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Schar School Biodefense Students Selected for Distinguished Fellowship

Andrew J Schappert — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 18:31:16 +0000

Schar School Biodefense Students Selected for Distinguished Fellowship Andrew J Schappert Thu, 01/23/2025 - 13:31

The Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity (ELBI) Fellowship, offered by the Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is one of the most distinguished and prestigious fellowship available to those in the biosecurity profession.

Two students in ��AV’s Schar School of Policy and Government’s highly ranked biodefense PhD program, Janet Marroquin and Katie Dammer, were chosen for this honor and will be joining 29 other young professionals in the fellowship’s 2025 cohort.

During their fellowship, participants will participate in biosecurity workshops, networking events, and research symposiums, in Washington, D.C., and abroad.

Gregory Koblentz, director of the biodefense graduate program, congratulated the students on their accomplishment.

“Janet and Katie are rising stars in biosecurity, so it’s very gratifying to see their potential recognized by the leading think tank in the field,” he said.

Janet Marroquin: ‘I’m most excited to engage with international perspectives on common problems …’ Photos provided.

Marroquin graduated in 2019 with a master’s degree in biodefense. Her PhD dissertation examines Russia’s motivation and strategy for using vaccine-related narratives in its disinformation operations.

She currently works as a full-time research analyst for a federally funded research and development center. Her work focuses on analyzing national security challenges related to emerging biotechnologies and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) weapons.

“I’m most excited to engage with international perspectives on common problems, especially science communication and public trust in state institutions,” she said.

Her time at George Mason helped prepare her for both her career and the fellowship because of the nature of the program, the diverse student backgrounds, and its comprehensive approach to biosecurity, she said.

“The biodefense courses exposed me to the vulnerabilities that we as a global society have to the spread of disease due, in no small part, to inadequate preparedness,” she said, adding that her favorite classes were Koblentz’s course on biodefense strategy and computational physics and chemistry professor Estela Blaisten-Barojas’s challenging-but-rewarding course on numerical methods.

Dammer is a first-year student in the biodefense PhD program. The ELBI program and those who speak highly of it have surrounded her since her undergraduate studies, so she jumped at the chance to learn more about this ever-changing field.

Katie Dammer: ‘Every year brings changes, but it is exciting to know that this will be a key piece of my professional development …’

“I am so grateful to the Center for Health Security for the acceptance and to colleagues and ELBI alumni for all of the kind words I have received since this year’s cohort was announced,” she said. “Every year brings changes, but it is exciting to know that this will be a key piece of my professional development throughout 2025.”

Her focus is on the intersection of national security and science policy, and her current professional role covers a variety of natural, accidental, and deliberate threats.

She said she is most excited to build a biosecurity community and take time away from her career to “nerd out” over the many topics presented during the fellowship.

Dammer hopes her time as a ELBI fellow will both complement and enhance her research and discussion skills, and she looks forward to engaging with pioneers across the public health and policy fields.

She added that she owes a special thanks to her father who, as a career academic, has been an inspiration as she started her PhD journey and now the fellowship ahead of her.

Marroquin and Dammer join a number of other Schar School biodefense students and graduates who have served as ELBI fellows, including Siddha Hover, MS ’14 (ELBI Class of 2016); Francisco Cruz, MS ’15 (ELBI Class of 2016); Saskia Popescu, PhD ’19 (ELBI Class of 2017); Yong-Bee Lim, MS ’13, PhD ’21 (ELBI Class of 2018); Justin Hurt, PhD ’23 (ELBI Class of 2019); and Matthew Ferreira, MS ’22 (ELBI Class of 2023).

The author is a first-year student in the biodefense master’s program with a special interest in terrorism and the use of pathogens as weapons. This story first appeared in the biodefense program’s The Pandora Report.

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ODKM Graduate Melvin Brown II Appointed Chief Information Officer of Office of Personnel Management

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 16:55:32 +0000

ODKM Graduate Melvin Brown II Appointed Chief Information Officer of Office of Personnel Management Andrew J Schappert Tue, 01/21/2025 - 11:55

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The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has named ��AV alumnus Melvin Brown II as its new Chief Information Officer (CIO), following the retirement of former CIO Guy Cavallo. Brown, a seasoned leader in IT and cybersecurity with more than 30 years of experience spanning military, public, and private sectors, steps into the role after serving as OPM’s Deputy CIO since January 2021.

Melvin Brown II. Photo provided.

Brown earned his master’s degree in New Professional Studies from George Mason’s School of Public Policy, now the Schar School of Policy and Government, in 2003. The degree is now incorporated in the one-of-a-kind Organization Development and Knowledge Management program (ODKM), directed by founder Tojo Thatchenkery.

“I am not surprised at this appointment,” said Thatchenkery. “Melvin has been consistently applying what he learned in the ODKM program and he is active in mentoring students who came after him. I am so delighted to see that one of the most enthusiastic champions for the ODKM program is now the CIO of OPM.”

In his new position, Brown will spearhead the 2,500-employee agency’s digital transformation, focusing on enterprise technology modernization, and bolstering the agency’s cybersecurity infrastructure. The OPM is responsible for overseeing all policies that support federal human resources departments, among other duties.

His leadership has already contributed to OPM achieving an A rating on the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) scorecard, a key measure of IT progress across federal agencies.

Before joining OPM, Brown held pivotal roles in government IT leadership, including director of enterprise business management within the Small Business Administration’s Office of the CIO and senior advisor for the Department of Homeland Security’s Presidential Transition Office.

Brown is a board member of the 23,000-member nonprofit FinOps Foundation, where he promotes collaborative approaches to cloud financial management. The organization represents some 10,000 companies.

An OPM spokesperson praised Brown as “an integral leader in delivering many of OPM’s accomplishments in modernizing IT.” His leadership, they said, will continue to drive the agency’s mission of providing efficient, high-quality service to federal employees and their beneficiaries.

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George Mason scientist Anamaria Berea leads team to design lunar cultural archive for the ‘Pioneers of Tomorrow’

Colleen Rich — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 21:02:59 +0000

George Mason scientist Anamaria Berea leads team to design lunar cultural archive for the ‘Pioneers of Tomorrow’ Colleen Rich Thu, 01/16/2025 - 16:02

The ASPIRE ONE Lunar Record launched early on January 15 as part of the Ghost Riders in the Sky Lunar mission from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with a goal of establishing a new theoretical framework for planetary-scale archival communication.

Note from team on ASPIRE ONE. Photo provided

Anamaria Berea, an associate professor of computational sciences at ��AV, led an interdisciplinary team that designed a part of the LifeShip payload—an archive to preserve our Earth’s cultural and scientific heritage. It will be placed on the Moon through Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Lander.

Firefly missions are part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative in the Artemis program.

The digital portion of the LifeShip payload, similar to the Voyager Golden Records, contains diverse content including videos, global aspirations, scientific materials, historical records, and cultural artifacts intended for future humans to access. Highlights include Daily Life video capturing global snapshots of contemporary life, an Aspirations video featuring individuals sharing hopes for the future in their native languages, and collections of images from UNESCO and World Heritage archives. A Getty images documentation of the recent COVID-19 pandemic is also included.

Firefly Blue Ghost will deliver the lunar record to the Moon's surface. Photo courtesy of NASA

“We basically created an archive that is housed on a 1GB microchip encoded with diverse content,” said Berea, who also has a PhD is computational social sciences from George Mason. “It is also engraved with NanoFiche, including Berea’s name and affiliation with ��AV.

If it lands successfully, the payload will be placed on the Moon after 45 days [early March] and live there for posterity.

“This portion of the payload includes the Apollo 11 launch code, various works of art and music, information about the Moon, Earth Constitutions, and more,” Berea shared. “Not only my face, voice, name, and work will be on the Moon for future generations, but ��AV’s legacy too.”

Learn more about Anamaria Berea’s work on George Mason’s Access to Excellence podcast.

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George Mason’s recreation program is helping bring parks to the people

Sarah Holland — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 18:12:27 +0000

George Mason’s recreation program is helping bring parks to the people Sarah Holland Wed, 01/08/2025 - 13:12

One of the special things about Northern Virginia is its blend of thriving city life with vast green spaces. Visitors and residents can enjoy more than 12,000 acres of parks and recreation areas across three counties and three cities thanks to the work of NOVA Parks. This fall, a brand-new park opened in Ashburn, Virginia, with a few familiar faces from ��AV at its helm.

Photo provided.

Reservoir Park is a 600-acre park around Beaverdam Reservoir. Built and operated as a partnership between NOVA Parks and Loudoun Water, the park has conservation and education at the forefront of its design. From plants that filter water runoff into the reservoir, to butterfly roofs that drain water down a singular center path onto rocks to avoid excessive soil erosion, to sustainable build materials, the park preserves the landscape while educating visitors on the lifecycle of a drop of water. Educational installations along the trail also give visitors tactile lessons: a hand pump that demonstrates the amount of force required to bring water from the reservoir to a faucet, for example.

