2015-2016 Editorial Board - National Security Law Journal

Rick Myers is a former U.S. Navy Submarine officer who served for twenty-one years before embarking on a second career in law. A third year law student, he serves as the Editor-in-Chief for the National Security Law Journal. He has interned for the Honorable Alan Kay, Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and is currently a student advisor for the Mason Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic. His Comment addressing potential changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice that pertain to servicemembers confined in civilian prisons appears in Vol. 3, Issue 2 of the National Security Law Journal.

Sean Murphy,Executive Editor

Sean Murphy grew up in Rhode Island and has worked and lived in multiple cities. He holds a B.A. from Loyola University Chicago and an M.A. from the University of Chicago. Prior to law school, Murphy worked on a presidential campaign and served as an active duty U.S. Air Force officer. In 2014, he clerked for the Institute for Justice in Minneapolis, MN. While he has broad interests in the intersection of law and policy in national security issues, his current legal pursuits relate to how national security policies affect and are affected by principles of liberty.

Lynzi Maas, Managing Editor

Lynzi Maas is a third year law student pursuing a concentration in Homeland and National Security Law. She is originally from Northern Colorado and graduated with Honors and distinction from the University of Denver, where she earned a B.A. in Criminology and Legal Studies. She has a background in law enforcement, which includes internships with both local and federal law enforcement agencies, and is currently a legal intern with the United States Department of Justice National Security Division, where she hopes to pursue a career next fall. In addition to serving as the National Security Law Journal’s Managing Editor, she also serves as Chair of the Moot Court Board’s Upper Class Competition and is a member of the Moot Court Board’s Nationals Team.

Kevin Misener, Senior Articles Editor

Kevin Misener is a third year law student and Senior Articles Editor for the National Security Law Journal. He currently serves as an Ethics & Compliance Content Consultant with the Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics and Conduct. He has also served as a summer Law Clerk at the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, an Honors Intern with the Securities and Exchanges Commission, Office of the Inspector General, and as a Research Assistant to Professor Ross Davies. His areas of legal focus include administrative law, public contract law, intergovernmental relations law, and ethics and compliance law. Kevin is also the 2014-2015 Law Student Liaison to the ABA Section on Administrative and Regulatory Law.

Molly Picard, Articles Selection & Senior Notes Editor

Molly Picard is a third year evening student pursuing a concentration in Homeland and National Security Law. She graduated magnum cum laude with Honors distinction from James Madison University where she earned a B.S. in Intelligence Analysis with a concentration in National Security, and a minor in Italian Language. She has interned with the Department of State, and has completed numerous internships with the Department of Defense, where she is presently employed. In addition to being the Article Selection Editor and the Senior Notes Editor on the National Security Law Journal, she is a member of the Moot Court Board.

Stephen Jackson, Senior Research Editor

Originally from the great state of New Jersey, Mr. Jackson moved to the D.C. area to pursue a career in national security. He is currently a third year student expected to graduate in 2016. He is working toward completing Mason’s Homeland and National Security Law Concentration. Mr. Jackson represented GMU in Budapest and Vienna during the Vis Moot International Commercial Arbitration Competition in 2014-15 and plans to do so again this academic year. His article, Terror in Mexico: Why Designating Mexican Cartels as Terrorist Organizations Eases the Prosecution of Drug Traffickers under the Narcoterrorism Statute, will also be published in NSLJ’s Fall 2015 issue.

Dillon Emmanuel, Articles Editor

Dillon Emmanuel is a third year evening student who has worked in both state and local law enforcement agencies for the past four years. He has master’s degrees in both Forensic Psychology and Legal Administration, and he intends to concentrate in national security law.

Sarish Khan, Articles Editor

Sarish Khan is a third year law student interested in focusing on national security law. She was born in Lahore, Pakistan and grew up in the town of Leesburg, Virginia. She has previously worked with the Department for International Development and UKAid on an Education Crisis project in Sindh, Pakistan. In the future, Sarish aspires to hold a position internationally related to national security.

