Panelist Biographies
Mr. Brendan Dowling, Minister Counsellor (Home Affairs), Regional Director, Americas
Brendan is the senior representative for Australia’s Department of Home Affairs in the Americas Region. The department brings together Australia’s national security, cyber security, federal law enforcement policy, criminal justice, emergency management, and immigration, refugee and border functions. From Australia’s embassy in Washington DC, Brendan leads the Department’s international engagement across North, Central and South America with staff located in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, and the United States.
Prior to arriving in the US, Brendan was the Assistant Secretary for the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa in the Department of Home Affairs’ International Division. In that role, he led the department’s engagement with partner governments across those regions, as well as with the United Nations and other multilateral institutions.
Previously, Brendan was posted to Amman, Jordan, managing the Department’s largest humanitarian mission and relations with governments across the Levant. He has also served as a Director of policy for skilled migration, leading major reform to Australia’s economic migration programs.
Brendan holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in political science and literature from the University of Melbourne, and a Master of Public Policy (Economic Policy) from the Australian National University.
The Honorable Sue Gordon, Former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence
Susan M. (Sue) Gordon was the fifth Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence (PDDNI) at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) from August 2017 to August 2019. With more than three decades of experience in the IC, Sue has served in a variety of leadership roles spanning numerous intelligence organizations and disciplines.\
As PDDNI, Sue was a key advisor to the President and National Security Council and led the 17-member Intelligence Community. In this role she managed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and focused on advancing intelligence integration across the Intelligence Community.
From 2015-2017, she was Deputy Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) where she drove NGA’s transformation to meet the challenges of a 21st century intelligence agency.
Before joining the NGA, she served for 27 years at the Central Intelligence Agency, rising to senior executive positions in each of the Agency’s four directorates: operations, analysis, science and technology, and support. In 1998, she designed and drove the formation of In-Q-Tel, a private, non-profit company whose primary purpose is to deliver innovative technology solutions for the agency and the IC.
She is the recipient of numerous government and industry awards, including the Distinguished Intelligence Medal and the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award. Sue earned a Bachelor of Science from Duke University. A trusted authority on strategy, innovation and leadership, Sue is currently a consultant on global risk, technology, cyber and space issues and a member of the Board at Pallas Advisors, a Washington D.C.-based consultancy.
Mr. Scott Jones, Head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security
Scott is the Head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. The Cyber Centre is the single unified source of expert advice, guidance, services and support on cyber security for government, critical infrastructure owners and operations, the private sector and the Canadian public.
Scott began his career at the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) in 1999 and has held various positions including Assistant Deputy Minister of IT Security, acting Assistant Deputy Minister of Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer, Director General of Cyber Defence and a variety of positions of increasing responsibility across CSE, primarily in the Signals Intelligence and IT Security domains. He previously worked at the Privy Council Office as a National Security Policy Advisor in the Security & Intelligence Secretariat.
Scott holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electronic Systems Engineering, a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, and a Masters of Business Administration.
Dr. Ian Levy OBE, Technical Director, National Cyber Security Centre
Ian became Technical Director of the National Cyber Security Centre in October 2016, prior to which he was Technical Director of Cyber Security and Resilience at GCHQ.
Ian leads on developing defences to manage cyber threats and fostering technical innovation to find undiscovered solutions to protect the UK from large scale cyber-attacks and day-to-day malicious cyber activity.
He has been instrumental in crafting fundamental changes to the UK's strategy on cyber security. His national scale approach to combating cyber threats is borne out of a deep understanding of the unique challenges posed by global interconnectivity and the opportunities to do things differently.
Ian was awarded a PhD in Computer Science from Warwick University.
Sir David Omand GCB, Former Director, GCHQ
Sir David Omand GCB was the first UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator, responsible to the Prime Minister for the professional health of the intelligence community, national counter-terrorism strategy and “homeland security”. He served for seven years on the Joint Intelligence Committee. He was Permanent Secretary of the Home Office from 1997 to 2000, and before that Director of GCHQ (the UK Sigint Agency). Previously, in the Ministry of Defence as Deputy Under Secretary of State for Policy, he was particularly concerned with long term strategy, with the British military contribution in restoring peace in the former Yugoslavia and the recasting of British nuclear deterrence policy at the end of the Cold War. He was Principal Private Secretary to the Defence Secretary during the Falklands conflict, and served for three years in NATO Brussels as the UK Defence Counsellor.
