Salvatore Borgognone Salvatore (Sal) Borgognone is the Defense Fellow to Majority Leader Steve Scalise, supporting his Defense, Foreign Affairs, Veterans Affairs, and Science, Space, and Technology Portfolios. He is a Navy Surface Warfare Officer, previously serving aboard the USS Milius (DDG-69) and USS Mitscher (DDG-57) and in the Pentagon as the Speechwriter to the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Columbia University and starts his Security Studies Master’s Program in National Security Policy at Georgetown University in Fall 2026. He is passionate about all things foreign affairs, defense policy, and maritime policy and is published in the Diplomat, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Defense One. He is both a loving husband to his wife, Madeline, and a great dog-dad to his golden-retriever, Daisy. Rafaello Carone Rafaello J. Carone is a senior congressional staffer serving as Communications Director and Senior Policy Advisor to a senior Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He advises on domestic and national security policy, drafts legislation, prepares vote recommendations, and supports oversight initiatives at the committee level. Over the course of his congressional career, he has served in multiple House offices as a Senior Legislative Assistant, managing complex policy portfolios and coordinating with leadership and executive branch officials. Rafaello is completing a Master of Arts in Defense and Strategic Studies at the U.S. Naval War College and will graduate this spring. A cancer survivor, he brings resilience, discipline, and perspective to his public service, grounded in a commitment to principled governance and institutional integrity. Emma Consoli Emma Consoli is a Legislative Assistant in the office of Congressman Derek Tran, covering the Congressman’s House Armed Services Committee work, Foreign Policy, Energy, and several other issues. Emma has served on Capitol Hill for four years, working her way up from intern to Legislative Assistant. Prior to joining Rep. Tran’s team, Emma served in the office of Rep. Chrissy Houlahan where she covered the Congresswoman’s Foreign Policy and Global Health portfolios and participated in the Wilson Center’s Congressional Foreign Policy Fellowship Program. Emma holds a BA in International Relations with minors in Public Policy and Women’s Studies from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, in Geneva, NY. Megan Dickey Megan Dickey is a Legislation & Policy Analyst with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Minority Staff, covering Middle East, North Africa, arms sales, nonproliferation, and civil nuclear issues. Throughout her career, Megan has been particularly interested in and studied conflicts spurred from non-state actor, counterterrorism issues, small wars, and broader Middle East matters. Prior to SFRC, Megan worked for Senator Ben Cardin. Megan retains a Master of Arts in International Affairs from American University’s School of International Service and a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola University Maryland. She is a proud Maryland native, born and raised in Annapolis. Edyt Dickstein Edyt Dickstein is a Professional Staff Member with the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where she oversees the Defense Intelligence Agency, Department of Treasury’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, and Department of Energy’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence for the minority. She also covers the Middle East for the Committee. Edyt previously served as an intelligence officer with the Department of Defense, where she worked on a range of issues across the Middle East. In her time at DOD, she held a variety of roles, including at U.S. Cyber Command, the Defense Intelligence Agency headquarters, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She also deployed to Kuwait and Iraq, where she was an intelligence analyst and briefer to the Commander of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR). Edyt received an AB in government and the modern Middle East from Harvard University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude. Molly Grace Doyle Molly Grace Doyle is a Nuclear Security Working Group fellow in Senator Mark Kelly’s office assigned to the Defense portfolio. Her experience spans multiple roles, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Nuclear and Treaty Law Division, and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). At the IAEA, her work included nuclear liability, capacity building for nuclear legislation, and research on the proliferation risks posed by small modular reactors (SMRs). Previously, Molly Grace was a Graduate Fellow at the NNSA, contributing to transparent stockpile stewardship and industrial-base monitoring. Molly Grace holds a master’s degree in international affairs with a concentration in nuclear policy Courtney Fellows Courtney Fellows serves as a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) on the staff of Chairman Tom Cotton (R-AR) handling counterproliferation, Middle East, and South Asia policy issues and serves as the designee to Senator James Lankford (R-OK). She has over a decade of Hill experience, previously serving as National Security Advisor to Senator Lankford, advising on national security matters. Prior to her work in Congress, Fellows lived in South Asia working with an NGO that partners with local authorities to detect, rescue, and rehabilitate survivors of human trafficking. Fellows received her Master of Arts in Defense and Strategic Studies at the US Naval War College, with a focus in Information Operations. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Political Science from Azusa Pacific University and was a visiting scholar at Oxford University (Hertford College). Danielle Greco Danielle Greco is a fellow on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, supporting the Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific. Her portfolio includes energy, critical minerals, environmental policy, and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, with a focus on strengthening U.S. competitiveness, particularly across critical supply chains and emerging technologies. Previously, she was a graduate fellow in the United States Senate and at the United States Department of State, working on economic and national security and foreign affairs issues. She also served as an engineer at the United States Department of War. Greco holds an M.A. from Harvard University and a dual bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. She looks forward to deepening her understanding of nuclear strategy, deterrence, and arms control policy. Graham Harwood Graham is currently a Professional Staff Member on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Minority staff, where he focuses on national security, foreign policy, cybersecurity, energy, economics, and trade. Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Graham worked as a software engineer and quantitative analyst for trading firms and banks across asset classes including equities, indices, commodity futures, and physical commodities as well as previous work in aerospace manufacturing. Katie Karam Katie Karam serves as a Research Assistant for the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services. In this role, Katie serves as the Research Assistant for the U.S. Strategic Command, U.S. Central Command, U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Southern Command, and Readiness portfolios. Previously, Katie served as the Special Assistant for U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell in the Office of the U.S. Senate Republican Leader from March 2023 to December 2024. Prior to her role in the Office of the U.S. Senate Republican Leader, Katie completed an internship with the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, where she worked with legislation on nuclear policy and uranium enrichment. Katie holds a B.A. in Political Science from Mississippi State University and is currently enrolled in the Fleet Seminar Program at the U.S. Naval War College. Edwin Kindler Edwin Kindler is a Senior Legislative Assistant in the office of Rep. Bill Foster (IL-11), covering nuclear security, artificial intelligence, science, technology, and energy issues for the Congressman. Prior to joining the office as a Nuclear Security Working Group Fellow, Edwin held roles at the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and Healthcare Ready. He holds a master’s degree from King’s College London in Non-Proliferation and International Security, and a B.S. in Diplomacy and International Relations from Seton Hall University. He was a member of the Nuclear Scholars Initiative Class of 2023. Elizabeth Kos Elizabeth (Libby) Kos is a Military Legislative Assistant for Rep. Maggie Goodlander (NH-02). She also serves as a Nuclear Security Working Group Fellow on the Hill. Previously, she was a Program Manager and Research Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where she worked on issues of nuclear strategy and policy. Libby received her Master of Arts in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where she focused on security, strategy, and statecraft in the United States. She also received her Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University. Libby has written on topics of nuclear sole authority, strategic competition and nuclear risk, and regional proliferation. Nikita Mann Nikita Mann is a senior policy analyst on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for Chairman James E. Risch, covering arms transfers, defense trade, security assistance, arms control, and civil nuclear cooperation. Prior to her current role, she worked in the U.S. Senate as a Military Legislative Assistant for a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Previously, she served in the Pentagon as a special assistant focused on U.S.-China policy and also worked in the U.S. House of Representatives on defense and national security. She holds a Master of Arts in International Affairs: U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security from American University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Politics from the Pennsylvania State University. She is proficient in Mandarin Chinese, and speaks Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu. Eni Owoeye Eni is a first generation Nigerian-American born in Brooklyn and based in Baltimore. Eni works on the legislative team for Rep. Susie Lee (NV-03) and covers a wide range of issue areas including foreign policy, nuclear issues, and science and technology. She holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Duke and dual degrees from NYU in International Relations and Environmental Science. Eni’s experience spans the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, U.S. State Department, UN Foundation, and NOAA, focusing on environmental policy, the maritime shipping industry, national defense, and foreign policy. As a 2022 Fulbright Scholar to Romania, she combined her passion for mentorship with advancing equitable education access. In her free time, she enjoys volunteering, interfaith work, hiking, and Costco runs. Bowen Peard Bowen Peard serves as Senior Defense Policy Advisor for Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), managing his work on defense and homeland security appropriations and advising him on issues including national security, veterans’ affairs, homeland security, intelligence, and manufacturing. Before joining Senator Murphy’s team in November 2023, Bo was Rep. Susie Lee’s (NV-03) Legislative Director and before that a Nuclear Security Working Group Fellow in Rep. Derek Kilmer’s office (WA-06). Bo came to Capitol Hill after supporting a number of 2020 political campaigns in New England, working as a Special Assistant for Political Affairs at the Japanese Consulate General in Boston, MA, and teaching high school history in Los Angeles, CA. Bo earned an M.A. in Security Studies and International Law from the Tufts Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 2019, and he graduated from Princeton University in 2015 with a B.A. in Near Eastern History. Victoria Rivas Victoria Rivas is the National Security Advisor for House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar and focuses on national security, foreign affairs, and immigration policy. She previously worked for Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, focusing on homeland security appropriations and serving as her lead staffer for H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act. Victoria began her career on Capitol Hill working for former Congressman Xavier Becerra. A California native, Victoria graduated from U.C. Berkeley. Passionate about building a diverse congressional workforce, Victoria is a former President of the Congressional Hispanic Staff Association. Austin Richards Austin Richards serves as a Research Assistant for the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Intelligence & Special Operations and Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, where he supports oversight and policy initiatives related to national security, defense strategy, and emerging threats. In this role, he contributes research and analysis to inform members’ legislative priorities and committee engagements. Prior to joining the committee, Austin worked for Mike Turner as both a press and legislative aide, supporting the Chairman’s work on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. There, he assisted with communications strategy, legislative research, and constituent engagement on complex intelligence matters. A proud alumnus of Indiana University Bloomington, Austin graduated in 2024 with a major in Law and Public Policy. He is a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana and remains committed to public service and advancing sound national security policy. Daniel Thayer Daniel Thayer is a national security and foreign relations professional staffer with over five years of combined experience in the Executive Branch, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives. He currently serves as National Security Advisor for Congressman Mark Messmer of Indiana’s 8th Congressional District. Daniel hails from outside of Lexington, Kentucky, and is a graduate of Northern Kentucky University (NKU). When not reading legislative text or drafting memos, you will find him exploring his new home of Washington D.C.