“Most parks are built up over time, with facilities developing as community needs change,” said Paul Gilbert, executive director of NOVA Parks and the executive-in-residence of the recreation management program at George Mason. “I've never seen a park like this one, where everything is designed intentionally with a clear purpose and story in mind. It’s both beautiful and thoughtful.”

The benefits of parks are immense: increased property values, opportunities for physical activity, and mental health improvements, to name a few. “Numerous studies show that the benefits of exercise in nature far exceed exercise indoors,” Gilbert said. “It enriches lives, and it will continue to enrich lives, not just for this season but for generations to come.”

For George Mason students, the benefits of NOVA Parks extend to their education and, for some, even their careers.

Paul Gilbert (left) and Bella Trimner. Photo provided.

“There’s a strong connection between NOVA Parks and George Mason,” Gilbert said. “Through NOVA parks, students have access to internships, practicums, and careers. We help make their education not just academic but very actionable. And in return, we get high-quality employees excited to work in the parks they’ve grown up around.”

One shining example is Bella Trimner, a winter 2024 graduate with a degree in recreation management.

Trimner has a long history with NOVA Parks. She started working at Fountainhead Regional Park as a junior park ranger at 17, quickly rising through the ranks to site supervisor. “I absolutely loved it and realized that this was something I could see myself making a career out of,” she said.

Her supervisor at Fountainhead Regional Park David Deem, a current George Mason student, recommended George Mason for her education because of its nationally recognized recreation management program.

When Trimner made the decision to get her degree and make a career out of parks management, she told the park operations superintendents that she hoped to become a parks specialist in the future.

“My plan was to take that role in five years. Instead, when I had that conversation, they said, ‘Well, we’re actually building a new park that will be similar to Fountainhead. It might be exactly what you’re looking for.’”

It was. Within a year, Trimner became the first parks specialist for the new Reservoir Park. Her days are varied—from running chainsaws for trail clearing, to being an ambassador for the park, to planning park programming—but she believes her education has directly impacted how quickly she has acclimated to this new managerial role.

“I have used assignments from my classes as starting points for programming plans and shared templates with my staff. When we formalized the 8-mile trail around the reservoir, I directly referenced what I'd learned about trail planning and grading from my classes on land acquisition, resource management, and accessibility. We’re implementing an interpretational signage plan that is directly influenced by the course taught by Dr. Ellen Rodgers. There’s so much from my courses that I’m using every day in every aspect of my job,” she said.

Trimner, Gilbert said, is a rock star. “When you step into a manager position at an existing park, you’re improving upon existing procedures, programming, and facilities. But as part of the management team of a brand-new park, Bella is creating all those things. We gave her a blank slate to work with. And she’s done an amazing job.”

As a fellow George Mason graduate, Gilbert firmly believes in the great contributions George Mason offers the community. “NOVA Parks relies heavily on the recreation program at George Mason, and it’s great to have such a strong program with great talent right in our backyard,” Gilbert said.

Trimner agreed. “Seeing George Mason on a resume is a green flag for us."

From left: Recreation management faculty Laurence Chalip, Ellen Rodgers, Brenda Wiggins, Hung-Ling Liu, and Sammie Powers pose with Bella Trimner (far right) and Paul Gilbert (back center). Photo provided.

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Leading With Purpose: Betsy Zorio’s Journey to Save the Children

Andrew J Schappert — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 17:37:14 +0000

Leading With Purpose: Betsy Zorio’s Journey to Save the Children Andrew J Schappert Wed, 01/08/2025 - 12:37

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Betsy Zorio plays with a child at one of Save the Children’s Head Start centers in North Carolina.

From her home in Park City, Utah, Betsy Zorio leads the global nonprofit Save the Children’s efforts in the United States, overseeing childhood education initiatives in more than 250 rural and high-poverty communities.

“I love the work that we do and that we are giving every child a chance to succeed,” she said with a smile. “Every child is born with their own unique gifts and talents and they should have a right to share them with others.”

Zorio, vice president of U.S. programs for Save the Children, is a 2000 graduate of the Schar School of Policy and Government’s bachelor of arts degree program, Government and International Politics.

“My time at George Mason was transformative,” she said. “I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted from life, which I suspect is the case for many college students.”

Betsy Zorio: ‘My time at George Mason was transformative.‘ Photos provided.

Also like many students, she was hesitant to commit to a major field of study.

