted in major media outlets and speaks publicly on topics including intelligence innovation, open-source data, and competitive national strategy.

Chip holds a B.A. from Duke University and a Master’s in National Security Strategy from the National War College, blending academic insight with deep operational experience.

Joe Zacks is a former Deputy Assistant Director for Counterterrorism at the Central Intelligence Agency. As a Directorate of Operations officer, he has been at the forefront of fighting the war against terrorism for over twenty years both at overseas postings and at CIA headquarters. Joe brings deep expertise on national security and provides strategic guidance on how global threats can shape the future.

Amongst his previous assignments, Joe was the CIA’s Chief of Operations at the Counterterrorism Mission Center where he was responsible for CIA’s worldwide counterterrorism operations, including its high-profile operations against al-Qaeda and ISIS. He has also been a Chief of Station at multiple CIA stations to include at a flagship warzone station in South Asia. Joe also led all of CIA’s training and educational programs as the Agency’s Chief Learning Officer. He has extensive leadership experience in counterterrorism and counterproliferation as well as regional expertise in the Middle East, South Asia and Africa.

Prior to joining the CIA, Joe served a full career in the U.S. Army as a combat arms officer. He was commissioned in the Field Artillery in 1983 and served in Korea and Germany during the twilight of the Cold War. Joe taught political science as an Assistant Professor at West Point’s Department of Social Sciences. He served in a senior intelligence role on the Joint Staff and was later the Army Attache at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India.

Joe Zacks is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and has a Master of Public Policy degree from Duke University. Among his many awards are the Army’s Legion of Merit and the CIA’s Distinguished Intelligence Medal and Director’s Medal. He is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Joe is National Security Contributor for CBS News and holds positions with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the Atlantic Council and the Cipher Brief. He has appeared on CBS, CNBC, BBC and Fox News.

Joe serves on the Advisory Board of Academy Securities, a veteran-owned and operated institutional investment bank. He is also the co-founder and Managing Director of Aardwolf Global Solutions, a boutique strategic intelligence and advisory firm with four practices: geopolitical/geoeconomic analysis; private intelligence; technology positioning; and, supply chain risk.

Tesari Practitioner Network (TPN)

Senior Fellows bring decades of hands-on investigative and intelligence experience to Tesari. Having spent their careers investigating, collecting, analyzing, tracing, and verifying complex information, they contribute the practitioner tradecraft and judgment that helped shape Tesari’s investigative roots.

Amy Barbieri is a fintech and artificial intelligence executive dedicated to advancing financial crime prevention and building technologies that make the world a safer place. She operates at the intersection of AI, regulatory intelligence, fraud prevention, and risk analytics, with a career focused on protecting institutions and individuals from financial exploitation.

She is an inventor on a U.S. patent in artificial intelligence, reflecting her commitment to developing scalable, defensible AI solutions that strengthen compliance frameworks and enhance detection capabilities in complex regulatory environments.

She previously served as President and Chief Growth Officer of Vital4, the world’s leading regulatory data provider, where she led global growth across AML, KYC, KYB, and due diligence solutions. She also served on Vital4’s Board, helping guide long-term strategy in the fight against financial crime. Under her leadership, the company expanded its role as a trusted intelligence partner to financial institutions, fintechs, and multinational enterprises navigating sanctions, corruption risk, human trafficking exposure, and other financial crime threats.

Earlier, she was the Go-To-Market leader for World Watch Plus, contributing to its strategic growth and successful acquisition by Dun & Bradstreet. Across both startup and enterprise environments, she has built a reputation for translating complex regulatory and AI capabilities into actionable solutions that protect businesses and communities.

A recognized thought leader in financial crime prevention, she is a sought-after speaker on artificial intelligence, fraud detection, sanctions compliance, and responsible AI governance. She was invited to speak at the Anti-Human Trafficking Summit, where Attorneys General from across the United States convene to collaborate on combating human trafficking — underscoring her commitment to leveraging financial technology as a force multiplier in the fight against exploitation.

She currently serves on the Board of Fintech Atlanta, supporting the growth of the regional fintech ecosystem, and is the Executive Program Director of Fintech for Good — an initiative focused on harnessing financial technology to expand transparency, prevent exploitation, and drive measurable social impact through responsible innovation

Brett Redman is an open-source intelligence (OSINT) SME with extensive experience supporting investigations into economic crime, sanctions evasion, and organized crime.

He works with Law Enforcement, financial institutions, and public sector organizations to apply OSINT tradecraft in real-world investigative environments, focusing on attribution, data fusion, and analyst led judgement.

Brett is a regular speaker and trainer on OSINT methodology, governance, and the responsible use of technology to enhance investigative outcomes.

Rich Sanders started crypto investigations in 2016 focusing on supporting law enforcement and the intelligence community in counterterrorism efforts. After this, he launched the first crypto investigations as a service company and ran it until 2023, when he went to volunteer in Ukraine.

Rich is the top contributor for Chainalysis and other blockchain analysis firms data submission vectors. Rich's focus is primarily on intelligence collection, and has served as the lead targeteer for an agency in the intelligence community that provides briefings to Five Eyes member countries and select intelligence community members, such as GUR. Rich's 2025 experience includes, as just some highlights, working on the shadow fleet, Grinex/Meer (where he was the first to identify and label Meer), Hamas, and numerous other high-level cases. Effectively, if it was in the headlines, Rich was probably involved -- and if it wasn't in the headlines, Rich was very likely involved.

