This year marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks that changed the social, political, and economic state of the United States. FIU experts are available to provide analysis on how the aftermath of 9/11 continues to shape the country and global affairs today, including terrorism and the evolution of U.S. national security and foreign policy. Researchers are also available to discuss the lasting psychological and societal effects of 9/11, including the mental health of survivors, victims’ families and first responders, as well as how the tragedy continues to influence public perceptions of safety. A list of experts can be found on this page.
For help contacting any of our experts, please contact the Office of Media Relations:
Madeline BaróSenior Director of Media Relations305-310-9665mbaro@fiu.edu
Brian ZimmermanSenior Media Relations Specialist305-348-8448 bzimmerm@fiu.edu
National Security, International Relations & Terrorism
Brian Fonseca
Vice Provost, Defense and National Security ResearchDirectorJack D. Gordon Institute for Public PolicySteven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Brian Fonseca is a national security expert with firsthand experience spanning the pre- and post-9/11 security environment. A former U.S. Marine who served from 1997–2004, he later served as Senior Research Manager for Socio-Cultural Analysis at U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Intelligence Operations Center South. Hisexpertisein national security, intelligence, emerging threats and U.S. foreign policy,combined with congressional testimony and extensive national media experience,positions him to provide valuable perspective on how 9/11 transformed U.S. national security and how those threats have evolved over the past 25 years.
Office:305-348-7420Email: fonsecab@fiu.edu
For help, contact:Irene D. Ferradaz305-348-5364iferrada@fiu.edu
Randy Pestana
Deputy DirectorJack D. Gordon Institute for Public PolicySteven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Randy Pestana is a national security and defense policy expert with extensive experience inside the U.S. defense establishment. A former Pentagon official in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy, he led U.S. defense engagement across Mexico and the Caribbean and directed cybersecurity defense engagement throughout the Western Hemisphere. Hisexpertisein defense strategy, interagency coordination, international securitycooperationand emerging cyber threats gives him a unique perspective on how the U.S. national security landscape has evolved since 9/11and how the lessons of the past 25 years inform today’s threats and security priorities.
Office:305-348-2977Email: rpestana@fiu.edu
For help, contact:Irene D. Ferradaz305-348-5364iferrada@fiu.edu
Bruce Vitor
Director, National Security PolicyJack D. Gordon Institute for Public PolicySteven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Bruce Vitor is a retired U.S. Army Colonel with 27 years of military service and extensive experience in defense strategy, strategic planning and countering violent extremism.A former Infantry Officer and strategic planner, he has led operations and programs across the globe and contributed to the Army’s vision for 21st-century warfare. Hisexpertisein U.S. foreign policy, defense strategy, violentextremismand evolving security threats gives him a valuable perspective onhow 9/11 transformed U.S. military strategy and national securityand how those lessons continue to shape America’s approach to emerging threats today.
Office:305-348-5365Email:bvitor@fiu.edu
For help, contact:Irene D. Ferradaz305-348-5364iferrada@fiu.edu
Michael “Mike” Studeman
Senior FellowJack D. Gordon Institute for Public PolicySteven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Rear Adm. Michael Studeman is a highly accomplished former U.S. Navy intelligence leader whose career spans more than three decades of military and national security operations. His experience includes supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, serving in senior intelligence positions at the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Cyber Command, U.S. Southern Command and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and leading the Office of Naval Intelligence. His unique perspective across military intelligence, homeland security, cyberoperationsand strategic defense makes him exceptionally well positioned to discuss how 9/11 transformed U.S. intelligence and national securityand how the lessons of the past 25 years inform today’s evolving threat landscape.
Office:305-348-2977Email:mstudeman@gmail.com
For help, contact:Irene D. Ferradaz305-348-5364iferrada@fiu.edu
Renee Novakoff
Senior FellowJack D. Gordon Institute for Public PolicySteven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
ReneeNovakoffis a veteran U.S. intelligence and national security professional with more than 40 years of experience across the Department of Defense and the NSA, CIA, ODNI and DIA. Her career includes senior leadership in intelligence collection, analysis and strategy, including directing global defense collection efforts and serving in senior national intelligence roles focused on terrorism, WMD, the Western Hemisphere and other strategic threats. With firsthand experience at the CIA, DIA, ODNI, Joint Staff and U.S. Southern Command,Novakoffoffers a rare perspective on how 9/11 transformed U.S. intelligence, what the Intelligence Community learned from the attacks, and how those lessons continue to shape national security 25 years later.
Office:305-348-2977Email:renee@novakoff.net
For help, contact:Irene D. Ferradaz305-348-5364iferrada@fiu.edu
Oscar Vigoa
Adjunct ProfessorCriminology & Criminal JusticeSteven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Vigoa has been an executive leader in the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) for over 33 years (having recently retired) and has been an adjunct professor for 11 years. Vigoa worked in cooperation with the intelligence community and the federal government on homeland security issues and developed a new concept of citizens’ watch for terrorist activities. His research focuses on homeland security strategies, global terrorism with a historical perspective, and crime. Additional expertise includes implications of terrorism funding, biological threats, and technological achievements.