“I started on a pre-med track, thinking I would be a pediatrician or obstetrician, then switched to government and politics with a pre-law minor, thinking I would be a lawyer and work on social justice issues,” she said. “While my career path has been in nonprofit management, the ability to explore different subjects helped crystalize my interests and strengths.”

Besides coursework in the Schar School’s Government and International Politics program, Zorio discovered important abilities outside of the classroom.

“I had the privilege of managing George Mason’s Best Buddies chapter for three years, which helped build my leadership skills,” she said. “Those experiences combined to give me a strong foundation upon which to build my career and life.”

Best Buddies International works to foster inclusion and social connections for people with developmental disabilities.

Since its launch in 1919, Save the Children has been dedicated to providing health, education, and protection to children living in poverty. The global charity is credited for cutting the mortality rate in half for children under the age of 5, reducing school absenteeism by a third, and decreasing child marriage by 33 percent.

“We believe that every child deserves a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm,” she said.

“With in-school and after-school programs in more than 14 states, Save the Children focuses on kindergarten readiness and increased proficiency in third grade reading and fifth grade math. Reaching these thresholds is an enormous indicator if a child finishes school and is successful in their later years.”

The nonprofit is stationed in the most vulnerable parts of the world. In the United States, this is in places such as Native American reservations, the Appalachian and Ozark mountains, and throughout the Mississippi Delta.

Save the Children provides strategies to complement a community’s existing social programs, Zorio said. Oftentimes, the organization is the only child-focused nonprofit providing assistance to a vulnerable area.

She also works to spark change at the community level, and to support emergency response and recovery programs. However, she believes at-home visits cultivate the most dramatic results for young children.

“Parents are their child’s first and best teachers,” she said. “I remember when I made a home visit to a mother of two boys, 4 and 2 years of age. When the 4-year-old was a baby, the mother felt silly talking or reading to him, as she thought he was too young to understand. Incidentally, he was delayed with his speech, comprehension and vocabulary.

“I explained to the mother that it’s good to hold conversations and to read to babies. It’s all about the bonding and interaction. The mother followed my advice and was constantly engaging with her youngest. The toddler became very social and verbal. The mother said she wished she had known about the benefits of interacting, talking, and reading when her oldest was a baby.”

Even after joining Save the Children, Zorio continued to contribute her time to other humanitarian efforts. In 2022, she went on an excursion with Trekking for Kids—a nonprofit that offers hiking expeditions to iconic locations whereby the proceeds benefit orphaned children in the area.

The expedition also turned out to be where she met her future wife, Joyce.

With the Scottish Highlands as their backdrop, the two met and fell in love. Once back in the States, they continued dating despite being more than 2,000 miles apart. Soon, however, they decided to live together, and Zorio packed her bags and moved from Washington, D.C., to Joyce’s home in Park City.

Reprinted by permission from the Park Record, Utah. Additional reporting by Buzz McClain, Schar School of Policy and Government.

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Aisha Behr leverages dual roles in industry and academia to advance deep learning

Teresa Donnellan — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 15:17:30 +0000

Aisha Behr leverages dual roles in industry and academia to advance deep learning Teresa Donnellan Wed, 01/08/2025 - 10:17

With degrees from ��AV in civil engineering, systems engineering, and earth systems and geoinformation sciences, alumna Aisha Behr’s path to becoming a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning is as diverse as it is inspiring. Now a director for the AI and machine learning business units at CGI, Behr also serves as an adjunct professor in George Mason’s Department of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), teaching applied information technology (AIT) classes in machine learning and deep learning.

Behr started her career in government contracting, where she first encountered the burgeoning field of data science.

Her work required her to apply data science techniques to geospatial analysis, sparking a deep interest in the subject. While working full-time, Behr pursued a PhD in earth systems and geoinformation sciences at George Mason. Her dissertation, which aimed to improve the SVD algorithm with spatial statistics, highlighted her innovative approach to integrating machine learning with spatial data.

Aisha Behr. Photo provided

While balancing her professional career with her academic pursuits, Behr found a new calling in teaching, starting as an adjunct after completing her PhD in 2020. Her industry experience proves invaluable in the classroom, allowing her to offer students a unique perspective on the practical applications of their studies.

"I wanted to make sure that students had a really good process and experience through the whole course," said Behr. By providing code templates and practical assignments, she ensures that students can confidently apply what they learn in the AI and machine learning field.

Behr's teaching philosophy is centered around making complex concepts accessible and engaging. She developed the courses AIT 636 Interpretable Machine Learning and AIT 746 Applied Deep Learning to emphasize hands-on learning.

