Tally Helfont Email & Phone Number

Monterey, California, United States

Amplify the reach and impact of the Institute for Security Governance among stakeholders, practitioners, and partner nation counterparts. Develop repeatable, efficient processes to facilitate knowledge management, data management, and internal communications. Shape complex and sensitive information related to partner-facing engagements within established OPSEC and INFOSEC parameters for external audiences. Lead a diverse team of subject matter experts comprised of developers, content specialist, and graphic specialists. Steward Institute-wide sprints for data collection, requests for information, and Security Cooperation external affairs content. Serve as a primary interface for the Institute with external stakeholders from across the DoD. Recruited by the Director to envision and build a sustainable outreach capacity for the Institute.

Monterey, California

Created processes within the Institute’s Innovation & Learning Division to facilitate project management. Improved inter- and intra-divisional communication, collaboration, and integration using a variety of digital platforms. Supported monitoring, assessment, and reporting requirements related to Institutional Capacity Building and Security Cooperation efforts encompassed in Title 10 U.S.C. § 332. Reviewed and edited +1000 pages of reporting related to partner-facing work in the U.S. CENTCOM area of responsibility. Supported the scoping and design of select Middle East country projects, providing both geopolitical analysis and relevant regional expertise.

Philadelphia, Pa

Founded and built the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Middle East Program from the ground up. Conceived and executed strategies to elevate the program’s output at home and abroad. Designed and implemented speaking engagements, panels, and conferences on contemporary geopolitical topics in the region. Cultivated relationships with American and international publications, institutions, and experts. Raised and administered +$250K annual program budget through writing and executing foundation grants and cultivating private donors. Recruited and managed +20 senior/junior fellows who wrote, were cited, or quoted in +300 publications in +150 outlets in 15 countries per year. Solicited, vetted, and edited +400 pieces of scholarship.

Philadelphia, Pa

Conceived and executed original research. Authored +30 book chapters, monographs, articles, and blog posts in English, Hebrew, and Arabic. Served as Principal Investigator on a Smith Richardson Foundation grant of +$100K for “After the Caliphate: Reassessing the Jihadi Threat and Restoring Stability in the Fertile Crescent.” Lectured and presented research and analysis in various venues in the U.S. and in the Middle East. Appeared regularly in domestic and international press outlets. Conducted field research to facilitate research projects, to maintain regional expertise, and to cultivate a network of scholars and practitioners in the Middle East.

Contributed to the formulation and implementation of +15 forecasting simulations, war games, and surveys related to the Middle East for private clients and government agencies. Supervised exercises, reviewing the inputs of contributing analysts and assessing their analytical rigor and relevance to the exercise. Applied regional expertise, analytical skills, and writing skills as a contributing analyst in a variety of Middle East-related exercises, in both lead and support capacities.

Ft. Levenworth (Ks), Ft. Bragg (Nc)

Provided Civil Information Management Training using a range of asymmetric software packages (e.g., Analyst Notebook and ArcGIS) for operational and tactical Civil Affairs Forces, Human Terrain Teams, and U.S. Special Operations Forces assigned to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Supported the U.S. Government on high-profile, terrorism-related prosecutions. Served as a consultative expert in the federal prosecution of Palestinian Islamic Jihad members in the United States. Compiled terrorism-related briefs for Congressional staffers. Delivered training to federal law enforcement agents on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security.

Ma, Middle East Studies

Ba, International Affairs, Conflict & Security

Certificate, Advanced Modern Standard Arabic & Colloquial Levantine Arabic

Activities and Societies: Nine week (270 hrs.) intensive, advanced Modern Standard Arabic & Colloquial Levantine Arabic program

Certificate, Modern Standard Arabic & Colloquial Levantine Arabic

A five-months (960 hrs) intensive, Modern Standard Arabic & Colloquial Levantine Arabic program

International/Global Studies

Traveled to Cuba, Brazil, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong King, China, and Japan

French Language And Literature