Our Staff & Fellows

Brigadier General Stephen A. Cheney, USMC (Ret.)

Chief Executive Officer Expertise: Military and Defense Issues, National Security Strategy BGen Stephen Cheney, USMC (Ret) is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Security Project (ASP). He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and has over 30 years experience as a Marine.  His career included a wide variety of command and staff positions with the operating forces and the supporting establishment.  Gen. Cheney’s primary specialty... More

Andrew Holland

Chief Operating Officer Expertise: Energy, Climate Change, and Infrastructure Policy Andrew Holland is the American Security Project’s Chief Operating Officer. His area of research is on on energy, climate change, trade, and infrastructure policy. For more than 15 years, he has worked at the center of debates about how to achieve sustainable energy security and how to effectively address climate change. He served as Legislative Assistant on Ene... More

Matthew Wallin

Fellow for Public Diplomacy Office Manager Expertise:  Public diplomacy, military history, national security policy, nuclear security, international conflict A Los Angeles native, Matthew completed his Masters in Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California in 2010. While at USC, his studies focused on the public diplomacy implications of military conflict, and viral communication by non-state actors. Prior to that, he received his B.A.... More

Esther Babson

Program Manager, Climate Security Expertise: Climate Change, Security Studies, South Asia, Arctic Security and Renewable Energy Esther Babson is the Program Manager of Climate Security at the American Security Project. She has a Masters in Global Security Studies from Johns Hopkins University with a focus on the impact of climate change on security in South Asia. As part of her studies, she participated in a three week long course held in Nepal, ... More

William Lucier

Nuclear Security Intern Expertise: Nuclear Policy, US-DPRK Relations, Arms Control William Lucier graduated from Fordham University last May with a BA in International Studies. Last fall William wrote his senior thesis on North Korea. He argued that the North Korean regime is rational when viewed through the lens of realism; as its nuclear and ballistic missile programs bellicose threats and limited economic reforms aim to maximize its own security i... More

Rachel Hagen

Climate and Energy Security Intern Expertise: Climate Change, Sustainability, Environmental Ethics, Ecofeminism, Alternative Energy Rachel Hagen is an undergraduate senior at Southern New Hampshire University studying Environmental Science with a concentration in Compliance and Sustainability. Prior to joining ASP, Rachel participated in an intensive 2-week research expedition to Honduras sponsored by her university. There, Rachel participated in ong... More

Gabriela Iveliz Rosa-Hernández

US-Russia Relations Intern Expertise: Russia, Eastern Europe, The Caucasus, The Baltic States, Russian History, Russian Mentality A native of Puerto Rico, Gabriela Iveliz Rosa-Hernández is a student at the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras Campus majoring in Sociology. She is passionate about how native Russians and ethnic Russian populations in Post-Soviet spaces perceive Russia’s role the international order.  Gabriela’s interests also in... More

Connor J Wagner

National Security Strategy Intern Expertise: Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia. Connor Wagner is currently a political science major and history minor at Monmouth University in Long Branch NJ. Prior to working at ASP, Connor was a geographic information system (GIS) specialist at the Monmouth Polling Institute (A+ rated by 538), and US Sailing Instructor at the prestigious 900-member Bay Head Yacht Club in N.J. Connor is currently a member of tw... More