Our Staff

Michael Beck is a Nonresident Fellow at Stimson supporting the WMD, Nonproliferation and Security Program.  His areas of expertise are WMD nonproliferation, export controls, and sanctions.  Beck is a founder and Vice President of TradeSecure, LLC.

Oksana Bellas is the Director of Finance and Administration at the Stimson Center responsible for directing finance and accounting functions, human resources, and administrative services.

Alex Bollfrass is a Ph.D. candidate at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs working on a dissertation on intelligence assessments of nuclear weapons programs. 

William Brown brings more than a decade of management experience to Stimson Center. He has a passion for people, and problem solving, and brings a positive energy to the office. A native Washingtonian, Brown enjoys watching his beloved Washington Football Team.

Kevin Cuddy is the Trade, Technology, and Security Fellow at the Stimson Center focusing on industry’s role in technology transfers and global non-proliferation programs. During his Fellowship at Stimson, Cuddy will continue to work as a Senior Manager for International Trade Compliance with Gene

William J. Durch is a Distinguished Fellow with the Stimson Center. Prior to joining Stimson in 1990, Durch served as a Foreign Affairs Officer with the U.S.

Brian Finlay is the President and CEO at Stimson. His areas of expertise include nonproliferation, transnational crime, counter-trafficking, supply chain security and private sector engagement.

Aditi Gorur is the Director of the Protecting Civilians in Conflict Program and a Senior Associate at Stimson. Her primary research focus is on preventing and responding to violence against civilians, particularly in the context of peacekeeping operations.

Laicie Heeley is a Fellow with Stimson’s Budgeting for Foreign Affairs and Defense program. Her areas of expertise include U.S.

Pamela Kennedy is a Research Associate with the East Asia program at Stimson. She holds a M.A. in International Relations and International Economics from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a B.A.

Ambassador Alfredo Labbé is a senior Chilean Diplomat, serving currently as Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Especial Envoy for Nuclear and International Security.

Faiqa Mahmood is a Visiting Fellow at the South Asia Program of the Stimson Center, where she is currently conducting research on the nuclear discourse in Pakistan. Ms.

Johanna Mendelson Forman is a Distinguished Fellow with the Managing Across Boundaries Initiative at the Stimson Center, where she works on security and development issues, including regional multilateral engagement, civil-military relations and stabilization and reconstruction.

Agnieszka Paczynska is Associate Professor at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University and the Principal Investigator of a United States Institute of Peace-funded project, “Emerging Powers in Post-Conflict and Transitional Settings: the New Politics of Reconstructi

Richard Ponzio is Director of the Just Security 2020 Program at Stimson. Previously, he directed the Global Governance Program at The Hague Institute for Global Justice, where (in a partnership with Stimson) he served as Director for the Albright-Gambari Commission on Global Security, Justice &am

Sharland is a Nonresident Fellow from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra, where her research focuses on peacekeeping and Australia-Africa engagement.

Audel is a communications officer with the Stimson Center. He received his Masters in Public Policy from The University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs and a dual Bachelor of Arts in political science and communications from The University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Rachel Stohl is Managing Director and directs the Conventional Defense Program. Her areas of expertise focus on issues relating to the international arms trade, including drones, small arms and light weapons, and children in armed conflict.

Yun Sun is co-Director of the East Asia Program and Director of the China Program at the Stimson Center. Her expertise is in Chinese foreign policy, U.S.-China relations and China's relations with neighboring countries and authoritarian regimes.

Makayla Thompson is the Finance & Administration Assistant at Stimson Center. She assists with finance and accounting functions, administration support, and contract & grant support.

Akriti Vasudeva is a Research Associate with the South Asia program at the Stimson Center. She is Editor of South Asian Voices, an online magazine featuring strategic analysis and commentary from rising South Asian analysts and scholars.

Travis Wheeler is a Research Associate in the Stimson Center’s South Asia Program, where he manages Stimson's Nuclear Learning initiative. His research focuses on nuclear deterrence, geopolitics, and maritime issues in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific.