Dr Hillary Briffa
Communications Manager, Strife
Dr Hillary Briffa is a Lecturer in Defence Studies at King’s College London, working primarily with the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom (the Royal College of Defence Studies and the Joint Services Command and Staff College). She is a founding member of the Centre for Grand Strategy at King’s College London, where she read for her Ph.D in War Studies. Previously, she taught at University College London, Birkbeck University of London, and Queen Mary University of London.
Beyond academia, she served as Youth Ambassador for Malta to the OSCE for three years, and worked at the Malta High Commission to the UK throughout Malta’s tenure as Commonwealth Chair-in-Office. After running peace-building projects in Eastern and Central Europe, in 2015 she was appointed an Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society, and in 2016 became a recipient of the U.S. State Department’s inaugural Emerging Young Leaders award.
As of August 2020, she is currently one of the inaugural non-resident Hans J. Morgenthau Fellows at The Notre Dame International Security Center, studying grand strategy in its larger conceptual and historical context. You can follow her on Twitter @h1llz
Bryan Strawser
Web Manager, Strife
Bryan is an MA candidate in International Relations and Contemporary War in the Department of War Studies, King’s College, London. He holds appointments as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at Auburn University and as an Associate Member at the Forum for Private Security Research at the Department of Defence Studies at King’s College. In 2019, he was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He was previously a Humphrey Policy Fellow at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. In 2020, Bryan was elected to the Academic Board of King’s College, London as the postgraduate taught representative for the Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy.
In his professional life, Bryan is Principal & Chief Executive of Bryghtpath LLC, a crisis management and business continuity consultancy.
His research interests center on the intersection between intelligence operations and disinformation campaigns that aim to amplify discord and influence elections through electronic means, such as social media – and collaboration between the public and private sectors related to cybersecurity and national/homeland security issues, particularly in the use of intelligence, the rise of private security involvement in public conflicts, and coordination in national-scale disruptions.
Bryan holds a BA in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Phoenix and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. He is a graduate of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative Executive Program (NPLI) at Harvard University’s JFK School of Government. You can follow him on Twitter @bryanstrawser.
Isabela Betoret Garcia
Social Media & Outreach Coordinator, Strife
Isabela is a first-year part-time Terrorism, Security, and Society MA. She graduated from King’s College London in 2020 with a BA in War Studies and History, and she is also a graduate of King’s Foundations. After writing her dissertation on the Charlottesville ‘Unite the Right Rally’ she became fascinated by the topic of radicalisation and the alt-right. She knits in her spare time.
Isabela originally joined Strife during her second year as a BA representative and then moved on to manage social media before being handed control over our newest outreach programmes, including the Women In Writing Mentoring Scheme.
You can follow her on Twitter @isa_betoret
Matthew Ader
Social Media Officer, Strife
Matthew is a third-year student doing War Studies. He has worked as an intern in a number of security consultancy firms. His academic interests gravitate loosely towards understanding challenges and opportunities for Anglo-American strategy in the 21st century (and also being snide about Captain America’s command ability). He is also an editor for Roar News, and has written for a number of security publications – most especially Wavell Room. You can follow him on Twitter: @AderMatthew.