Kirstin Riesbeck, Notes Editor & Symposium Editor

Kirstin Riesbeck is a third year evening student concentrating in Homeland and National Security Law. Ms. Riesbeck has more than a decade in federal service focused on homeland and national security, emergency response, international affairs, and science and technology policy. She currently serves as a Senior Policy Analyst for the National Protection and Programs Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security. In addition to her positions as Symposium Editor and Notes Editor, she serves as the Student Liaison to the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security. She holds a M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College and a B.A. in Public Policy with a concentration in Science and Technology Policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Zachary Deubler, Research Editor

Zachary Deubler graduated from George Mason University in 2012 with a B.S. in Criminology. He currently works for Whitestone, Brent, Young, & Merril, P.C. as a law clerk. Upon graduation from law school, Zachary would like to become an Assistant Commonwealths Attorney, and is set to obtain his Juris Doctor in May of 2016.

Sid Das, Associate Notes Editor

Sid Das is a third year law student from Northern Virginia. He graduated with Distinction from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Political Science and minor in Religious Studies. In addition to serving as Associate Notes Editor for National Security Law Journal, he is also serving as Managing Justice for GMU Moot Court and Vice President of Marketing and Outreach for the GMU ADR Society.

Abhi Mehta, Associate Notes Editor

Abhi is a third year law student pursuing a career in criminal prosecution. He has gotten the chance to litigate his own cases in insurance defense, as well as to work in prosecutor’s offices like the US Attorney’s Office in DC and the Arlington Commonwealth Attorney’s office. He enjoys sports, movies, new foods, and spending time with family.

Kelly Snyder, Associate Notes Editor

Kelly Snyder is a third year evening law student from Titletown, USA (also known as Green Bay, WI). He enlisted in the Air Force after high school and specialized in financial management while stationed in beautiful Anchorage, Alaska before receiving a direct appointment to attend the Air Force Academy. Kelly is an active duty Captain at the Air Force Space Command Office of Space & Technology where he is a contract negotiator managing a portfolio of contracts providing operations support and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.

Jennifer Zielonis, Associate Notes Editor

Jennifer Zielonis is a third year law student pursuing a concentration in criminal law and is an Associate Notes Editor of the Natural Security Law Journal. She also works part time at the Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. A Pennsylvania native, she attended James Madison University, graduating magna cum laude with degrees in Political Science and Public Policy Administration.

Tony Batt, Member

Tony Batt is a third year law student from Newport News, Virginia. He graduated in 2013 from the College of William & Mary with a Bachelors of Arts with a double major in Government and Psychology.

Alexandra Diaz, Member

Alexandra Diaz is a second year day law student. She was born in Callao, Peru but grew up in the Sunshine State (Florida). She attended Florida Atlantic University, where she graduated magna cum laude with a B.A in political science and a minor in history. She is currently pursuing her interests by working on the homeland and national security and immigration law concentrations at Mason.

Steven DiBeneditto, Member

Steve DiBeneditto is a second year law student at George Mason University. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts, and living in the greater Boston area his whole life, Steve wanted to move to DC to specifically work in the National Security industry. Steve interned for the TSA over the summer and is currently working for The Honorable Rossie Alston, Jr. on the Virginia Court of Appeals. His current comment area interest is writing on first amendment issues and social media, and how the government must weigh security concerns against the freedom of speech when combating terrorism in the USA.

Benjamin Ford, Member

Benjamin Ford was raised in Sandy, Utah. He received his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Brigham Young University in 2011 and master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the George Washington University in 2013. Having had considerable exposure to technical fields and having lived in Washington, DC for more than three years, Benjamin is interested in the overlay of technology and national security.

Ligia Franco, Member

Xue Franco is a second year evening student who split her time growing up between Alexandria, Virginia and Bogota, Colombia. She graduated from the College of William and Mary. She has interned for the Department of Justice at the American Embassy in Bogota as well as the Department of Justice here in Washington D.C. In addition to being a National Security Law Journal Candidate Member she is also a paralegal at a law firm in Alexandria, Virginia.

Sarah Gilson, Member

Sarah Gilson is a second year evening student who works full-time as a Statistician for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Originally from South Jersey, Sarah has a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics Education from Elizabethtown College and a Masters of Science in Applied Statistics from Villanova University. Previously, Sarah was a Statistician for the Federal Aviation Administration in NJ but moved to the DC area for a position with the Drug Enforcement Administration in 2013, before transferring to ICE in 2014. Growing up in a law enforcement family, Sarah has always had a strong interest in law enforcement and national security.

