Homeland Security Today and Narrative Strategies are proud to launch the first-ever Narrative Strategy Symposium, bringing together leaders from government, academia, industry, the military, and the homeland security community to explore one of the defining challenges of our time: how narratives shape security, public trust, decision-making, and national resilience. The symposium is made possible through the collaboration of a distinguished group of organizations working at the forefront of narrative, strategy, national security, and defense.
As the United States confronts increasingly complex challenges—from strategic competition and disinformation to violent extremism, artificial intelligence, and influence operations—understanding narrative has become a national security imperative. Narratives influence how people interpret events, build trust, make decisions, and respond to crises. Developing a deeper understanding of narrative strategy will help homeland security leaders anticipate emerging threats, strengthen public resilience, and communicate more effectively during times of uncertainty.
Building on the launch of Homeland Security Today's Narrative Strategy Vertical, this inaugural symposium will establish a foundation for continued collaboration by examining the principles of narrative, narrative strategy, and narrative warfare; highlighting the organizations advancing this work across government, academia, industry, and the defense community; and exploring practical applications for homeland security, emergency management, law enforcement, public safety, and national security. Together, participants will examine how narrative can be leveraged to strengthen preparedness, counter malign influence, and build a more secure and resilient nation.
8:45 AM — Welcome and OpeningKristina Tanasichuk — Executive Editor, Homeland Security Today
9:00 AM — What Is Narrative and How Does It Shape Our Lives?Ajit Maan, Ph.D. — Founder & CEO, Narrative StrategiesCommentator: Amy Zalman, Ph.D. — Founder, Prescient; Adjunct Faculty, Columbia University School of International & Public Affairs
9:30 AM — Influence WarfareHoward Gambrill Clark, Ph.D. — President, Narrative StrategiesCommentator: Elena T. Bailey, Ph.D. — President and Professor, The Academy; CEO, Glocal; Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University
10:30 AM — Coffee Break
11:00 AM — Narrative War: The Philosophy of Social Conflict and the Role of Artificial IntelligenceBrian L. Steed, Ph.D. — Senior Fellow, Narrative StrategiesCommentator: Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Rambir Singh Mann, Ph.D. — Independent Board & Policy Advisor, Indian Ministry of Defence
12:00 PM — Catered Working Lunch
12:15 PM — Keynote Speaker: “Narrative Strategy and Irregular Warfare — at Home and Abroad”Kyle Atwell, Ph.D. and Lt. Col., U.S. Army — Co-Founder & Chair of the Board of Directors, The Irregular Warfare Initiative; Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
1:00 PM — Narrative Challenges to American Engagement of a Multipolar WorldJohn A. Pennell, Ph.D. — Senior Diplomacy Fellow, Narrative-Strategies; Editor-in-Chief, Prism, U.S. Irregular Warfare Center; former U.S. Senior Foreign Service Officer
Commentators:Kevin Melton — CEO, Pax StrategiesIa Meurmishvili — Co-Founder, President & CEO, Editor-in-Chief, Independence Avenue Media; former Managing Editor of Voice of America’s Georgian ServiceCandice Bryant — Advisor/Strategist on Narrative & AI; former Head of Communications at the CIA and of Executive/Internal Communications, Google Search & Global Security
2:30 PM — Coffee Break
3:00 PM — Narrative Strategy as Grand Strategy: Citizen Resilience as Civil DefenseChristopher Holshek, Col. (Ret.), U.S. Army Civil Affairs — Vice President, Narrative StrategiesCommentator: Jesse Levin — Executive Director, Defense Entrepreneurs Forum
4:00 PM — Collective Resilience: How We're Building Community for Cognitive Security and AdvantageFelicia Weston — Applied Narrative Warfare Fellow and Senior Data Strategist, Narrative Strategies
Commentators:John Wilcox, Col. (Ret.), U.S. Army — former J-39 (Joint Information Operations), U.S. Special Operations CommandDr. Anshu Roy — Founder & CEO, Rhombus Power, Inc.
5:00 PM — Networking Reception with Refreshments
In partnership with:
Speaker Bios:
Founder & CEO, Narrative Strategies
Dr. Ajit Maan is a globally renowned thought leader in narrative, narrative strategy, and narrative warfare. She is Professor of Practice in the Master’s Program in Politics and Global Security at Arizona State University and a faculty member of ASU’s Future Security Initiative. She is also an adjunct professor at the Joint Special Operations University, President of the Military Writers Guild, Editorial Adviser to PRISM at the U.S. Irregular Warfare Center, and editor of the Narrative Strategies Vertical for Homeland Security Today.
