Content Warning: If you don’t share the author’s obsession with parentheses, this likely isn’t the blog for you.
Hello unsuspecting readers, Welcome to the wild ride that is Becca DiLuzio’s summer internship blog. If you stop reading right now, I will never know and you can still comment vague praises on my Facebook posts like “totally loved your blog!”, “10π/10 blog” or “Where is the Pulitzer Prize? #deepstate.” But if you keep reading, you might be somewhat entertained, or learn a little something, or just boost my fragile self-esteem. This summer I am interning with Valens Global, a strategic consulting firm that analyzes the threats posed by violent non-state actors (VNSA’s) such as ISIS and al-Qaeda. Founded in 2014, Valens is self-consciously a startup company that parallels its character with that of the non-state actors it explores (minus the violence… unless you count D.C. traffic): adaptive (to emerging developments), innovative (in its frameworks, methods, and prescriptions) and nonconformist (to traditional dogma). Valens provides services such as threat assessments and strategic action plans to clients that range from the U.S. government to NGOs to corporations. I was fortunate enough to receive a unique opportunity for my internship in which I will be working directly with the CEO of Valens, Dr. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross. Since his credentials would surpass the length of this blog entry itself, I will simply say that he is one of the foremost experts on extremism and jihadist terrorism. Daveed is also a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Fellow with Google’s think tank Jigsaw, an Associate Fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program (trust me, I don’t know how I was chosen either). Although Valens is headquartered in D.C., I will be based in North Carolina for the internship since Daveed’s family lives here and our work requires an anachronistic practice called Real Human Interaction, or RHI for short. As his research assistant, I will be completing a range of tasks, most of which will arise as the time comes and probably be contingent upon the degree of my past mistakes. Some expected assignments will include work on Daveed’s forthcoming book, article compilations, and research, research, research. Subject matter hint: what is (clad in) black* and (dislikes imperialist) white(s)** and (bleeds) red*** all over? All jokes aside, I am genuinely excited and grateful for this opportunity that will surely lead to much intellectual growth. I cannot wait to engage with such relevant, interesting, and challenging material throughout the summer. Thank you to American Grand Strategy for selecting me to be a summer fellow and giving me a public platform for my thoughts even though you may regret it after you read this first post. Until next time, RAD *Black is the new black. **Real or imagined. ***The author recognizes that this traditional riddle is technically written as ‘read’ but she wants to convey its auditory perception.
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