Piracy Conference: Speaker Bios

Alijandra Mogilner

Alijandra holds a Ph.D. in pre Columbian anthropology from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México with post graduate work in Middle Eastern Studies and other cultural studies from UC Berkeley and other universities.  She has taught at UC San Diego and Alliant International University as well as done training for various government agencies.  After raising a family she ran the news and information service for the European Parliament in the early 1990s and returned to intelligence work in the mid-1990s when she joined the first open source intelligence email lists set up by Col. G.I. Wilson (USMC Ret.).  She has worked as a contractor for several U.S. agencies and for several companies that held contracts with U.S. agencies.  Her work in the area of counter-piracy has included the Malacca Straits, the Caribbean, and areas of Africa.  She also has been privy to discussions on counter-piracy efforts with leaders from China and Australia. 
 
On the other side, her work inside al Qaeda at the turn of the century gave her a glimpse into Islamists plans in that area.  At that time, piracy was a small part of a larger strategic plan for Eastern and Southern Africa. 
 
She believes that, while OSINT tactical level support for counter-piracy efforts is difficult to set up, it is also one of the most effective weapons we have in the fight against this threat.

Gary I. Wilson

G.I. Wilson is a retired Marine Corps Colonel and combat veteran with 33 years of military service and several years of experience in law enforcement-emergency services. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Marine Corps Intelligence Association (MCIA), Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO), American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS), FBI Infragard Program, Naval Intelligence Professionals (NIP), Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Military Order of World Wars, Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP), Forensic Expert Witness Association (FEWA), and serves on the Board of Directors for Bossov Ballet Theatre, San Diego County Crime Stoppers, and Palomar College Education for Heroes Foundation. He is widely published in professional journals, appears on national television, radio, and in documentaries. He coauthored a 1989 professional paper that coined the term “fourth generation warfare (4GW).” He has BA in psychology from the State University of New York at Albany and MA in Bushiness and Organizational Security Management from Webster University. He is currently pursing another graduate degree in forensic psychology. Personal military awards include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, and several Combat Action Ribbons.

Larbi A. Yahia

Larbi A. Yahia has been active in the maritime filed for over than 30 years. In addition to two Masters Degrees on maritime transportation, he holds a merchant marine officer certificate.  Mr Larbi has been involved in several marine policy issue studies, written many articles, and presented many papers at international conferences in Europe dealing with policy issues in the Mediterranean area.  Before moving to Canada he was a member of the International Center of Ocean and Coastal Policy Studies of Italy and the Foundation of International Studies.  In Canada he has been involved in the implementation process of the ISPS Code and the development of training schemes on marine security.  Currently, he manages the Marine Emergency Training Center of the Institut Maritime du Quebec.  The Center specialises in training for marine safety and security, fire fighting, and survival at sea.

Allan McDougall

Allan’s experience blends the public, private and military sectors. Following his service with the Canadian Forces (combat engineers), he took on specialist challenges within the Transportation Sector, including senior advisory positions within a number of federal departments in Canada.
Currently, Allan’s work focuses on Critical Infrastructure Assurance and Protection with a focus on the Transportation Sector. In addition to his business activities focussing on infrastructure assurance and security training, he serves on the ASIS International Transportation Security Committee, the Transportation Systems Sector Cybersecurity Working Group for the Transportation Security Administration, and has presented across a number of venues, including the Information Management Resources College at the National Defense University on Transportation Security matters. He also has several publications, ranging from two works co-authored with Bob Radvanovsky on Transportation Systems Security and Critical Infrastructure Protection to a number of white papers published in university journals on the topic.
Allan holds degrees from the University of Western Ontario and Royal Military College of Canada (Kingston), in addition to professional certifications, including the Professional in Critical Infrastructure Protection, Certified Master Anti-Terrorism Specialist, and the Certified Information Systems Security Professional.  He has also completed training as a lead auditor for the ISO 28000 standard.

 George “Guy” Thomas

Guy is the Science & Technology Advisor for the National Office of Global Maritime Situational Awareness (OGMSA), and the Global Maritime & Air Intelligence Integration office (GMAII), together chartered by the White House to lead the execution of a major part the National Strategy for Maritime Security (NSMS).  He also co-chairs the National Maritime Awareness Technology sub-committee (NMATS).
Guy has been part of the international Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) effort since its inception, writing the initial draft of what is now the National Concept of Operations for MDA (November 2001, and its update in 2003).  He helped to initiate and organize the MDA Summit of May 2004, attended by 25 federal agencies, which led directly to the development of NSPD-41/HSPD-13 and the NSMS.  He co-chaired the development of the National MDA Technology Roadmap (June 2005).
  He conceived and wrote both the concept of operations and the formal proposal to put the first AIS receivers on satellites, and worked to initiate operations of both Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and Lighter than Air (LTA) platforms in a maritime surveillance role.  He is also deeply involved in space systems utility analysis, authoring the Collaboration in Space for International Global Maritime Awareness (C-SIGMA) concept, as the initiation of a Global Space Partnership.Prior to joining the USCG in 2003 he was involved in many facets of reconnaissance and technical intelligence. He served in combat as a signals warfare specialist on ships, submarines, and on both USN and USAF aircraft.  He is a proven US Navy sub-specialist in space operations, information systems, joint operations, war gaming and defense analysis.
Since retiring from the US Navy in 1988, he has participated in counter-narcotics operations on the southwest border and led an effort to sell Japan a copy of Air Force ONE.  He worked briefly for the FBI helping to debrief defectors.  He subsequently joined Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory where he participated and led many technical studies and war games.

Thomas Countryman

Thomas Countryman, Senior Foreign Service, is Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs.  He helps to manage military assistance programs; provide diplomatic support to Department of Defense global operations; conduct strategic dialogues with Allies; regulate defense exports and arms transfers; manage landmine clearance; and coordinate U.S. anti-piracy efforts.

Mr. Countryman began his State Department career in 1982.  During Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, he was the Political-Military Officer at the American Embassy in Cairo.  Other assignments have been with the Department's Office of Counter-Terrorism; advising Secretary of State Albright on Middle East affairs; liaison with the UN Special Commission investigating Iraq’s weapons programs; Director for Near East and South Asian Affairs at the National Security Council; Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the American Embassy in Rome; and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Athens.  In 2008-9, he was the Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Mr. Countryman graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, and studied at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.  He is a native of Tacoma, Washington.

Guy Meadan

Major Guy Meadan (res.), Special Forces Unit 6646 of the IDF is a seasoned security professional with extensive experience in planning, leading, training, and executing military and non-military operations throughout the world. As Commander of a reserve Special Forces unit which actively participates in counter-terror operations, he is highly trained in irregular warfare. Guy has extensive experience in site and operational security planning and execution for critical infrastructure. He is an expert lecturer and briefer on issues of site security, PSD, counter terrorism, and special warfare, and has lectured in seminars throughout Europe, Africa and Australia.  Guy is an accomplished instructor in Israeli security theory and application. Guy holds a BA in Middle Eastern Studies and an MBA from Hebrew University in Jerusalem.