Dr. Maan is the author of several books, including Internarrative Identity: Placing the Self, Counter-Terrorism: Narrative Strategies, Plato’s Fear, and Narrative Warfare. Her work has appeared in numerous academic, military strategy, and national security publications worldwide.
Founder, Prescient
Dr. Amy Zalman is the founder of Prescient, a strategic foresight consultancy helping senior leaders anticipate technological, geopolitical, and societal change. Her work examines how these forces redistribute power, reshape institutions, and alter the conditions under which organizations govern, compete, and make decisions.
Previously, she led Deloitte’s strategic foresight portfolio for government and public services, served as President & CEO of the World Future Society, and was the first Chair of Information Integration at the U.S. National War College. She is also adjunct faculty at Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs and author of Strategic Narrative: A Framework for Accelerating Innovation.
President, Narrative Strategies
Dr. Howard Gambrill Clark has specialized in influence strategies and psychological warfare for more than 29 years. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps as an intelligence officer and multinational/special-unit commander, with multiple deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Philippines.
His career has included work with the U.S. Information Agency, Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, Executive Office of the President, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Special Operations Command, and National Defense University. He has served as President of Narrative Strategies and is now a professor and Influence Warfare Program Director at The Academy. He has published 11 books on counterterrorism, narrative warfare, and influence.
President and Program Director, The Academy
Dr. Elena Taube Bailey is President and Program Director at The Academy, a university focused on influence and cognitive warfare, cyberpsychology, intelligence tradecraft, OSINT, and AI. She is a professor at the College of Information and Cyberspace at National Defense University and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.
Dr. Bailey founded the OSINT platform Glocal and serves as its CEO. Earlier in her career, she served as an intelligence and counterintelligence analyst at the CIA, ODNI, and Department of State and worked in strategic communications at the Consulates General of Israel and Ukraine. She holds a Ph.D. in Strategic Communication from George Mason University, a master’s in behavioral psychology from Harvard University, an M.B.A. from Georgetown University, and a master’s in political science from NYU.
Senior Fellow, Narrative Strategies
Lt. Col. (Ret.) Brian L. Steed is a senior fellow at Narrative Strategies, where he promotes, teaches, and speaks about narrative warfare. He is also a professor of Military History and a retired U.S. Army Middle East Foreign Area Officer.
He served more than eight consecutive years in the Middle East, including with the Jordanian Armed Forces. Dr. Steed has written numerous books on military theory, military history, cultural awareness, and narrative warfare and has pioneered ideas on narrative war and cross-cultural influence informed by his service in the Middle East.
Major General (Ret.), Indian Army
Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Rambir Singh Mann is an editorial board member of and contributor to Homeland Security Today. He served as a Ministry of Defence consultant on technology and offsets and independently advises on national security strategy and defence policy.
His work spans hybrid conflict, grey-zone operations, and the narrative dimensions of strategic competition. He holds a doctorate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and is a graduate of the Advanced Course on International Strategy at the Institute for Higher National Defence Studies in Paris.
Lt. Col., U.S. Army | Co-Founder & Chair, Irregular Warfare Initiative
Lt. Col. Kyle Atwell is a Senior Advisor for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy and an active-duty U.S. Army Special Forces Officer. He is co-founder and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Irregular Warfare Initiative and hosts the Irregular Warfare Podcast.
He is also a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, where his research focuses on proxy warfare, military intervention, special operations forces, and security force assistance. He earned his Ph.D. in Public Affairs (Security Studies) from Princeton University and is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Georgetown University.
Senior Diplomacy Fellow, Narrative-Strategies
Dr. John A. Pennell is a contractor with the U.S. Department of War’s Irregular Warfare Center, a Research Fellow with Arizona State University’s Future Security Initiative, and Professor of Practice with ASU’s School of Politics and Global Studies.
He is also a Non-Resident Senior Fellow with the Global & National Security Institute, a Non-Resident Fellow with the Irregular Warfare Institute-Europe Program, and a Senior Diplomacy Fellow with Narrative-Strategies. A former U.S. Senior Foreign Service Officer at the Minister-Counselor rank, he has field experience in all regions of the world. He holds a Ph.D. from King’s College London and master’s degrees from the National War College and American University.