“Dr. Behr has been an exemplary adjunct in the IST department, playing a critical role in developing our new applied AI technologies concentration for the master’s in AIT program, as well as several graduate courses,” said Ioulia Rytikova, an IST professor and the director of the master’s program in AIT.

Behr is excited about the potential of generative AI and other emerging technologies. She will continue integrating such advancements into her teaching, possibly through guest lectures and hands-on labs.

"I want our students to be able to have exposure to these very, very new technologies," she emphasized, noting that she likes to demonstrate to students how keeping up with technology can give them a competitive edge in their careers.

"I enjoy learning new concepts,” said Behr. “Being able to show a student that you can learn and then accelerate your career is why I like it so much."

Behr’s journey is a powerful example of how passion, adaptability, and a commitment to education can lead to a fulfilling and impactful career. Her dedication to bridging industry and academia ensures that her students are well-prepared to navigate and excel in the ever-evolving field of AI and machine learning.

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From punts to proof: George Mason adjunct helped solve the NFL’s “4th-down problem”

Nathan Kahl — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 14:13:37 +0000

From punts to proof: George Mason adjunct helped solve the NFL’s “4th-down problem” Nathan Kahl Fri, 12/13/2024 - 09:13

4th Down Bot

The New York Times' Fourth Down Bot is based on Burke's models

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��AV alumnus Brian Burke’s career path, from fighter pilot to ESPN data analyst, demonstrates that whether it’s a 4th-and-inches decision or a career pivot into analytics, calculated risks can pay off.

Brian Burke. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

In 2009, the NFL’s two best teams—the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts—faced off in a pivotal showdown. Late in the game, acclaimed football genius and Patriots coach Bill Belichick attempted to get a first down on a fourth-down play deep in Pats’ territory. Converting would win the game for the Patriots, but a failure would give the ball to the Colts in prime field position. When the Colts stopped Tom Brady’s completion inches short of the first-down marker, Peyton Manning took the field and easily won the game for the Colts.

At the time, many considered the decision a huge blunder, given the conservative, risk-averse culture among NFL coaches, who usually choose the “safe” option of punting the ball on fourth down. But today’s coaches are more likely to be aggressive in these situations, supported by an emerging focus on analytics and a column written at the time by Burke, now a Systems Engineering and Operations Research (SEOR) adjunct faculty member.

He turned a hobby of analyzing sports data into something of a big deal, founding Advanced Football Analytics in 2006, where he published his findings, in addition to consulting with NFL teams; the New York Times would sometimes print his writing and analysis. A column on Belichick’s decision turned him into an overnight stats celebrity.

“I did the math and estimated that the decision to go for it increased the Patriots’ chance to win the game by 9 percentage points. I wrote up a short article for the Times saying it was the right thing to do, and didn't realize it was going to be controversial,” said Burke, who completed a master's degree in operations research at George Mason in 2015. “The Times cross posted to my website and when I woke up the next morning my phone was blowing up.”

The data shows that NFL coaches should be more aggressive on the 4th down than they frequently are. Photo by Wikimedia

In 2015 ESPN recruited him to be a sports data scientist, which he does from his home in Reston, Virginia. “I’ve got a charmed existence, for sure,” he laughed.

His career started far from campus or a football field; Burke fulfilled a childhood dream when after high school he became an F-18 Naval fighter pilot. He earned a bachelor’s in aerospace engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and after leaving the service worked for a defense contractor.

But he couldn’t help marrying his love of sports with an analytical mind. “I was talking with a coworker one day of this notion that ‘defense wins championships’ in football; people say it, but is it true?” Burke said. “You could download of data from ESPN.com in the mid 2000’s and I had a regression analysis software and decided to put in the numbers, build some models, and see what came out.”

This love of data and desire to launch his second career led him to wander into the SEOR offices in the Nguyen Engineering building one day in 2014, with no appointment. Late faculty member Andy Loerch, who also served in the military, asked if he could help Burke. The two bonded.

“From that moment on, I thought, ‘This is a great place for me,’” Burke said.

Loerch inspired Burke to enroll at George Mason and became his mentor. When he finished his program, Loerch and Ariela Sofer, then department chair, encouraged him to create a class on sports analytics as an adjunct.

Burke loves the role. “I really enjoy it and enjoy sharing what I know. You don’t know something unless you can teach it, so it forces me to nail down the basics and examine assumptions and go back to first principles.” He said he appreciates the opportunity to connect with fellow SEOR faculty members. “The creative friction when we’re together gives me great ideas.”

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