Scott Vlachos is the Executive Director of the Council for Emerging National Security Affairs, an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and national security. His research focuses on the evolving intersection of irregular warfare, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and operations in the information environment.

Umar Khalid is an award-winning digital media professional and volunteer contributor to the Media Education Lab. He is an MA student of Media and Communication Science at Technische Universität Ilmenau, Germany. He works at the intersection of social media storytelling, community-focused communication, and video-first content strategy. He was recognized with the Intercultural Commitment Award 2024 from the City of Ilmenau and TU Ilmenau for his contribution to intercultural collaboration and community engagement.

Muhammad Akram holds a PhD from Concordia University in Montreal and an MA from Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia. His research focuses on the critical social media literacy to prevent and counter violent radicalism online. He has published over 20 refereed journal articles on similar issues, some of which have been cited in major media, including The New York Times. Furthermore, he’s an Atlas Corps alumnus of the U.S. Department of State’s Emerging Global Leaders Initiative and has over a decade of research and evaluation fieldwork in fragile contexts.