June 9, 2019
The International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE) held its 15th Annual Conference at St. John’s University Queens, New York Conference from June 9-12, 2019. The conference, whose theme was “Local to Global: Intelligence Cooperation and Education,” brought together scholars and practitioners from academia, the private sector, and all levels of government from across the United States, Europe, and Australia and gave them an opportunity for networking and sharing their research.
In keeping with the conference theme, keynote speakers came from all-levels of government including: John J. Miller, NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence & Counterterrorism; James A. Gagliano, Federal Bureau of Investigation Supervisory Special Agent (Ret), CNN Law Enforcement Analyst & St. John’s Alum; Patrick J. Ryder, Commissioner of the Nassau County Police Department; Dr. Shelagh Dorn, President of International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts (IALEIA); Dr. J. Scott Cameron, President, National Intelligence University, & Dr. Barry A. Zulauf, Director of Analytic Integrity and Standards, Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The conference also included approximately 60 presentations across nearly panels and building on a tradition started at the 2017 IAFIA conference, a poster session where students were given the opportunity to present their research.
St. John’s University faculty and students were well represented at the conference. Dr. Bernard Jones co-presented a paper with Doctor of Professional Studies (DPS) student Rosemary Hartofilis titled “Utilizing Community-Based Intelligence to Increase Resilience in Vulnerable Populations at a National Level.” Prof. Christopher Cleary served as Vice-Event Chair, presented a paper title, “Intelligence in Support of Anti-Terrorism Strategies in New York,” and chaired a panel titled “Adaptation of intelligence education to better serve stakeholders at all levels of government, academia, and the private sector.” DPS student Kyle W. McDonnell presented his paper “Considerations & Implications of Utilizing Social Media as Intelligence,” and Chair a panel on “Adaptation of intelligence education to better serve stakeholders at all levels of government, academia, and the private sector.” Dr. Robert Gonzalez chaired a panel titled, “Initiatives to strengthen the identity and legitimacy of intelligence studies as a recognized academic discipline on a global scale.” Dr. Brian Harte chaired the student paper panel where St. John’s undergraduate student Milana Petras presented her paper titled “Radical Extremist Recruitment Strategies: Special Topics in Homeland Security and Intelligence Curricular Design,” and undergraduate student Jack Lincoln present his paper titled, “An Examination of the Methods and Prioritization of Intelligence Collection by select Non-State Actors.”
The last day of the conference included the annual IAFIE awards ceremony where Amir Fleischman, Founder and Managing Director of Cicom Global was honored as the 2019 IAFIE Instructor of the Year. Awards for the conference’s student poster session were also handed out and saw Justin Bean of the University of Pennsylvania taking first prize; Milana Petras and Jack Lincoln, both of St. John’s University in a tie for second place and Cassidy West of the University of Mississippi taking third place. Bridget Nolan of the University of Texas at El Paso won the 2019 IAFIE Essay Competition in the Professional category for her paper titled ““The Social Construction of Intelligence Analysts.” Though not in attendance, it was announced that Larry D. Powers of the University of Texas at El Paso won the Postgraduate category with his paper titled, “Intelligence Failure: The Acceleration of North Korea’s Nuclear Program” and Lizzie Damiano of Edith Cowan University paper “Aldrich Ames: A Case Study into Personal & Organisational Motivations Behind Espionage” won in the undergraduate category.
Following the conference on June 13, IAFIE members were given a special presentation and access to the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum in lower Manhattan. Following the tour the members met for lunch at historic Fraunces Tavern. The tavern played an important in colonial era New York including the location where George Washington bid them farewell to his officers. Among those officers was Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, Washington’s intelligence officer who was responsible for the Culper Spy Ring.