Office:305-348-8449Email:ovigoa@fiu.edu
For help, contact:Daniel Zayas305-348-5360dzayas@fiu.edu
Stephen Pires
ProfessorAssociate ChairDepartment of Criminology & Criminal JusticeSteven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Pires is a member of the American Society of Criminology, Environmental Criminology and Crime Analysis, Center for Conservation Crime Science at Rutgers University, International Green Criminology Working Group, and the Working Group Psittaciformes of the International Ornithologists’ Union. He is an editorial board member for the journal Global Crime. He teaches courses related to crime science in which students examine the opportunity structures underlying specific terrorism acts, such as airline hijacking, and how those opportunities could be mitigated or removed. Through this, students read evaluations of what the U.S. implemented in the 1970s and again in the post-9/11 era to reduce such incidents and learn how these measures have led to significant reductions in airline hijackings domestically and worldwide. He conducts research on opportunity structures for kidnappings for ransom by terrorist groups in Colombia, South America.
Office:305-348-4872Email:sfpires@fiu.edu
For help, contact:Daniel Zayas305-348-5360dzayas@fiu.edu
Eric Lob
Political Science Graduate Program DirectorAssociate ProfessorPolitics & International RelationsSteven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Lob is an associate professor in the department of Politics and International Relations. His research focuses on the intersection of development and politics in the Middle East. It specifically explores how state and non-state actors in the region instrumentalize development as a soft power mechanism to further their political interests both domestically and internationally. Lob currently teaches courses on comparative politics and international relations of the Middle East and on political violence and revolution.
Office:305-348-7923Email:elob@fiu.edu
For help, contact:Daniel Zayas305-348-5360dzayas@fiu.edu
Health
Roberto Lucchini
ProfessorEnvironmental Health SciencesRobert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work
Dr. Roberto Lucchini is a professor of environmental health sciences at Florida International University’s Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work and leads FIU’s World Trade Center research program on 9/11 responders who have relocated to Florida. His work examines the long-term health effects of toxic exposures and trauma among World Trade Center responders, with recent studies focusing on PTSD, cognitive impairment, frailty, neuroimaging and accelerated brain aging in this population. Before joining FIU, he directed the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the World Trade Center Data Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, where he coordinated epidemiological health surveillance for 9/11 rescue and recovery workers.
Office:305-348-7775Email:rlucchin@fiu.edu
For help, contact:Jonathan Ruadez305-348-4670jruadezn@fiu.edu
Jonathan S. Comer
Distinguished University ProfessorDepartment of PsychologyCenter for Children and FamiliesCollege of Arts, Sciences & Education
Comer has conducted extensive work on the psychological impact of disasters and terrorism on children and families. He began this work in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, studying and working with NYC public school children who were directly exposed, as well as with youth who were far away but impacted by extensive media-based exposure to the attacks. Since 9/11, Comer has led needs assessments and large-scale community efforts in the aftermath of several other high-profile disasters and public health crises, including the Boston Marathon bombing, Hurricane Irma, and most, recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. Comer currently serves as director of the SAMHSA-funded Network for Enhancing Wellness in Disaster-Affected Youth (NEW DAY) at FIU’s Center for Children and Families.
Office:305-348-7580Email:jocomer@fiu.edu
For help, contact:Rosanna Castro305-348-5472 roscastr@fiu.edu
Mark J. Macgowan
Associate Dean of Academic AffairsProfessorSchool of Social WorkRobert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work
Mark J. Macgowan is associate dean of Academic Affairs and a professor of social work at Florida International University’s Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work. His research focuses on disaster mental health, psychosocial well-being across preparedness, response and recovery, and evidence-based interventions for people affected by or responding to disasters and mass casualty events. His federally funded work includes studies on mental health interventions for World Trade Center responders in Florida, survivor and responder experiences after the Champlain Towers South collapse, and hurricane response technical assistance. He teaches FIU’s course on disaster mental health, trains health professionals in psychosocial response, and has served as a disaster mental health worker with the American Red Cross and as a behavioral health specialist with a federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team.
Office:305-348-0427Email:macgowan@fiu.edu
For help, contact:Jonathan Ruadez305-348-4670jruadezn@fiu.edu
Contact us
For help contacting any of our experts, please contact the Office of Media Relations:
Media RelationsMadeline BaróSenior Director of Media Relations305-310-9665mbaro@fiu.edu
Brian ZimmermanSenior Media Relations Specialist 305-348-8448 bzimmerm@fiu.edu
Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public PolicyIrene D. FerradazDirector, Marketing and Communications305-348-5364iferrada@fiu.edu
Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social WorkJonathan RuadezDirector, Marketing and Communications305-348-4670jruadezn@fiu.edu
Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social WorkRosanna CastroSenior Account Manager— Communications, PR & Marketing305-348-5472roscastr@fiu.edu
Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs Daniel ZayasAssistant Director of Communications and Marketing305-348-5360dzayas@fiu.edu
