Student Employees

If you are a current or prospective student interested in a position at MonTREP, more information about becoming part of MonTREP can be found by clicking here.

Graduate Research Assistants

Travis Barstad (NPTS '13)

Teacher's Assistant and Course Development Researcher

Travis Barstad is a Marine and Army veteran who served at the American embassies in Turkey and Cyprus and the Consulate General in Jerusalem. He graduated from the University of Montana in 2009 as well as having studied Arabic in Egypt, Yemen, and Morocco. After graduation, Travis worked in Africa training host-country soldiers in Nigeria, Uganda, and Tanzania in order to prepare them for upcoming UN missions to Darfur and Mogadishu. In 2010, Travis began working for a company contracted to the U.S. Mission in Baghdad providing diplomatic security and serving as the Arabic translator for his clandestine team. Currently, Travis is working for General Howard and MonTREP as a teaching assistant for the Counterterrorism in Africa seminar, which he helped design. His area of focus is terrorism and counterterrorism in Africa and global jihadism. He is on track to graduate in May 2013 from the MANPTS program and plans to stay working in the private sector.

Brianna Fitch (NPTS '13)

Executive Assistant to the Director

Brianna is Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies candidate at MIIS, studying counterterrorism with the goal of working for the U.S. government.  She graduated from Wellesley College in December 2011 with a double major in Political Science and Religion.  She has held internships at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the White House, the U.S. Mission to the European Union, the U.S. Embassy to Belgium, and the U.S. Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as well as working at the Monterey Terrorism Research and Education Program, the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, and the Wellesley Centers for Women.  She grew up in Brussels, Belgium.

Lars Gjeraker (NPTS ´14)

Graduate Research Assistant

Lars is a Graduate Research Assistant at MonTREP, and a graduate student in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.  He holds a B.A. in Political Science from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He has previously lived in France, worked in Senegal, and is a veteran of the Norwegian armed forces. He is focusing his graduate work on terrorism in Africa and global jihadism. He grew up in Norway.

Cecilie Hahn-Petersen (NPTS '13)

Graduate Research Assistant

Cecilie is working as a Graduate Research Assistant at MonTREP and is a non-degree graduate student in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from University of Copenhagen, Denmark and is currently studying an M.A. in International Security and Law at Southern Denmark University. She is an Arabic Military Linguist, graduating from the Royal Danish Defense Academy in 2009 as a Danish Army Reserve Officer, 1st Lieutenant. She has previously worked in the Danish Parliament, the Danish Defense Intelligence Service, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Danish Prime Minister's Office. She has lived in Jordan, where she held an internship at the Royal Danish Embassy in Amman. Cecilie focuses her graduate work on the changing concept of international terrorism in the information age.

Patrick Stellmon (NPTS '13)

Graduate Research Assistant, Teacher's Assistant, & Course Development Researcher

Patrick is a Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies candidate at MIIS focusing on counterterrorism and the Arabic language. His ultimate goal is to work for the U.S. government in a counterterrorism capacity. Patrick graduated from the University of Idaho in December 2010 with a degree in History and a minor in International Studies. He interned at the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate in the spring of 2012 where his work focused primarily on counterterrorism financing and anti-money laundering as it relates to the charitable sector. He also spent time at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). Patrick is currently a Graduate Research Assistant at the Monterey Terrorism Research and Education Program where he co-constructed and acted as the teaching assistant with BG (ret) Russell Howard in a course titled Intelligence and Special Operations in Counterterrorism. He is now focusing on counterterrorism policy as it applies to the United States Government’s cyber-infrastructure. Patrick grew up in Lewiston, Idaho.

Morgan Taylor (NPTS '13)

Graduate Research Assistant and Course Development Researcher

Morgan is a fourth semester nonproliferation and terrorism studies student at the Monterey Institute of International Studies where she focuses her research on counterterrorism, extremist organizations, and terrorist financing. Her areas of expertise include Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. Morgan graduated from the University of Colorado in 2008 with a B.A. in International Affairs, focusing on the Middle East. She studied abroad at the University of Jordan in Amman, did language training in Sana’a, Yemen, and worked in Alexandria, Egypt. Morgan also speaks Arabic and Spanish. Morgan is from Colorado and worked as a legal assistant at a Denver litigation and insurance defense firm before continuing her studies at MIIS.

Former Student Employees

Cleo Haynal (NPTS '13)

Nexus Conference Researcher and Group Leader

Cleo is a Graduate Research Assistant at MonTREP, a research consultant at Howard’s Global Solutions, and a graduate student in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Previously, she worked in public relations and marketing for enterprise software companies in the Silicone Valley. Having grown up in Switzerland, she is fluent in French and comfortable in German. She reads and writes Arabic and spent many years studying European classical languages and philosophies. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from U.C. Berkeley.

Nathan Poffenberger (NPTS '13)

Nexus Conference Researcher and Presenter

A devout student of counterterrorism, Nathan’s areas of interest lie in South and Southeast Asia, where he was raised. His studies have included governmental missteps during the Nepalese Civil War, the underground economy of West Africa and forecasting radicalization trends in Indonesia. A graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Nathan has spent significant time studying Spanish and Bahasa Indonesia. When he isn’t chained to a desk, Nate feels most at home on the beach, under the water, or lost in the woods.

Molly Sherlock (NPTS '13)

Nexus Conference Researcher

Molly Sherlock is a graduate research assistant at the Monterey Terrorism Research and Education Program (MonTREP), a research consultant at Howard's Global Solutions, and a graduate candidate for a Masters of Arts Degree in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, a Graduate School of Middlebury College. She has just finished an internship with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) in New York, NY. Molly is focusing her graduate work on counterterrorism studies, and anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing issues. Studies are mainly in Africa, South and Central Asia, and the Middle East. She is originally from Helena, Montana and graduated with Bachelor Degrees from the University of Montana in Geography and Central and Southwest Asian Studies.

Lauren Silver (NPTS ’13)

Nexus Conference Researcher and Presenter, Teacher's Assistant

Lauren is a Graduate Research Assistant at MonTREP, as well as a  Graduate Assistant to General Russell D. Howard, and a third semester Master's Candidate for 2013 in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies at  MIIS. She is focusing her studies on Counterterrorism and Terrorist Organizations in the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia,  with special attention to Anti-Money Laundering and Counterterrorism Financing. Previous to beginning her graduate studies in Monterey, Lauren worked as an Administrative Assistant to a Haute Couture Fashion Website Designer, as well is in the Professional Theater Industry as a Choreographer in Los Angeles . She also has professional and internship experience doing research for an elected member of the Beverly Hills School Board and with Jericho Publishing. She graduated Valedictorian with a Bachelor's in Political Science with a focus on Globalization and Development and International Security from American Jewish University and was nominated by University Faculty and Board to be the Commencement Speaker for her graduating class. She reads, writes, and speaks Arabic and Hebrew and has also studied French and hopes after graduation to work in International Security, Anti-Money Laundering and Counterterrorism Financing.

Alexander Wells (NPTS '13)

Nexus Conference Researcher and Presenter

Alexander Wells is a Research Assistant at MonTREP, and an intern at the UNODC's Global Programme against Money Laundering, Proceeds of Crime and Terrorism Financing (GPML) in Vienna. Alexander recently served on the Working Group on Terrorism Financing at the U.N. Counter Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), and has also worked at Human Rights Watch's MENA HQ in Beirut, and the Rendon Group. Alexander will complete his MIIS M.A. in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies in May 2013, and earned a B.A. in Political Communication from the George Washington University in 2010.