Valued Contributors
The CELL relies on the expertise of the foremost leaders in the fields of counterterrorism, foreign policy and public safety. The following individuals and organizations have shared invaluable insights, wisdom and experience via their involvement in CELL programs, events and offerings.
Elliot Abrams
U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela, Department of State; former Deputy National Security Advisor
Andy Alexander
Scripps Visiting Professional, Ohio University; former Washington Post Ombudsman


Honorable Haley Barbour
U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela, Department of State; former Deputy National Security Advisor


The Honorable Nir Barkatv
Member of Knesset, Likud; former Mayor of Jerusalem
Jeremy Bash
National Security Analyst for NBC News and MSNBC


Bradley Benavides
Former FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge


Cdr. Lt. Col. Kevin Black
Colorado Emergency Preparedness Partnership with Colorado National Guard’s 8th Civil Support Team


Senator Michael Bennet
Colorado (2009-present)
Donna Brazile
Political Strategist


John Brennan
Former CIA Director (2013-2017)


Dr. James Jay Carafano
Vice President of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, The Heritage Foundation


Clifford Chanin
Executive Vice President and Deputy Director for Museum Programs for the National September 11 Memorial and Museum
Colorado State Fire Chiefs


Robert Coombe
Chancellor Emeritus, University of Denver


Rabbi Abraham Cooper
Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action at the Simon Wiesenthal Center


Tom Davis
President and Founder of Corporate Emergency Preparedness Solutions, LLC; former TIAA-CREF Corporate Safety & Security Manager
Jason R. Dunn
Former United States Attorney for the District of Colorado


Eliot Engel
Former Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; U.S. Congressman (D-NY)


The Honorable Rhonda Fields
Colorado State Senator and Assistant Majority Leader


Michèle Flournoy
Chair, CNAS Board of Directors; former CEO of CNAS
Senator Cory Gardner
Former U.S. Senator for Colorado


The Honorable Newt Gingrich
Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives


The Honorable Lindsey Graham
U.S. Senator for South Carolina


The Honorable Marcy Grossman
Former Consul General of Canada & Ambassador of Canada to the United Arab Emirates
Dr. Mary Habeck
Adjunct Professor, Georgetown & Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS); Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute


Dr. Jeremy Haefner
Chancellor of the University of Denver


Mayor Michael B. Hancock
Mayor of Denver


Husain Haqqani
Director for South and Central Asia, Hudson Institute & Former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States
The Honorable Jane Harman
Distinguished Fellow and President Emerita, Wilson Center; former U.S. Representative from California (36th)


Dr. Nader Hashemi
Director of the Center for Middle East Studies, Josef Korbel School of International Studies


General Michael Hayden
Former Director, NSA (1999-2005); Former Director, CIA (2006-2009)


Catherine Herridge
Senior investigative correspondent for CBS News
Senator John Hickenlooper
Colorado (2020-present); Former Colorado Governor


Ambassador Christopher Hill
Adjunct Professor, Columbia SIPA; former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and the Republic of Korea


His Royal Highness Feisal Ibn Al-Husse
Prince of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan


Micheline Ishay
Professor and Director of the International Human Rights Program, Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Dr. Zuhdi Jasser
Founder and President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD)


Mr. David Kopel
Adjunct Scholar, Cato Institute; former Adjunct Professor at New York University School of Law


The Honorable Doug Lamborn
U.S. Representative from Colorado


General (Ret'd) Thomas J. Lawson
Former Canadian Chief of the Defense Staff
The Honorable John McCain
Former U.S. Senator for Arizona


General Stanley McChrystal
Former Commander of U.S. and International Forces in Afghanistan; former Leader of Joint Special Operations Command


Greg Moore
Former Editor of The Denver Post; Editor-in-Chief of Deke Digital


The Honorable John Morse
Former Colorado State Senator
The Honorable John Morse
Former Colorado State Senator


The Honorable Janet Napolitano
Former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security


Matthew G. Olsen
Former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center


Steven Olson
Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Denver FBI
Jamie Richards
Energy Threats Program Manager, Idaho National Laboratory; former Protective Security Advisor, Colorado (U.S. Department of Homeland Security)


The Honorable Tom Ridge
First Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; First Assistant to the President for Homeland Security


The Honorable Bill Ritter, Jr.
Founder and Director of the Center for the New Energy Economy (CNEE) at Colorado State University; former Governor of Colorado


Ambassador Dennis Ross
Distinguished Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy; former Special Assistant to President Obama
Karl Rove
Fox News Contributor; Wall Street Journal Columnist; former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush


Ed Royce
Policy Director, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck; former Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; former US Congressman (R-CA)


Secretary Ken Salazar
Former U.S. Secretary of the Interior; former Colorado Attorney General; former U.S. Senator for Colorado


The Honorable Craig Stapleton
Senior Advisor to Stone Point Capital; former Ambassador to France and the Czech Republic
Bret Stephens
Columnist at The New York Times


The Honorable John W. Suthers
Mayor of Colorado Springs; former Attorney General for the State of Colorado


Jeffrey R. Tarr
Board of Directors, Echostar; former CEO of DigitalGlobe, Inc.


The Honorable Mark Udall
Former U.S. Senator for Colorado
Kenneth Wainstein
Professor, Georgetown Law; Partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP; former Homeland Security Advisor to the President


Admiral James A. Winnefeld, Jr.
Former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

