John Allen is a wordsmith who is comfortable writing in several diverse styles. He produces precise technical documents, effective advertising copy and poetry. Allen has lived in Nashville, Salt Lake City and Sweden. He is married and has four daughters.
Robert O. Work served as the 32nd Deputy Secretary of Defense from 2014 to 2017. He is the Distinguished Senior Fellow for Defense and National Security at the Center for a New American Security, which he led as Chief Executive Officer from 2013 to 2014.From 2009 to 2013, Mr. Work served as the Undersecretary of the Navy. In this capacity, he was the Deputy and Principal Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and acted with full authority of the Secretary in the day-to-day management of the Department of the Navy.In 2008, Mr. Work served on President-elect Barack Obama's Department of Defense Transition Team as leader of the Department of the Navy issues team. He also worked on the defense policy, acquisition, and budget teams.In 2002, Mr. Work joined the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), first as the Senior Fellow for Maritime Affairs, and later as the Vice President for Strategic Studies. In these positions, he focused on defense strategy and programs, revolutions in war, Department of Defense transformation, and maritime affairs. Mr. Work was also an adjunct professor at George Washington University, where he taught defense analysis and roles and missions of the armed forces. His military and civilian awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award. He also serves on the Board of Directors at Raytheon and is the president and owner of TeamWork, LLC, which provides insight, counsel and advice on defense and national security issues.
A two-time Chair of the University of Texas Computer Science Department, Dr. Bruce Porter serves as SparkCognition's Chief Science Officer, where he leads the company's many R&D initiatives. Currently, as University Professor, Dr. Porter research focuses on machine reading, a technology that holds tremendous potential for capturing knowledge for automated inference, question answering, explanation generation, and other AI capabilities. Dr. Porter also directs UT's Knowledge Systems Research Group, an AI organization with the goal to develop methods to build knowledgeable computers. He has won the Best Paper Award at the National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, the College of Natural Sciences Teaching Excellence Award, the National Science Foundation's Presidential Young Investigator Award, and the President's Associates Teaching Excellence Award.
Recognized as one of the top twenty-five women in the US to shape defense policy, Wendy R. Anderson brings twenty years of experience in national and international security to her position as General Manager, Defense & National Security, at SparkCognition. Anderson served in the Obama administration in key leadership positions in the Departments of Defense and Commerce: Deputy Chief of Staff to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Chief of Staff to Deputy Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, and Chief of Staff to Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. Previously, she held senior positions in the US Senate, on both the Intelligence and Homeland Security Committees. Anderson was twice awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Department's highest civilian service award. A graduate of Harvard and Columbia universities, Anderson specializes in South Asia and the Middle East. Anderson is a partner at Strong Eagle Media; an adjunct Senior Fellow in the Military, Veterans, and Society Program at the Center for a New American Security; and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She serves on the board of Team Rubicon Global and on the Board of Trustees at her alma mater, Hendrix College.
Jim Townsend is an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), where he co-leads the Transatlantic Security Program. He is the co-host of an interview program and writes the weekly transatlantic news feature "The Dish."Previously, Jim worked as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for European and NATO Policy. He helped execute US military engagement in almost every conflict from the Gulf War to the reintroduction of US forces into Europe to deter Russia. He played critical roles in NATO enlargement, NATO reform, and building relations with the new democracies after the breakup of the Soviet Union.Jim has also held positions as Vice President in the Atlantic Council of the United States and Director of the Council's Program on International Security, Principal Director of European and NATO Policy, Director of NATO Policy, and Director of the Defense Plans Division at the US Mission to NATO in Brussels, Belgium.Jim has been decorated by 11 European nations and multiple times by the Department of Defense, including a Presidential Rank Award (Meritorious Executive).
