Leadership.

Director

As the Director of the Irregular Warfare Center, Dr. Walters draws on more than three decades of operational and academic expertise to guide the Defense Department and the Interagency approach to conflict and competition, focusing on irregular warfare [...]

Deputy Director & Chief of Staff

Ms. Lori Leffler has more than 30 years of experience developing and implementing strategic visions to lead national security missions and corporate organizations. Her experience includes quantitative and qualitative analysis, management studies, and reviews. Lori’s extensive management and supervisory experience and her strategic planning [...]

Senior Advisor

Brig. Gen. Chris Burns, U.S. Army, Retired, commissioned in 1987 as distinguished graduate of the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of Connecticut. Upon graduation, he transferred to the Rhode Island Army National Guard and began training to become a United States Army Special Forces Officer. He has successfully [...]

Chair of Education

COL Kevin D. Stringer, Ph.D, U.S. Army, Retired, is the Chair of Education for the U.S. Irregular Warfare Center, Visiting Associate Professor at the General Jonas Zemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, and a Lecturer at the University of Northwestern Switzerland. With 30 years of commissioned military service, he was a Eurasian foreign area [...]

Chair of Engagement

Dr. Fabian is a former Hungarian Special Forces officer with 20 years of military experience. Dr. Fabian served in multiple national assignments including the senior Special Forces desk officer and advisor to the Hungarian Chief of Defense and held the Force Assessment and Evaluation Branch Head position at the NATO Special [...]

Chair of Research

Dr. Joshua Hastey joins the IWC from Regent University, where he serves as Director of the MA in National Security Studies Program and the Ph.D. in Government program in the Robertson School of Government. He has taught at the U.S. Naval War College, the Daniel K. Inouye Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, and Old Dominion University. [...]

Senior Associate Faculty and Chief of Curriculum

Dr. Gardner is an Irregular Warfare / Comprehensive Defense Subject Matter Expert at the U.S. Irregular Warfare Center (IWC). For the IWC Dr. Gardner has been running events in front line nations helping them develop Comprehensive Defense capabilities, including planning national resistance efforts. [...]