Belfer in Brief

A sampling of recent news and notes from the Belfer Center.

Christopher Anzalone, research fellow with the Center’s International Security Program, spoke about the East African group Al-Shabab at the AlWaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. He focused on the various aspects of its narratives and its competition with Islamic State for domestic and regional support.

Belfer Center Financial Associate Lovita Strain and her husband Marcel, a retired state trooper, are honored at a Mass Badge Organization gala event in September for their “commitment, dedication, selfless acts, and countless efforts” during the past 18 years. Mass Badge organizes events for police officers, troopers, and their families and donates proceeds to groups such as the Autism Language Program at Children’s Hospital and the Make a Wish Foundation.

Gary Samore, the Center’s executive director for research, participated in late spring at the ASAN Plenum in Seoul, South Korea, on “The New Normal” of crises around the world, from the conflict over the South China Sea to the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the North Korean nuclear situation. Samore spoke about issues related to North Korea’s threats and actions.

Katherine (Katie) Gordon, project coordinator for the Center’s Agricultural Innovation in Africa project, celebrates the end of her three-week, 280 mile Long Trail trek this summer. The oldest long-distance hiking trail in the U.S. and the inspiration for the Appalachian Trail, the Long Trail runs along the main ride of the Green Mountains from the Massachusetts-Vermont state line to the Canadian border, crossing 63 of Vermont’s highest peaks.