Mentors

Dr. Natasha Bajema has built a 20-year career in national security with a specialized focus on reducing the risks of nuclear weapons, biological weapons, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. Natasha is the CEO and Founder, Nuclear Spin Cycle, LLC, an innovative startup which produces creative content with national security impact. She is also currently a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic Risks and an NSquare Fellow. From 2008 to 2019, Natasha spent more than ten years at the National Defense University where she taught an elective course on weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that examines the development of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons through documentaries, TV, and film. At NDU, she also led a multi-year initiative exploring the impact of emerging technologies on WMD. From 2010 to 2013, Natasha held a long-term detail assignment serving in various capacities in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Acquisitions, Technology and Logistics, Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs and in Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation at Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. Natasha has also completed stints at the Center on International Cooperation at New York University and the Weapons of Mass Destruction Branch of the Office for Disarmament Affairs at the United Nations. Natasha is the author of three published science fiction mystery novels in the Lara Kingsley Series and the host of the Authors of Mass Destruction podcast. She holds an M.A. in international policy from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and a Ph.D. in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Kelsey Davenport is the Director for Nonproliferation Policy at the Arms Control Association, where she focuses on the nuclear and missile programs in Iran, North Korea, India, and Pakistan and on international efforts to prevent proliferation and nuclear terrorism. She also reports on developments in these areas for Arms Control Today and runs the Arms Control Association’s project assessing the effectiveness of multilateral voluntary initiatives that contribute to nonproliferation efforts.She is the lead author of the P4+1 and Iran Nuclear Deal Alert newsletter, which assesses developments related to the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, and the North Korea Denuclearization Digest, which tracks efforts to negotiate with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program. Kelsey is also the co-author of a series of seven reports assessing the impact of the Nuclear Security Summits on efforts to prevent nuclear terrorism. Kelsey joined the Arms Control Association in August 2011 as a Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellow.Kelsey has been quoted in numerous publications, including the Washington Post, The New York Times, Foreign Policy, Newsweek, Reuters, Christian Science Monitor, Vox, and The Guardian and has provided commentary on NPR, CBC, CNN, ABC, MSNBC, Fox News, al-Jazeera, and C-Span. She has published opeds in various outlets, including TIME, Reuters, CNN, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and Defense One.Kelsey is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the advisory committee for the National Committee on North Korea. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship.Prior to joining the Arms Control Association, Kelsey worked a think tank in Jerusalem researching Middle East security issues. She holds a masters degree in peace studies from the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame and a bachelor of arts summa cum laude in international studies and political science from Butler University.

Thomas is a researcher, professor and writer. He is currently working at Texas State University. Thomas has written multiple books which explore ethics and safety in the Nuclear field. His contributions include lesson plans and discussion prompts.

Dr. Tara Drozdenko is the director for the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists working on the federal-level policy changes and commitment to diplomacy, so the United States is a leader in reducing the nuclear threat. She earned a Ph.D. in plasma physics and has worked for the U.S. Navy on issues related to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) and for the U.S. State Department on Nonproliferation and Arms Control issues.

Nuclear Weapons and Popular CulturePhD Candidate Newcastle University, UK

Anne is an Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Cardiff University in Wales, UK. Since earning her PhD from the University of Chicago in 2010, she has held academic fellowships at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Relations at Monterey, and the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zürich. In 2013-2014, she worked for the US Congress as an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow, first as a National Security Fellow in the office of Senator Kirstin Gillibrand (D-NY) and then at the Congressional Research Service. Her research interests, located at the nexus of international relations and science and technology studies, include nuclear deterrence, disarmament and nonproliferation, cybersecurity, the evolution of military strategy and tactics, and women in combat. Learn more about Anne by watching her introduction video: https://youtu.be/DblWo1ywa7E

Kate Hewitt is a public affairs specialist with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Her portfolio includes national security infrastructure, acquisitions, safety, operations, and project management. Prior to joining NNSA, she was a security and strategy Research Assistant and Herbert Scoville Peace Fellow with the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. Kate was a Nuclear Security Innovation Fellow and is the co-founder of a nuclear Highly NRiched, a first-of-its-kind education start-up on nuclear issues. She is an early career board adviser for Girl Security. Kate has published extensively on nuclear weapons topics including: sanctions, Iran, and North Korea; and the importance of breaking barriers for women in STEM and national security. She is the recipient of the Leonard M. Rieser award for her work with Erin Connolly to teach fundamentals of nuclear history and policy in high schools nationally. She previously served as a volunteer in Peace Corps Moldova. Kate holds an M.A. in Global Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a Farsi Foreign Language Fellow focused on nuclear weapons proliferation theory, and a B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy from Gonzaga University.

Doreen Horschig is an associate fellow with the Project on Nuclear Issues at the Center for the Strategic and International Studies (CSIS PONI). She is also a non-resident research associate at the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Previously, Doreen was a nuclear security policy fellow at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Stanton nuclear security fellow at MIT. Her research is twofold and examines nuclear norms contestation and counterproliferation. Doreen holds a PhD in security studies from UCF, a MA in international relations from New York University, and a BA in international studies from Manhattan College.