Sir David is currently a Visiting Professor in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London and at PSIA Sciences Po in Paris. He is the Senior Independent Director of Babcock International Group plc and a senior adviser to Paladin Capital Group, investing in the cybersecurity sector. He is the author of Securing the State (CUP and Hurst) 2010 and (with Professor Mark Phythian) Principled Spying: the Ethics of Secret Intelligence (Georgetown University Press and OUP, 2018).
Mr. Michael Orlando, Acting Director, National Counterintelligence and Security Center
Michael J. Orlando is a Senior Executive Service leader with more than 25 years of law enforcement, Intelligence Community, and military experience, including counterintelligence and counterterrorism investigations. Mr. Orlando joined the National Counterintelligence and Security Center in November, 2020, serving in the position of Deputy Director.
Mr. Orlando recently served as a Deputy Assistant Director in the Counterterrorism Division in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In that capacity, he was responsible for overseeing the business administration and operational support for the division, which included technology development, human resource matters, financial management, and private-sector partner engagements. Mr. Orlando also served as the acting head of the Counterterrorism Division and successfully managed several interagency crisis incident responses, including the attack at Pensacola Naval Air Station; Manda Airstrip, Kenya; as well as the domestic terrorism attacks in Jersey City, NJ, and Monsey, NY.
Mr. Orlando entered on duty as an FBI Special Agent in 2003 and was assigned to the Pittsburgh Division where he investigated counterintelligence matters. In his follow-on field assignment to the Washington Field Office, he worked on high priority counterintelligence special projects with multiple deployments to the People's Republic of China. In 2009, Mr. Orlando was the program manager assigned to a FBI task force where he coordinated counterintelligence operations in the Western Pacific and East Asia and led an interagency and foreign partner effort to disrupt foreign influence in the region.
In 2011, Mr. Orlando returned to the field and was assigned to the Honolulu Field Office where he oversaw the successful espionage investigation and conviction of a DoD contractor for passing national defense secrets to China. In 2013, Michael served as the principal deputy for the East Asia Section in the Counterintelligence Division, and in 2017 he served as Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office, Counterintelligence Division, where he oversaw the successful disruption of Russian clandestine foreign agent Maria Butina. In 2018, he helped create the Counterterrorism Division’s Iran Threat Task Force, now the Iran Mission Center, as its first Acting Section Chief.
Mr. Orlando has received the FBI Director’s Award for Outstanding Counterintelligence Investigation and has been awarded three Director of National Intelligence Awards for Counterintelligence Operations.
A native of New York, Mr. Orlando received his bachelor's degree in Economics and Management from the State University of New York, College at Cortland. In 2017, Michael attended Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business and earned a master’s in leadership. Prior to working for the FBI, he was an officer in the U.S. Army and was employed by the Central Intelligence Agency.
The Honorable Mike Rogers, Former Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Mike Rogers is a former member of Congress representing Michigan's Eighth Congressional District, officer in the U.S. Army, and FBI special agent. He is a highly sought-after expert on national security issues, intelligence affairs, and cybersecurity policy. He advises multiple boards and academic institutions, working to enhance America’s strength and security.
Rogers built a legacy as a tireless and effective leader on counterterrorism, intelligence and national security policy from his years of service in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he chaired the powerful House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI).
As chairman of HPSCI, he authorized and oversaw a budget of $70 billion that funded the nation's 17 intelligence agencies. In Congress Rogers was–and remains–a prominent leader on cybersecurity. During his tenure he shepherded multiple cybersecurity bills through the legislative process, greatly enhancing America’s cybersecurity posture.
In Congress, Rogers worked across the aisle with two presidents, Congressional leadership, countless diplomats, military service members, and intelligence professionals to ensure the brave men and women who fight for our nation are equipped with the resources necessary to get the job done. Washington Post columnist David Ignatius remarked, Mike was "a rare example of bipartisanship."
He founded the Mike Rogers Center for Intelligence & Global Affairs, within the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. Rogers is working to align the interests of government and the technology industry through the Global Digital Challenge Initiative. The Initiative brings together leaders in policy, business, and technology to discuss critical issues facing the United States and the global digital economy.