Co-Founder & CEO, Pax Strategies
Kevin Melton is Co-Founder and CEO of Pax Strategies, a strategic advisory firm helping public, private, and philanthropic actors navigate fragility, conflict, and political risk in complex markets.
He previously served as a senior leader at USAID’s Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization. Over more than two decades, he has worked across USAID, the Departments of State and Defense, NATO, and interagency organizations on conflict prevention, stabilization, civil-military planning, and strategic competition. His experience includes Afghanistan, Syria, West and East Africa, and other complex environments.
Co-Founder, President & CEO, Editor-in-Chief, Independence Avenue Media
Ia Meurmishvili is a prominent broadcaster and journalist known in her native Georgia for anchoring View from Washington, Voice of America’s flagship Georgian-language television program.
She spent 15 years at VOA, including service as Managing Editor of the Georgian Service, where she led coverage of U.S. foreign policy, transatlantic relations, NATO, U.S.-Russia relations, Ukraine, Black Sea security, and U.S.-Georgia relations. She continues to provide analysis and commentary as an independent journalist and frequently speaks on U.S. politics, disinformation, journalism in democracy, and policy trends in the South Caucasus.
Advisor & Strategist on Narrative and AI
Candice Bryant is an advisor, strategist, and voice on narrative and artificial intelligence. She spent nearly two decades at the CIA as an analyst, rising to Head of Public Communications. She later led Executive and Internal Communications for Search Quality and Global Security at Google.
She now runs her own advisory, publishes the newsletter This Week in AI, and has developed products and courses designed to make AI accessible while centering human judgment. She holds a master’s degree from American University’s School of International Service and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Towson University.
Col. (Ret.), U.S. Army Civil Affairs | Vice President, Narrative Strategies
Christopher Holshek is Vice President at Narrative Strategies and a retired U.S. Army Civil Affairs colonel with more than three decades of civil-military conflict management experience across multiple operational levels and environments.
He has contributed to U.S. Army, Joint, NATO, and United Nations civil-military policy and doctrine and has published extensively on national strategy, civil-military, humanitarian, and peace and stability issues. His current work includes veteran-assisted youth civic development and service learning and advising bipartisan congressional and other leaders on national civic and service legislation.
Executive Director, Defense Entrepreneurs Forum
Jesse Levin is Executive Director of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum, which advances innovation and civic engagement in national security. He is also the founder of Tactivate, a special projects organization integrating Special Operations veterans, disaster response practitioners, and entrepreneurial networks.
His work has involved last-mile contested logistics, capacity building, and emergency economic stability operations across crisis zones including Ukraine, Haiti, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Latin America. He continues to invest in and launch mission-driven ventures, advise NGOs, and speak on entrepreneurial approaches to resilience and complex humanitarian and conflict environments.
Applied Narrative Warfare Fellow & Senior Data Strategist, Narrative Strategies
Felicia Weston is the Applied Narrative Warfare Fellow and Senior Data Strategist for Narrative Strategies. Her work on narrative warfare and influence draws on 21 years as a U.S. Air Force combat correspondent, Mission Intelligence Coordinator, and Mission Systems Officer supporting U.S. Special Operations Command.
She logged more than 9,000 flight hours and 2,700 combat sortie hours in CENTCOM, AFRICOM, and INDOPACOM regions. An associated scholar at the National Intelligence University, she researches the nexus of cyber, information and influence intelligence, data science, and emerging technologies.
Colonel (Ret.), U.S. Army | Former J-39, U.S. Special Operations Command
Colonel John Wilcox recently transitioned from more than 30 years of U.S. Army service. Most recently, he served as J-39 (Joint Information Operations) at U.S. Special Operations Command, where he contributed to a narrative understanding of modern warfare.
As a military police and civil affairs officer, he served in leadership, command, and operational staff positions worldwide, including assignments with the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Special Operations) (Airborne), 1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne), and operations in Iraq, the Philippines, and Afghanistan.
Founder & CEO, Rhombus Power
Dr. Anshu Roy is Founder and CEO of Rhombus Power, a partner to U.S. and allied government agencies in predictive intelligence and real-time decision support. The company’s work has included preventing attacks against U.S. and coalition forces, forecasting major geopolitical developments, and identifying savings for the U.S. Air Force.
Before building Rhombus into a global AI company, Dr. Roy invented Mercury™, whose patented particle-detection technology supported cleanup operations at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear facility. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
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