FEATURING:
Dr. Richard T. Cupitt, Senior Fellow and Program Director, Partnerships in Proliferation Prevention, The Henry L. Stimson Center
Dr. Richard T. Cupitt is Senior Fellow and Director of the Partnerships in Proliferation Prevention Program at the Stimson Center. As such he heads Stimson’s Chemical Threat Reduction project and its 1540 Assistance Support Initiative among other activities. Prior to joining Stimson, he served as the U.S. Special Coordinator for UN Security Council resolution 1540 from 2012-2016 and as an Expert for the UN Security Council’s 1540 Committee from 2005-2012. He has held several other academic and government posts, with expertise in WMD nonproliferation, strategic trade controls, and technical assistance.
Ambassador Krzysztof Paturej, President, International Centre for Chemical Safety and Security (ICCSS)
Ambassador Krzysztof Paturej, President of the International Centre for Chemical Safety and Security (ICCSS), Warsaw, Poland (www.iccss.eu), is a career diplomat, a former Permanent Representative of Poland to the OPCW, Chair of the CWC Third Review Conference (2013), and former senior Director at the OPCW Technical Secretariat (2006-2013). Amb. Paturej is experienced in multilateral diplomacy, disarmament and non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, efforts against terrorism, development and cooperation programmes, relations with stakeholders and public society, result based management and risk management strategies. He initiated and runs the multi-stakeholder and non-political process of global cooperation to reduce chemical and environmental security threats and the development of the global chemical safety and security culture through CHEMSS process. He chaired the first CHEMSS2016 – Global Summit on Chemical Safety and Security (ww.chemss2016.org) in Kielce, Poland, and the second CHEMSS2017 (www.chemss2017.org), in Shanghai, China, attended by over 2000 participants from 50 countries and many international organizations, industries, academia and experts. He leads the international project on chemical safety and security for Jordan and the Middle East, and the program on civil protection against chemical threats in Eastern Europe.
Dr. Stefano Costanzi, Associate Professor of Chemistry, American University
Dr. Stefano Costanzi is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at American University, in Washington, DC, holds a Laurea degree in Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Camerino, Italy, as well a Master of International Service from American University. Prior to joining American University in 2012, he worked for ten years at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD. Dr. Costanzi’s teaching interests mainly focus on the countering of chemical weapons, with courses for sciences majors covering toxicology and pharmacological countermeasures as well as courses for non-science majors covering history, norms, and international security. His scientific research interests mainly focus on computational chemistry, especially in relation to the study of the interactions of chemicals with living organisms.
Ambassador Vaidotas Verba, Lithuania, Former OSCE Project Coordinator in Kiev, Ukraine
Ambassador Vaidotas Verba of Lithuania is Chief Adviser on Foreign Policy to the Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament. Before this, since September 1, 2014 he was OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (Head of Mission). Previously, he was a team leader of Odessa group of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in 2014. In 2012 he was appointed as Special Envoy for the EU’s Eastern Partnership at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, in that capacity he also was Chief Co-ordinator for the preparation of the third Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius in autumn of 2013. Since 2007 he was Ambassador of Lithuania to the Netherlands, Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). In 2009 he was elected as Chairmen of the Conference of the State Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). His awards include the Knight’s Cross of the Oder for Merits to Lithuania, the Civil Service Merit Cross of Spain, and the Knight Grand Cross of Orange Nassau (Netherlands).
Ms. Kelly Murray, Branch Chief of Compliance, Infrastructure Security Compliance, US Department of Homeland Security
Kelly Murray is the Acting Branch Chief for the Compliance Branch within Infrastructure Security Compliance (ISC) in the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the office within DHS responsible for chemical facility security regulations. Ms. Murray serves as a technical authority on the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) regulation responsible for providing advice and counsel to the Division on issues related to compliance with CFATS. Ms. Murray is responsible for overseeing the Site Security Plan (SSP)/Alternative Security Program (ASP) submission, authorization, and approval processes, which includes establishing guidance for reviewers and Chemical Security Inspectors, reviewing security plans for compliance with CFATS and the risk-based performance standards, and working with the regulated community to ensure accurate and complete security plans. She manages a broad range of experts within the Compliance Branch in areas such as risk analysis, chemical engineering, physical security, cyber security, and regulatory compliance and enforcement, among others.
Mr. David Wulf, Director, Infrastructure Security Compliance Division, US Department of Homeland Security
Mr. Dave Wulf served as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection and is currently the Director of the Infrastructure Security Compliance Division (ISCD) in the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which leads the national implementation of the Chemical Facilities Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program. Mr. Wulf also serves as the Co-Chair of the G7 Global Partnership Chemical Security Working Group, leading efforts to build a global chemical security community and to share best practices with nations striving to enhance their own cultures of chemical security. Mr. Wulf holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government and History from Georgetown University and a law degree from the Emory University School of Law.
Dr. Cindy Vestergaard, Director, Nuclear Safeguards Program, The Henry L. Stimson Center
Cindy Vestergaard is the director of Stimson’s Nuclear Safeguards Program. Her current research focuses on the impact of evolving international safeguards obligations on states and facility operators. Projects include looking ahead to nuclear facilities of the future, such as deep geological repositories and multinational fuel cycle facilities and how these emerging facilities, coupled with emerging technologies, challenge and/or enhance the management of safeguards. Her portfolio also includes chemical weapons disarmament, biosecurity and import/export controls. Before joining Stimson in 2016, Vestergaard was a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) in Copenhagen, Denmark. Prior to DIIS, she worked on non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament policy and programming at Canada’s foreign ministry.
Ms. Mallory Stewart, Non-Resident Fellow and Principle Member of the Technical Staff–Global Security Research and Analysis, Stimson Center and Sandia National Laboratories
Mallory Stewart is a nonresident fellow in the WMD, Nonproliferation, and Security program at the Stimson Center. Her areas of expertise include chemical and biological weapons law and policy, space security policy, U.S. missile defense, and nonproliferation and arms control law. Prior to joining Stimson, Stewart was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Emerging Security Challenges and Defense Policy in the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance (AVC) at the U.S. Department of State. In that role, she was responsible for overseeing the Office of Emerging Security Challenges and the Office of Chemical and Biological Weapons Affairs. In 2014, Stewart was a recipient of the Secretary’ of State’s Award for Excellence in International Security Affairs for her work on the international effort to eliminate Syrian chemical weapons. Ms. Stewart was a litigation associate at the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell prior to joining the State Department.
Ms. Mary Vecellio, Research Associate, Partnerships in Proliferation Prevention Program, The Henry L. Stimson Center
Mary Vecellio is a Research Associate with the Partnerships in Proliferation Prevention Program at the Stimson Center. Her research focuses on WMD non-proliferation with specific focus on radiological source security, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 assistance activities, and chemical weapons-related material security. Vecellio is particularly interested in issues related to preventing the spread of chemical weapons and related materials. She has a Master’s in Non-Proliferation and International Security from the Department of War Studies at King’s College, London. She received her Bachelor’s in History with a concentration in Public Policy from the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Leadership in Public Policy and Service from Albion College in Michigan.