Jameson Goodell, Member

Jameson Goodell is a second year law student looking to concentrate in criminal law and national security law. He graduated from Virginia Military Institute with bachelor’s degrees in International Studies and Arabic Language and Culture. In the future, Jameson hopes to work in the criminal law field or in national security and defense.

Bryan Grulkowski, Member

Bryan Grulkowski is a second year law school student concentrating in national security law. He is originally from Wisconsin and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He has past experience working for a police department, interning for the U.S. Peace Corps, and the Transportation Security Administration.

Rachel Komito, Member

Rachel Komito is a second year student who grew up in New Jersey. She attended Rosemont College where she graduated cum laude with a double major in Political Science and History. She is primarily interested in international law. She recently interned with Wang Jing & Co., a Chinese law firm specializing in maritime law and international trade. In addition to being a National Security Law Journal Candidate Member, she is on the executive board of the Jewish Law Student Association.

Rebecca Lilly, Member

Rebecca Lilly is a former evening student and Algebra teacher who has recently switched to attending Mason Law full time. She attended Towson University with a degree in Education. She currently works at a private law firm in Tyson’s Corner focusing on criminal defense and family law. She is a Candidate Member of the National Security Law Journal and has a growing interest in becoming a State or Federal Prosecutor.

Peter Macchiaioli, Member

Peter Macchiaroli is a second year law student from Chicago, IL. He graduated magna cum laude from Southern Illinois University with a degree in Political Science and Speech Communications, with a minor in History. He spent his 1L summer as a judicial extern for the Honorable E. Kenneth Wright Jr., Chief Judge of the First Municipal District in Cook County, IL. He enjoys sports, camping, skateboarding, and spending quality time with friends and family.

Anna Miller, Member

Anna Miller is a second year law student. Before attending law school, she earned a B.A. in Classical Liberal Arts from Patrick Henry College and worked for several years as a paralegal. In addition to being a National Security Law Journal candidate member, Anna serves as Vice Chair of the Moot Court Board’s Mooting and Extramural Committee.

Scott Schenking, Member

Scott Schenking began his law career after completing a twenty-year career as a Lieutenant Colonel with the United States Army. During his time in service, Scott worked as a Senior Military Analyst and Assistant Army Attaché with the Defense Intelligence Agency and as the Western Balkans Branch Chief in the Joint Staff Office of Strategic Plans and Policy. He has served overseas with the United States Embassies in The Hague, Netherlands and in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Scott holds a Masters of Arts in International Relations from the University of South Carolina and speaks both Dutch and Serbo-Croatian.

Chelsea Smith, Member

Chelsea Smith earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland where she double majored in Criminology/Criminal Justice and Psychology. She has over a decade of professional experience in federal agencies and currently serves as the principle Senior Advisor in the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer at the U.S. Department of Energy. Chelsea is a second year evening law student interested in pursuing a concentration in criminal law.

Jaren Stanton, Member

Jaren Stanton is a second year law student interested in policy and regulatory law. He attended the University of Utah where he earned a B.S. in urban planning and a minor in applied ethics. He has worked in the transportation field for the past three years and currently interns with the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Richard Sterns, Member

Richard is a second year evening student who grew up in St. Louis, MO. He graduated magna cum laude from Westminster College in Fulton, MO with majors in History and Political Science and minors in English and Security Studies. His undergraduate thesis focused on modern American secessionist groups and their potential threats to American National Security. He has a wide variety of legal interests related to national security including international law, administrative law, and government contracting. In addition to being a National Security Law Journal candidate member, Richard works full time for a boutique law firm in Washington, D.C which specializes in transactional real estate law.

Alex Summerton, Member

Alexander Summerton is a second-year law student from Silver Creek, New York. He holds degrees in Chemistry and Legal Studies from SUNY Fredonia, where he participated in the school’s honor program. He is interested in the fields of Patent and Intellectual Property Law, and intends to pursue a career in Patent Prosecution.

Anastasia Uzilevskaya, Member

Anastasia Uzilevskaya is a second year law student pursuing a concentration in criminal and national security law. Anastasia was born in Russia and moved to America when she was 9. She graduated summa cum laude from George Mason University where she studied Criminology and Intelligence Analysis. She has worked in both criminal defense and prosecution and will be using her third year practice certificate to prosecute cases ranging from DUI’s to simple drug crimes.