Rich's focus on intelligence collection spans the virtual into the physical world, where he allocates a significant portion of his time to doing (and more importantly, teaching) physical collect, such as controlled buys and undercover operations. These methodologies have been critical to the national security of nations such as Poland and Moldova, which have used Rich's intelligence and methodologies to identify Russian hybrid operations in their jurisdictions.

When Rich isn't grinding the nth 12-16 hour day collecting wallets or briefing public sector on critical intelligence, he travels around the world to speak at conferences with the likes of RUSI, Interpol, and OSCE, having had become a sought-after expert for being a purely ideologically and non-financially motivated expert in a very unique and small niche.

Shereen specializes in investigating war crimes and uncovering the intersections between global business and criminal networks. With over 13 years at BBC News, she serves as a Senior Forensics Broadcast Journalist since October 2023 and is a co-founder of the BBC Arabic Forensics Unit.

Her expertise lies in breaking news verification and the strategic deployment of OSINT tools to identify and counter AI-generated disinformation within high-risk, fast-moving environments.

Earlier in her career, Shereen produced multi-platform content across TV, radio, and digital video, and hosted the acclaimed Arabic podcast, Myths (2019–2023). Her leadership roots date back to 2011, when she served as Editor-in-Chief at Be El Arabi Newspaper and Tahrier Ltd.

A Ford Foundation Fellowship recipient, Shereen is a regular contributor to the BBC World Service and a frequent commentator on major platforms regarding Egyptian foreign policy and the Gaza conflict. She holds a Master’s degree from the University of Sheffield.

Oleg Khomenok is a Chair of the Board of Regional Press Development Institute, expert at the International Fact-Checking Network, member of the Commission on Journalistic Ethics of Ukraine, has over 30 years of experience in investigative journalism, training, and managing investigative reporting projects across Eastern Europe and Eurasia.

He has eight years of experience working as a reporter investigating political campaigns and ethnic minority issues in Crimea. Oleg co-founded and managed SCOOP project in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia from 2003 to 2018. He is also co-founder of two Ukrainian members of GIJN: Crimean Center for Investigative Reporting and Regional Press Development Institute. From 2015 to 2019 he was deeply involved in establishing of n-vestigate, a cross-border network of investigative journalists in Eastern Europe. For the last 17 years Oleg has played key role in organizing annual Ukrainian Investigative Journalism Conference, a major regional event that brings together reporters from Westen media alongside colleagues from Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Central Asia, and MENA to exchange best practices, share lessons and launch collaborative projects.

As coordinator of the award-winning YanukovychLeaks.org, Oleg worked with a team of Ukrainian reporters who collected tens of thousands of financial documents from the former Ukrainian president, rescuing and publishing them online.

Oleg takes part in judging and preparatory bodies of Global Shining Light Award, European Press Prize, Honor of Profession, Best Ukrainian Investigative Reporting Award and other professional investigative journalism competitions.

Over the past two decades he has conducted more than a hundred training sessions on investigative journalism techniques and strategies for investigative reporters in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, and authored several investigative journalism text-books and manuals in Ukrainian, Russian, English and Kazakh languages.

Marc Schleifer has over 25 years of experience in the international development and nonprofit sectors, with expertise spanning anti-corruption and business integrity; democracy and good governance; entrepreneurship, economic empowerment and economic growth; policy reform and advocacy; and capacity building for civil society organizations, including business associations, chambers of commerce and think tanks. He has an extensive background in emerging and frontier markets, with a particular focus on Eastern and Central Europe, Eurasia and South Asia. His career has included strategic planning, operations, board and leadership development, program oversight, project management and implementation, team leadership, partnership building, business development, grant and award management, and external representation. He held a variety of roles on the program team and leading business development at the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), a nonprofit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and core institute of the National Endowment for Democracy. Schleifer earned his BA in Russian Language & Literature and the College of Letters at Wesleyan University and his MA in International Relations and International Development at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Brian is an award-winning investigative journalist, speaker, and thought leader with 25+ years of experience covering global financial crime, regulatory trends and evolving threat actor groups in print and online associations, including ACAMS, moneylaundering.com, ACFCS, Florida Today, the Miami Herald, and others.

Throughout his career, he has excelled at turning complex financial crime issues into compelling, accessible narratives that sharpen awareness and elevate frontline decision-making – helping compliance executives execute and getting boards on board.

He commands deep expertise creating high-impact multimedia content, moderating events, and driving public-private partnerships across compliance, law enforcement and regulatory sectors, training with federal agencies on investigative tips, tricks and best practices.

In short, he professionalized the editorial voice for the two largest associations training to fight financial crime – the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) and the Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists (ACFCS) – while coaching, teaching and guiding sales, marketing and social media on enterprise account strategies.

Milos Katic is a recognized investigator and open-source intelligence expert focused on dismantling organized crime and illicit financial networks.

He previously worked as an investigative journalist in the Digital Forensics Unit at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and at the Vojvodina Research and Analytical Center (VOICE), with a background in financial investigations and OSINT. His work in investigative journalism and financial forensics has earned him recognition, including an award from the U.S. Embassy and the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS). He is a member of the expert group of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC).