Staff

  • Matt Kriner is the Managing Director of the Accelerationism Research Consortium (ARC), as well as the Director of Strategy, Partnerships and Intelligence at Middlebury University's Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism (CTEC). In these capacities Matt specializes in researching and analyzing militant accelerationism, US domestic violent extremism, transnational far-right extremism, extremist exploitation of digital and social media technologies, threat assessment and radicalization. Matt is a consultant for the US Department of State, and regularly briefs US, Canadian, New Zealand, and UK law enforcement and intelligence agencies on emerging terrorist threats and militant accelerationism. Matt’s research has been featured in several academic and media publications, including the CTC Sentinel, Perspectives on Terrorism, RAND Blog, GNET, and Slate.

  • Dr. Amy Cooter is the Director of Research, Academic Development, and Innovation (RADI) at CTEC who focuses on antigovernment extremism. She has studied a range of groups who use a nostalgic understanding of the past to justify their actions. Her primary expertise is on U.S. domestic militias, and groups of armed individuals who see it as their civic duty to uphold the Constitution the way they believe it should be interpreted.

  • Erica Barbarossa is the Senior Research Lead for the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism. Prior to this position, Erica worked as a Graduate Research Assistant for CTEC’s online extremism project, which led to her interest in online extremism and radicalization. Other interests include accelerationism, right-wing terrorism, and Russian area studies. Before her involvement with the Middlebury Institute, Erica served as a William J. Fulbright English Teaching Assistant finalist in the Russian Federation. Erica has master’s degrees in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies from the Middlebury Institute and in International Relations – Global Security, Nuclear Politics, and WMD Proliferation from Moscow State Institute of International Studies (MGIMO). She received her bachelor’s in Russian and Slavic Studies from New York University.

  • Isabela Bernardo is a Senior Research Analyst for the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism. Isabela has previously worked as a Graduate Research Assistant for CTEC’s online extremism project, which furthered her interest in exploring the multifaceted nature of online extremist content, particularly on social media platforms. Additional research interests include accelerationism, far-right conspiratorial narratives, and the evolution of online extremist propaganda, recruitment, and mobilization. She holds a Master’s degree in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies and a Bachelor’s degree in International Policy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

Board of Advisors

  • Amarnath Amarasingam is an Assistant Professor in the School of Religion, and is cross-appointed to the Department of Political Studies, at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. He is also a Senior Fellow with the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation. His research interests are in terrorism, radicalization and extremism, online communities, diaspora politics, post-war reconstruction, and the sociology of religion. He is the author of Pain, Pride, and Politics: Sri Lankan Tamil Activism in Canada (2015), and co-editor of Stress tested: The COVID-19 Pandemic and Canadian National Security (2021) and Sri Lanka: The Struggle for Peace in the Aftermath of War (2016). He has also published over 40 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, has presented papers at over 100 national and international conferences, and has written for The New York Times, The Monkey Case, The Washington Post, CNN, Politico, The Atlantic, and Foreign Affairs. He has been interviewed on CNN, PBS Newshour, CBC, BBC, and a variety of other media outlets.

  • Meghan is the US Research Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab). Previously, she was an Investigator with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol.

    Her research and insights can be found in The Atlantic, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, VOX-Pol, G-NET, Fair Observer, and Inkstick Media, among others.

  • Maura Conway is Paddy Moriarty Professor of Government and International Studies in the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University (DCU), Professor of Cyber Threats at Swansea University's CYTREC, and the Coordinator of the VOX-Pol research network.

  • Brian Hughes is the co-founder and Associate Director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University, and he is a Research Assistant Professor in the AU School of Public Affairs’ program of Justice, Law, and Criminology. His scholarly work explores the impact of communication technology on political and religious extremism, terrorism and fringe cultures. His writing has appeared in the Journal of Terrorism and Political Violence, Boundary 2, the CTC Sentinel at West Point, the International Journal of Communication, CNN, and Lawfare.

  • Seamus Hughes is the Deputy Director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. He is a former congressional staffer and intelligence policy officer.

  • Bjørn Ihler is an internationally renowned expert in countering and preventing radicalization into violent extremism through the design of healthier communities on and off-line. Ihler is also a member of the group Extremely Together working under the Kofi Annan Foundation to empower youth internationally to challenge violent extremism in their local communities and work against radicalisation across the globe. His most recent appointment as of July 2020 is as Chairperson of the Independent Advisory Committee of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism. Through his international work, Ihler has among others worked with and advised both local organizations, national governments and international institutions such as the EU, OSCE and the UN to develop strategies to more effectively prevent radicalisation into violent extremism that may lead to terrorism, and build more peaceful communities.

  • Sam Jackson is an assistant professor in the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany; he is also a Research Fellow at the VOX-Pol Network of Excellence based in Dublin City University. His research focuses on antigovernment extremism in the U.S., conspiracy theories, extremism online, and contentious activity on the internet more broadly. His book, Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group, was published by Columbia University Press in 2020.

  • Ashton Kingdon is a lecturer in criminology as the University of Southampton and head of the Technology Research Unit at the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right. Her research is interdisciplinary combining criminology, history, and computer science to explore the ways in which technology and imagery act as accelerators of radicalisation. Additionally her research analyses the relationship existing between terrorism and climate change.

  • Jon Lewis is a Research Fellow at the Program on Extremism, where he studies homegrown violent extremism and domestic violent extremism, with a specialization in the evolution of white supremacist and anti-government movements in the United States and federal responses to the threat. He is an Investigator with the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE), and provides assistance for The ISIS Files Project as well as the Program's partnership with the Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET). Jon also provides policy support for PoE's partners in the Congressional Counter-Terrorism Caucus, the leading bipartisan voice in Congress for pragmatic approaches to tackling extremism and radicalization. His research and insights have been featured in numerous academic and popular publications, including the The Washington Post, The Guardian, CTC Sentinel, Wired, Vice News, GNET, and Lawfare.

    Before joining the Program on Extremism, he worked as a research assistant at the International Institute for Counterterrorism (ICT) and the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point (CTC). Jon Lewis holds a Master’s in Homeland Security Policy from Rider University.

  • Gina Ligon is the director of the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center, a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence based at the University of Nebraska Omaha. She received her Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and Minor in Quantitative Psychology from the University of Oklahoma. Prior to joining University of Nebraska Omaha, she was a full time faculty member at Villanova University in the Graduate Programs in Human Resource Development. She also worked as a Director of Performance Consulting at St. Louis-based Psychological Associates. Her research program focuses on the identification and development of high level talent; she has specific expertise in innovation and leadership, and has published over 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on these subjects. Organizational structures and leadership in non-normative organizations (e.g., violent ideological) are also of interest to her.

  • Michael Loadenthal, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Center for Cyber Strategy and Policy, within the School of Public and International Affairs, at the University of Cincinnati. He concurrently serves as the founder and Executive Director of the Prosecution Project which tracks felony cases of political violence occurring in the United States. Dr. Loadenthal has been investigating the far-right for the past twenty years, and often trains researchers, journalists, and high risk activists in the areas of digital-operational security, methods of surveillance and infiltration, open source intelligence techniques, threat modeling, and risk analysis. Dr. Loadenthal is a noted subject matter expert and author reporting on social movements, and his work is frequently featured by media outlets including The Guardian, The Washington Post, Al Jazeera, The Intercept, and USA Today.

  • Graham Macklin is Assistant Professor and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX) at the University of Oslo, Norway. He has published extensively on far-right politics, transnational networks, and violence and terrorism in the United Kingdom and the United States in both the inter-war and post-war periods. He co-edits the academic journal "Patterns of Prejudice" and the book series Routledge Studies in Fascism and the Far Right.

  • Mary B. McCord is the Executive Director of Georgetown Law's Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection and a Visiting Professor of Law. She is a former Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the U.S. Department of Justice and long-time federal prosecutor. McCord has written and spoken extensively on domestic terrorism and political violence, and has litigated successfully against unlawful private militia organizations.

  • Vidhya Ramalingam is Founder of Moonshot, an organization that uses technology to disrupt and counter online harms globally. She directs overall strategy and oversees campaigns, software development, and digital projects in over 25 countries. Vidhya is recognized internationally for her role leading policy responses to white supremacist extremism and terrorism. Following the 2011 attacks in Norway, she led the European Union’s first inter-governmental initiative on white nationalist terrorism and extremism, initiated by the Governments of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands, and launched by the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs. She has testified before the U.S. Congress on the global threat posed by white nationalist terrorism. Vidhya also serves on the Board of Life After Hate.

  • Dr. Erin Saltman is the Director of Programming at the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT). She was formerly Facebook’s Head of Counterterrorism and Dangerous Organizations Policy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa; working with multi-sector stakeholders and building out CVE programs for Facebook in partnership with international NGOs. Dr Saltman’s background and expertise includes both far-right and Islamist extremist processes of radicalization within a range of regional and socio-political contexts. Her research and publications have focused on the evolving nature of online extremism and terrorism, gender dynamics within violent extremist organizations and youth radicalization. Previous roles include Senior Research and Programs positions at Quilliam Foundation and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD Global), where she remains a Research Fellow.

    Dr. Saltman is a graduate of Columbia University (BA) and University College London (MA and PhD).

Research Fellows

  • Marc-André Argentino is a Research Fellow at ICSR and PhD candidate in the Individualized Program at Concordia University and he is being supervised by professors in the department of Theological Studies, the Centre for Engineering in Society and the Institute of Information System Engineering. His research uses digital ethnography and data science to examines how extremist groups leverage technology to create propaganda, recruit members to ideological causes, inspire acts of violence and impact democratic institutions.

  • Benjamin Lee is a senior research associate at the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV) at the University of St Andrews in the UK. He has published widely both in peer reviewed journals and through the Centre for Research & Evidence on Security Threats (CREST). Benjamin's research focuses on the extreme-right in the UK and transnationally.

  • Logan Macnair (PhD) is a research associate at Simon Fraser University’s International CyberCrime Research Centre whose research is primarily focused around the online media, communication strategies, and propaganda campaigns of terrorist and extremist organizations. His research has examined the online media of extremist organizations from a diversity of ideologies including Islamist extremism, right-wing extremism, and gender-based extremism. During his time as a PhD student, Logan has also been involved in the creation and implementation of a local counter-extremist initiative and has worked as a contract researcher for a private security company.

  • Iris Malone is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at George Washington University, lead investigator on the Mapping Militants Project, and a Research Affiliate with the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center of Excellence.

  • Meili Criezis is a Graduate Fellow at the Polarization and Extremism Research Innovation Lab (PERIL), a PhD student at American University in Justice, Law, and Criminology, and a Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET) Contributor. Her research focuses on Islamic State propaganda, extremists’ presence on encrypted apps, and more generally, violent extremism across ideologies.

  • Chelsea Daymon is pursuing a PhD in Justice, Law & Criminology in the School of Public Affairs at American University. She is a contributor to the Global Network on Extremism & Technology, a Research Fellow at the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University, and the Executive Producer of The Loopcast, a podcast on national security and information security. Her research interests include extremism across ideologies, extremist groups’ use of online platforms, online content and propaganda, online communication innovation, foreign fighters, and radicalization. She holds an MA in Near and Middle Eastern Studies from University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and a BA and honorary MA in Oriental Studies from Cambridge University, UK.

  • Joshua Farrell-Molloy is a Research Fellow with the Accelerationism Research Consortium. He holds an MA in Security, Intelligence and Strategic Studies from the University of Glasgow and his research focuses on the far-right, online extremist subcultures and foreign fighters. Before becoming a fellow at ARC, Joshua was an intern with the Institute of Strategic Dialogue and the International Centre for Counter Terrorism. He was also a Research Assistant with American University, Washington and Charles University, Prague.

  • Julia Kupper is a Forensic & Tactical Linguist and Independent Researcher based in Los Angeles, California. As a consultant, she collaborates with law enforcement agencies and threat assessment teams, supporting inquiries by scientifically analyzing language evidence in a criminal context or as raw intelligence in a threat mitigation environment. As a scholar, she studies targeted violence and terrorism communications to enhance the mitigation of different types of violent threats. Her work has been featured in Perspectives on Terrorism, the Journal of Threat Assessment and Management and the FBI’s online magazine Law Enforcement Bulletin.

  • Samantha Kutner received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Master’s degree in Communication Studies from the University of Nevada, Reno. She studies violent extremism and the gender dynamics of radicalization. Her research has been published in the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism Studies in the Hague and Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. As a public academic, Samantha has provided ethical responsible coverage of extremism for Rolling Stone, Truth or Fiction, Miami New Times, The Daily Beast, Business Insider, CNN, Buzzfeed and Nation of Change. As an independent consultant, Samantha provides training presentations and threat assessment services informed by her ethnographic research with Proud Boys and Antifascists.

  • Robin O’Luanaigh is a DC-based researcher interested in the intersection of disinformation, conspiracy theories, and extremism. She is especially interested in less moderated online platforms frequented by younger users. She holds a Master’s in Security Studies from Georgetown University and attended undergrad at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

  • Abbie Richards is a TikToker and TikTok disinformation researcher. She specializes in understanding how misinformation, conspiracy theories, and extremism spread on TikTok and creates educational content which explains these complex issues to a wider audience. She's amassed a multi-platform following of over half a million people who are interested in learning about these issues.

    Abbie is currently pursuing her MSc. where she studies the intersection of climate change and disinformation and she is a co-founder of EcoTok, an environmental Tiktok collective that specializes in social media-based climate communication.

  • H. E. Upchurch is a open-source investigator specializing in social network mapping and geospatial investigations. Her research focuses on the intersection between neofascism and Western esotericism.

Journalism Fellows

  • Mack Lamoureux is a senior reporter for VICE World News who covers extremism, alongside fringe groups and conspiracies. He was the first journalist in Canada to report on the domestic presence of far-right groups like Atomwaffen, The Base, Soldiers of Odin and the Three Percent. Recently, he has been focused on the new wave of accelerationist terror groups, largely in the U.S. and Europe.