Blog Author Bios

Emily Bentz, Cyber and SIGINT Division (CSD) Communications Lead, is a recent graduate of Wesley College with a dual English and Music degree. She is a self-published author, and an avid cyclist and kayaker.

Jack was a Machine Learning and Special Projects Intern in the summer of 2019 working with Novetta’s Machine Learning Center of Excellence (ML COE), where he contributed to various projects that apply machine learning solutions to new domains. He is currently pursuing a BSE and an MSE in Computer Science at the University of Pennsylvania with minors in Math and Economics. His interests include machine learning, game theory, and data science. He enjoys soccer, chess, and poker in his free time.

Andrew Chang is an Applied Machine Learning Researcher in Novetta’s Machine Learning (ML) Center of Excellence. Andrew is a graduate from Carnegie Mellon University who has a focus on researching state of the art machine learning models and rapid prototyping ML technologies and solutions across the scope of customer problems. He has an interest in open source projects and research in natural language processing, geometric deep learning, reinforcement learning, and computer vision. Andrew is the author and creator of NovettaNLP and AdaptNLP.

Amber Chin is a student at the University of Texas at San Antonio where she is pursuing degrees in both Psychology and English. At Novetta, she works as a Machine Learning and Special Projects Intern with the Machine Learning Center of Excellence, focusing on projects that involve Natural Language Processing. In her free time, she enjoys running, baking, and hanging out with her dogs.

Jacob Coakwell is an Open Source Analyst in the Novetta Mission Analytics Division focused on Ukraine, Poland, and Russia. Jacob lived abroad for much of his life, including two years in Ukraine. He loves learning foreign languages, as evidenced by the seven that he has studied. Jacob serves on his town's planning commission in Vermont and, in his spare time, enjoys the great outdoors with his wife and two daughters.

Emma interned at Novetta during the summer of 2019 with the Novetta Entity Analytics team to produce queryable graph visuals. She is now transitioning into machine learning and data science as a software developer. Emma graduated from the University of Virginia in 2020 with degrees in Computer Science and Commerce. She enjoys video gaming, playing piano, taking walks, and drawing in her free time.

Lara Dedic is an Applied Machine Learning Researcher at Novetta's Machine Learning Center of Excellence, where she builds prototypes for customer missions and internal research and development. Lara’s interests lie in applying state of the art approaches in natural language processing and computer vision to cybersecurity.

Patrick Doran is a Technical Director in the Mission Solutions Entity Analytics Division and has been developing applications for the Federal Government for over a decade. His passion for enabling mission users and technology has enabled him to architect big data and cloud systems that solve real-world problems. His interests include solving challenging system scaling problems and implementing SecDevOps.

Laura Drummer is a director in Novetta’s Cyber & SIGINT Division. An employee of Novetta since 2009, Laura is a strong believer in the necessity of continuous research and education to keep ones technical capabilities sharp and relevant to an always changing customer landscape. Laura has over 15 years of experience in analytics, prototyping, and leadership. Laura earned her BA in Mandarin Chinese and History at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and her MS in Information Systems at University of Maryland Baltimore County. She was the winner of the 2015 Novetta Innovation challenge and a recipient of the 2017 DCFEMTECH award for Data Science.

Brandon is an Applied Machine Learning Researcher that works in the Machine Learning Center of Excellence. After serving for 6 years in the Air Force, Brandon studied mathematics and computer science at Arizona State University while doing research in various fields, including machine learning, neuroscience, and robotics. His interests include deep learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and autonomous vehicles. In his free time, he likes to play guitar, go on hikes, travel, and play with his dog.

Jonas is the Director of Operations for Novetta's Open Source Analytics division, and has spent the past twelve years providing analysis and guidance to customers in the areas of national security, human rights, corporate communications, and international development. He is an unreformed news junkie, a musician, and a member of his local school board in the rural Vermont town where he lives with his wife and two young children.

Dr. Kelly Faddis, a Director at Novetta, leads a diverse set of engineering, development, and analytical teams in delivering technical solutions to customers within the Defense Intelligence Enterprise. Kelly previously served at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), managing the Identity Intelligence Research & Development program, where she was an established subject matter expert in identity and biometrics in the Intelligence Community.

Mady is a Machine Learning and Special Projects Intern for Novetta’s Machine Learning Center of Excellence in the summer of 2020, where she furthered their research and prototyping efforts in the area of Natural Language Processing. She graduated from UC San Diego with two bachelor’s degrees in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Computer Science at George Mason University. Mady is interested in the intersection of human and computer intelligence along with its applications in computer vision and natural language processing.

Annie is a Machine Learning and Special Projects Intern at Novetta’s Machine Learning Center of Excellence for the summer of 2020. She is currently a senior at the University of Pennsylvania pursuing a degree in computer science and systems engineering with interests in NLP and data science, and research in applied network science. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and playing Civilization VI and Paladins.

