UNC-IDB Strategic Studies Fellows Program Announces 2017 Graduates

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., July 24, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The UNC-IDB Strategic Studies Fellows Program (SSFP) honored its sixth class of graduates on July 20, 2017 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Congressman David Price was the keynote speaker for the graduation event.

"The UNC-IDB SSFP provides significant value to helping leaders think critically and strategically about current and future national security issues. I am confident that the 2017 graduates are more prepared to operate in today's uncertain and complex times." said Congressman Price.

The UNC-IDB SSFP is administered by the Institute for Defense and Business (IDB) in partnership with the University of North Carolina.

About the SSFP Program
The four-week course is a graduate-level leadership seminar dedicated to broadening the ability of emerging military leaders to adapt to the increasingly uncertain and complex international environment.

During this year's program, LTG Joseph Anderson, Deputy Chief of Staff, United States Army G-3/5/7, paid a special visit to the Fellows. He spoke candidly with them about the strategic landscape of the Army, particularly in a resource-constrained environment. Other highlights included a local corporate visit day where students met with senior leaders from Red Hat, the world's leading provider of open source solutions for cloud, virtualization, storage, Linux, and middleware technologies, where they learned about talent management, business intelligence and strategic decision making. Also they visited the North Carolina Football Club, where the Fellows gained a new perspective on strategic leadership.

Capstone Team Project
The program culminates with an applied strategic capstone team project, consisting of a team presentation and academic paper, demonstrating the students' application of the curriculum. At the end of the course, students presented their findings before a panel consisting of LTG Joseph Anderson, USA; Professor Tim Nichols, Visiting Associate Professor of the Practice in the Duke Sanford School of Public Policy; and MG (Ret) Jim Hodge, President of the IDB.

Graduating Class
Graduates received a joint certificate from UNC and the IDB and are now members of the IDB's expansive alumni network. The graduates are:

CPT Patrick Alamed, Battalion Logistics Officer, Massachusetts Army National Guard
MSG Afshin Aryana, MSG HHC
MAJ Matthew Barack, Executive Officer to the ARNG G1, Army National Guard Bureau
CPT Bobby Baythavong, Ammunition and Schools Branch Chief, USARPAC G-3/5/7 Training
CPT Monica Bury, Div G1, 3rd Brigade Gulf Training Command
CPT Justin Conley, Platoon Trainer, Illinois Army National Guard
MSG Shamika Copenhagen, Transportation Supervisor, 79th Sustainment Support Command
CPT Jeremy Coviello, G2 Operations Officer, 1st Armored Division, FORSCOM
CPT Charles Dalton, Engineer Plans Officer, US Army Central
CPT Jonathon Daniell, Public Affairs Officer, 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade
CPT Earl Dean, Assistant Program Manager Precision and Crewserved Fire Control, Acquisition Corps
CPT Max Dixon, Military Intelligence Detachment Commander, 1st BN, 3rd SFG(A)
LCDR Corey Doolittle, Company Commander, 2d Medical Logistics Company
CPT Jacob Ferrara, Battery Commander, 1-44 ADA
CPT Andrea Filozof, Civil Affairs Team Leader, 1st Special Forces Command
CPT Jon Fuller, Company Commander, 339th QM Company
CPT Courtney Fuller, Nomination Officer, General Officer Management Officer, Office of the Chief of Staff
CPT Danelle Gamble, Small Group Instructor, USAMPS / TRADOC
CPT Christopher Gaulin, Brigade Assistant Operations Officer and Company Commander, 2nd Bn 22nd Infantry
MAJ Willie Green, Assistant State Training Officer, SCARNG- JFHQ
MAJ Shawn Haronik, Executive Officer, Army National Guard Training Division
CPT Sarah Hernandez, Battalion S1, 404th Aviation Support Battalion
Ms. Renee Hughes, Foreign Affairs Specialist, AFRICOM
CPT William Hurt, Company Commander, HHC, 98th CA BN (A)
CPT Ashley Jackson, Distro O/C, 1-357 BSB
MSgt John Jones, Operations Chief, 1st Supply Bn
CPT Bryce Markiewicz, Assistant Operations Officer, 2nd BN 506th Infantry Regiment
CPT Christopher Matthai, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment Commander, 1173rd Deployment and Distribution Support Battalion
CPT Steven McGouldrick, Assistant Fire Support Officer, OPS/HHBN/ 28 ID
CPT Mark Milligan, Contracting Specialist, 410th CSB
1SG Christian Mueller, 1SG, D Co. 1/169 AVN (GSAB)
CPT Daniel Murphy, Detachment Commander, 1st BN, 7th SFG(A)
Capt Alana Nance, Company Commander, CLR-15, 1st MLG
CPT DeMonica Nealy, HRO, 384th MP BN
1stLt John Perez Cruz, Maintenance Management Officer, 3d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion
Mr. Richard Petrillo, Senior Strategic Planning Officer, Army Materiel Command
CPT Joseph Quinn, Company Commander, Combined Arms Battalion NCNG
CPT Matthew Radman, Operations Officer, Headquarters, 98th CA BN(A)
MAJ Noah Siple, Operations Officer, Operations, 116th CBCT
CPT Jerry Smith, Aide-De-Camp, 8th TSC
CW3 Herbert Stover, Aviation Mission Survivability Officer, B 2-224th AVN
CPT Joshua Strader, Small Group Leader, TRADOC
CPT Tomeca Tillis, Human Resource Officer, 316TH ESC
MAJ Eric Tolska, Brigade Aviation Officer, NJARNG, 50th IBCT
CPT Jeremy Trimble, Admissions Officer, United States Military Academy
Ms. Carrie Wasserman, Cyberspace Regional Engagements Planner, SOUTHCOM
Mr. David Willis, Chief, Electromagnetic Spectrum Office, USARPAC G6
MAJ Michael Zultak, Future Operations Branch Chief, Army National Guard G3 Directorate

About the IDB
The IDB is a nonprofit research and education institute formed in 1997 by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the state of North Carolina. The Institute provides custom executive and degree-granting education programs for all career levels from the military and government, non-governmental organizations, private sector, and international organizations. IDB features curriculum in logistics and technology, life cycle systems, leadership and organizational transformation, strategic studies, and stabilization and economic reconstruction. www.IDB.org

Media Contact: Zebrina Warner, Institute for Defense & Business, 919-969-8008, warner@idb.org

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SOURCE Institute for Defense and Business