Today, Mike Rogers advises multiple American companies on critical issues of national and cybersecurity. He serves as Chief Security Adviser for the global telecommunications provider AT&T. He also sits on the Board of Directors for IronNet Cybersecurity, a leading cybersecurity innovator that provides real time monitoring and analytics. He also sits on the Board of Advisors for Next Century Corporation, a technology company that focuses on innovations in the security and intelligence spaces. He serves on the Cybersecurity Industry Advisory Council for Trident Capital and on the Board of Trustees for MITRE Corporation.
In addition to his appointment as a Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center, he is a Distinguished Fellow and member of the Board of Trustees at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, a Distinguished Fellow at the Hudson Institute, and a member of the Advisory Board for George Mason University’s National Security and Law Policy Institute.
A regular CNN national security commentator, Rogers hosts CNN’s “Declassified” and regularly contributes to major print outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
Rogers is a 1985 graduate of Adrian College. He is married to Kristi Rogers and has two children.
Moderator Biographies
Mr. Paul Kolbe, Director, Intelligence Project
Mr. Paul Kolbe is the Director of the Intelligence Project at the Belfer Center. Paul served for 25 years in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations in a variety of foreign and domestic roles, including as Chief of Station, Chief/Central Eurasia Division, and Balkans Group Chief. His overseas assignments included operational and leadership roles in the former Soviet Union, the Balkans, Southeast Asia, Southern Africa, and Central Europe. He was a member of the Senior Intelligence Service and is a recipient of the Intelligence Medal of Merit and the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal.
Following his CIA career, Kolbe was Director for Intelligence and Analysis at BP, where he built an enterprise-wide intelligence capability focused on geo-political threats, strategic cyber threats, and support to commercial operations. Clients included C-suite leadership, global business units, security networks, and legal teams. Kolbe is a Senior Advisor to the Martin + Crumpton Group and Spycraft Entertainment. He is also a member of the Cipher Brief network of experts and is an alumnus of Michigan State University’s James Madison college, where he studied International Relations. Kolbe has been married to Maureen Farrell Kolbe for 32 years and is a proud father of 3 great children, all of whom desperately resist his attempts at humor.
Ms. Lauren Zaberiek, Executive Director, Cyber Project
Lauren Zabierek is the Executive Director of the Cyber Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. She comes to this role as a 2019 graduate of the Kennedy School's mid-career MPA program.
Lauren served as an intelligence officer in the United States Air Force at the beginning of her career. Later, as a civilian intelligence analyst with the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) assigned to the Office of Counterterrorism, she completed three war zone deployments where she worked to identify and dismantle terror networks. Throughout her six years at NGA, she became a subject matter expert on Activity Based Intelligence (ABI) and served as an adjunct professor in ABI at the NGA college.
After leaving NGA, she joined the cybersecurity threat intelligence startup Recorded Future, and was instrumental in building its Public Sector business practice. In her role as a Senior Intelligence Analyst, she fused intelligence methodologies with cybersecurity and machine learning technologies to help public and private sector customers improve their cyber posture. She also managed a team of analysts and worked alongside the Product Management and Training teams to improve her customers' experience with the software.
A Gold Star Sister, Lauren is committed to supporting families of the fallen and has volunteered several times as a mentor with the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). She also co-founded the Recorded Future Women's Mentorship Initiative, helped to start a women's initiative at NGA, is a member of the NatSecGirlSquad, and is the co-founder of the online social media movement called #ShareTheMicInCyber, which aims to dismantle racism and sexism in cybersecurity and privacy.
Ms. Caitlin Chase, Intelligence Project Coordinator
Caitlin Chase is the Project Coordinator for the Intelligence Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. She directs the project’s day-to-day operations, external partnerships, and event programming.
Caitlin manages the Recanati-Kaplan Fellowship at the Center, which brings together the next generation of intelligence leaders to Harvard for a full year in order to prepare them for increasing levels of responsibility in government, equip them with knowledge and tools for decision-making in crisis situations, and support their research to develop policy-relevant knowledge for the most pressing security issues.
She orchestrates the annual Elbe Group & Elbe Dialogue meetings, bringing senior retired military and intelligence flag officers from the United States and Russia together for an unprecedented three-day track 2 meeting.
She graduated from Duke University in 2016 with a B.A. in Public Policy and a Certificate in Markets and Management, where she focused on American Grand Strategy, US Foreign Policy in the Middle East, and Middle Eastern and Arabic studies. Before coming to the Belfer Center, Caitlin worked as a consultant for Cathartes Private Investments.