Dr. Lou Glassy often goes hunting for black cats in dark rooms while wearing a blindfold; that is to say, he solves real-world problems for clients even when the solution seems obscure and the problem seems small. His unique blend of operational and scientific experience means that he can look at a problem from many angles and create novel, high-performance solutions to extreme problems. With a broad knowledge of the computer science field, he often bridges the communication gap between technologists and business units. He is a storyteller and gardener.

Xena Grant is pursuing a Master’s degree in Computational Linguistics at the University of Washington. She received her undergraduate degree in Applied Language and Intercultural Studies with a Computer Science concentration at Georgia Institute of Technology. She is a Machine Learning and Special Projects Intern at Novetta’s Machine Learning Center of Excellence for summer 2020, focusing on Natural Language Processing. In her spare time she fosters cats and plays video games.

Dr. Beach Gray, a Senior Open Source Media Analyst at Novetta, co-leads a reach back team that assesses Russian influence in European media for a U.S. government customer. Beach earned a Ph.D. in Russian Culture, Film, Language, and Literature in 2016 from the University of Pittsburgh. In his free time, Beach serves on the board of Outer Banks Conservationists, a non-profit organization that maintains Currituck Beach Lighthouse in Corolla, NC. He also enjoys skateboarding and surfing.

Ethan Gumabay is a senior at the University of Virginia pursuing a degree in Computer Science, and plans to complete an MS in Data Science following his undergraduate studies. He was a machine learning intern at Novetta's Machine Learning Center of Excellence in the summer of 2019, focusing on Natural Language Processing and Deep Learning.

As the Vice President of Emerging Technologies, Kevin is responsible for big data analytics, cyber solutions, cloud deployments, and software development solutions. Kevin graduated from Miami University with a BS in Management Information Systems.

Jiong Huang is a Computer Vision Engineer in the Computer Vision and Image Processing team at Novetta's New York office. Jiong is a Biomedical Engineering graduate from New York University who was originally interested in the Medical Imaging field. His interest took a turn when he was exposed to the technical side of image processing and computer vision. Jiong is currently looking into deep learning based image processing.

Michelle Jou is a Senior Engineer and Computer Vision Lead at Novetta. She has experience in algorithmic development and designing evaluation methodologies for complex systems. She leads various technical projects and research initiatives, exploring the applicability of state-of-the-art research for customer missions. Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.

Christian F. Jung is an undergraduate student studying computer science at the University of Virginia, interested in the intersection of data and people. He is currently an intern with the Novetta Machine Learning Center of Excellence where his work primarily focuses on developing new methods for text interpretability. Outside of his work at Novetta, Christian teaches an introductory data science class at HackCville, a Charlottesville non-profit. He also volunteers with the U.S. Air Force through the X-Force program and is the technical producer for the Global Inquirer podcast.

Matthew is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania studying Computer Science and Data Science. Matthew's research interests are broadly in Machine Learning and leveraging data to solve complex problems. During the summer of 2019, he was an intern at Novetta's Machine Learning Center of Excellence where he worked on projects with a focus on computer vision. Matthew has been a member of the organizing board for PennApps, the nation's first collegiate Hackathon while a student at Penn.

Dan is an Arabic Open Source Analyst at Novetta, and primarily works to inform DoD and DoS clients about the propaganda of Iran, ISIS, and their respective affiliates in the Near East. Dan earned a master's degree in Arab Studies from Georgetown University, and previously worked to facilitate non-lethal aid shipments to moderate units of the Free Syrian Army. In his free time, Dan works on his family's Black Angus beef cattle farm in southern Virginia.

Carlos is a Computational Linguistics Graduate student at Montclair State university and an intern for the Machine Learning Center of Excellence during the summer of 2020. He completed his Bachelor's degree at The Ohio State University with concentrations in Computational Linguistics, Hispanic linguistics, and speech communication disorders. His research is in Natural Language Processing, disinformation detection, and low resource languages. In his free time he enjoys rock climbing, playing soccer, and building Voice Apps.

Zach is an Undergraduate in Software Design and Development at the University of West Florida and a Machine Learning Center of Excellence intern for the summer of 2020. He has been studying Machine Learning through the fastai courses over the last two years, and teaches his own courses as well. He has an interest in Computer Vision and Environmental Science, and hopes to bridge the two together along the way.

Rhys O’Neill is an Open Source Analyst in the Novetta Mission Analytics Division and has been supporting DoD and HHS missions for six years. Rhys joined the Novetta team in 2015 and has been supporting the NIH’s clinical trials for Ebola in Africa by providing key insight in challenging environments to drive operational success. He has served in the USMC and US Army and recently attended the 2019 Harvard GIS Institute program.

