Colonel Ryan Bell is a career Army Infantry officer originally from Coppell, Texas.Ryan commissioned into the Army upon graduation from the United States Air Force Academy in 2002. He holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Columbia University and a Master’s of Science in International Relations from Troy University. Across his 22 year career Ryan has led soldiers throughout the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the Pacific. He has served as a White House Fellow, Military Assistant to the Undersecretary of the Army, and as an Assistant Professor of Economics at the United States Military Academy. His research interests include the intersection of foreign policy and domestic politics, the national security decision making process, and organizational development. Ryan and his wife, Adriane, have three children, Aria, Natalie, and Charlotte. Following his studies at Duke, Ryan will transition to Fort Campbell, KY to command 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101stAirborne Division.
COL Chris Countouriotis is an Army Special Forces officer from San Francisco, California. Chris commissioned as a Medical Service Corps Officer in 2004 and transferred to the Infantry in 2006. Chris has spent the last 16 years assigned to units within the U.S. Special Operations Command. He has broad experience working with joint, interagency, and international partners and has deployed multiple times throughout Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East. Chris earned a Master’s degree from Columbia University in Organizational Psychology and received his undergraduate degree from the University of San Francisco. Chris and his wife, Michelle, who served for 21 years in the Army herself, are raising 5 daughters. Chris’s research interests include national security policy, irregular warfare, and leader development and education.
Lieutenant Colonel Tim Leone is an Army Infantry Officer originally from Mahopac, New York. He commissioned upon graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2004. Tim has served in multiple command and staff positions over the course of his 20-year career including several operational deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and eastern Europe. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from West Point, a Master’s Degree in Philosophy from Boston College, earned an Assistant Professorship in Philosophy, and completed the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Seminar XXI Fellowship. Tim and his wife Pam have been married for 20 years and have eight children; they welcomed their youngest this spring and their oldest began college this fall. Tim’s research interests include National Security Policy; Strategic Competition; and Defense Department Recruitment, Retention, and Talent Management.
Chaplain (Colonel) Tim Maracle, a native of Massachusetts, entered the Army in April 2003 when he received his endorsement as a Chaplain and earned a Master of Divinity Degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He has served at every echelon of the Army from battalion to Department of the Army staff. His assignments stationed him in Washington D.C., Texas, North Carolina, Colorado, and Germany. Tim served as a chaplain in a variety of army units ranging from special forces to armor. Interestingly, he was selected for and completed the Army’s Special Forces Qualification Course. Tim’s military deployments include locations throughout Latin America and the Middle East. In May of 2024, he completed a Doctor of Ministry Degree. He has been happily married for 25 years and has one daughter in an undergraduate and one in a graduate program. His research interest focuses on the relationship between spirituality and public policy as it relates to support to the National Defense Strategy.
Ron Roof is a Supervisory Special Agent within the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). Ron received his undergraduate degree in Asian studies from Florida State University. He earned a master’s degree in strategic intelligence with a concentration in terrorism studies. Before joining the Department of State, Ron served as a Police Officer in Raleigh, North Carolina, and in the United States Army with the 75th Ranger Regiment. Ron entered the Diplomatic Security service 2002 and served on the protective details for Secretaries Powell and Kerry. Later, Ron served on the President of Liberia’s protective detail and subsequently deployed to Beirut to support the U.S. Embassy’s security efforts during the 2006 Lebanon War. Along with serving in the US diplomatic missions to Afghanistan and Colombia, Ron was the Regional Security Officer at U.S. Embassy Rangoon and managed the Mission’s security response to the 2021 Burmese military coup d’état. Prior to arriving at Duke, Ron served as a State Department liaison to the Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Liberty. Ron’s research interests include agency-specific methods of policy interpretation and implementation and the impact of great power competition on U.S. crisis response. Ron and his wife Nichole have four children
Russell Stoner is a Supervisory Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Russ earned his bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University in electrical and computer science engineering with a minor in life sciences. Before joining the FBI, Russ worked as a nuclear test engineer for the United State Navy and within the private nuclear power sector. Upon entering the FBI, Russ served on a complex financial crimes (CFC) squad investigating confidence scams with a focus on cyber enabled crimes based out of West Africa. Russ served as acting assistant legal attaché in U.S. Embassy Accra where he advanced U.S. and Ghanaian investigations while developing Inter-Agency Agreements (IAA) with International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and interagency partners. Prior to arriving at Duke, Russ served in FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate (WMDD). Russ also participated in a variety of National Security Council Interagency Policy Committees. Russ’ research interests include investigative, operational, and intel impacts on the development of national security policy.
Colonel Ken Wainwright is a Special Forces Officer from Burbank, CA He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2002. He commanded infantry and special operations units during operations in the Middle East, served as director of plans and policy for the Special Operations campaign against ISIS, and served on the executive staff for the Commander of US Special Operations Command. In his most recent assignment, he led the Assessment and Selection programs for Army Special Operations and field training of the Special Forces Qualification Course. COL Wainwright earned an MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar and an MA in Public Policy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as an Olmsted Scholar. Ken’s research interests include irregular warfare, civil-military relations, Middle East affairs, and national security.