In 2018, Akshitha Ramachandran was a junior at Harvard University pursuing a joint degree in both Computer Science and Statistics. She interned for Novetta's Machine Learning Center of Excellence, expanding the scope of their entity extraction practices. She was a founding member and Lead Engineer at Harvard Student Agencies - DEV, a start-up focused on developing mobile and web applications for third party clients. Additionally, Akshitha attends Hackathons and has been on the board of Harvard’s Women Engineers Code (WECode) conference.

Kirsten is the Director of Talent Acquisition and has over 20 years of technical recruiting experience. After a short while working as a software developer then help desk manager, while studying Human Resources Management at University of Maryland University College, she combined her love for technology and HR by becoming a Technical Recruiter at a start up ecommerce firm in 1999. She then moved to recruiting in Telecom and has been primarily supporting the Information Security field, mostly for the Intelligence Community, since 2008 before joining Novetta in Sept 2016.

Dr. Shauna Revay is an applied machine learning researcher in Novetta’s Machine Learning Center of Excellence. She utilizes and applies state of the art machine learning algorithms and cloud technologies to lead to innovative solutions to customer needs. Shauna holds an AWS developer certification and earned her Ph.D. in mathematics from George Mason University in 2018.

Brian Sacash is a Machine Learning Engineer in Novetta's Machine Learning Center of Excellence. He helps various organizations discover the best ways to extract value from data through operational prototypes. His interests are in the areas of Natural Language Processing, Audio Analysis, Deep Learning, and Cloud Applications.

Sophie is an Applied Machine Learning Researcher primarily focused on rule-based Natural Language Processing. She graduated from University of Rochester with three bachelor's degrees in Neuro/Cognitive Science, Computer Science, and Psychology. Sophie's work has centered around Named-Entity Recognition and building processes around AdaptNLP.

Vikas is a Computer Science Graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania and an intern for the Machine Learning Center of Excellence during the summer of 2020. He completed his Bachelor's degree in Computer Science in Bangalore, India and is pursuing his master's degree with research in Natural Language Processing and interests in distributed computing and deep learning. His favorite hobbies are photography and playing Counter Strike:Global Offensive.

Elliot Stewart is a project manager and senior analyst for Novetta Mission Analytics, where he supports defense, legal, and public health actors. His recent work has focused on developing new ways to apply machine learning to open source problem sets and advancing Novetta's analytic capabilities related to the social-traditional media nexus. Elliot also serves national security clients as an Arabic-language analyst and subject matter expert on militant organizations in the Middle East.

Joseph Terrigno is a senior at Columbia University pursuing a degree in Applied Mathematics. He is completing a 3-2 engineering program with Fordham University, where he received a Computer Science degree. He was a Machine Learning and Special Projects intern at Novetta's Machine Learning Center of Excellence during the summer of 2019. In his spare time, Joseph loves playing video games, especially Rainbow Six Siege.

Matt Teschke is an applied machine learning researcher who has demonstrated experience developing solutions to complex problems for government and commercial customers. As leader of Novetta’s Machine Learning (ML) Center of Excellence, Matt directs ML research in NLP (Natural Language Processing), object detection, face recognition, entity resolution, and supervised learning. He is interested in applying open source and cloud technologies to develop practical and innovative solutions for customer problems. Matt also supports some of our largest Novetta Entity Analytics customers.

Shawn is a Diversity Fellow at University of San Francisco (USFCA) Data Institute. He joined the US Army as an airborne infantryman and served two deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. After being honorably discharged, he graduated Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in mathematics, then earned his Ph.D. at the University of California at Santa Cruz. His love of problem solving, exhibited by his studies in mathematics, led him to his work in deep learning.

As a solutions architect in the corporate Business Development division, Brian Uri provides word wizardry and subject matter expertise on proposals and whitepapers. Brian started at Novetta's legacy company (FGM) as a software engineering intern in 2000 and has worked in all sorts of roles since then, with emphasis on service-oriented architectures, government data standards, open-source software, and cloud architecture. He has earned 7 AWS certifications as well as a super relevant Masters degree in music.

Peter is the Director of Cyber Defense programs within the Cyber Defense and Enablement division of Novetta. His team supports customers that require cyber threat analysis, threat hunting, incident response, malware analysis and reverse engineering, digital forensics, and cyber security assessments. Peter holds GIAC certifications for incident handling (GCIH), penetration testing (GPEN), and Windows forensics (GCFE).

Stephen Verbeke is a Computer Network Analyst within the Cyber Defense and Enablement division of Novetta. Stephen spent 10 years with the United States Marine Corps as a cyber analyst and network administrator before joining Novetta, spending the last 5 years in network defense and incident response working both offensive and defensive missions. Stephen holds certifications in Security+ (Sec+), Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). Stephen enjoys escape rooms and astrophotography in his spare time.