Valerie Lincy
Valerie is the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Project. She leads the organization’s research on weapons of mass destruction supply networks, which is used by governments to support sanctions and counterproliferation actions. Valerie is Editor of Iran Watch, a website she created in 2003 to track and analyze Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and international efforts to counter these programs. She also oversees the Wisconsin Project’s Risk Report, a comprehensive database of entities suspected of involvement in WMD proliferation or sanctions evasion. She leads outreach efforts in over 40 countries to support effective strategic trade controls, including through use of the Risk Report.
Prior to joining the Wisconsin Project, Valerie worked as a researcher in several Washington D.C. think tanks and at the New York Times and Newsweek in France. She earned an M.S. at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a B.A. from Smith College. Valerie is a Gender Champion in Nuclear Policy.
Austin Bodetti
Austin is a Research Associate at the Wisconsin Project. He uses his knowledge of Arabic and Persian in investigations of proliferation networks for Iran Watch and the Risk Report database. Prior to joining the Wisconsin Project, Austin consulted for the research institute C4ADS and worked as a journalist in Iraq and South Sudan. He has lived in Morocco as a Fulbright Scholar and Oman as a participant in the SALAM Program. Austin graduated from Boston College with a bachelor’s degree in Islamic studies and a minor in Arab studies.
Luke Caggiano
Luke is a Research Assistant at the Wisconsin Project. He conducts research related to Pakistan and Pakistani proliferation networks for the Risk Report database. Luke is also responsible for monitoring and updating Risk Report content related to sanctions, export control regulations, and multilateral control regimes. Prior to joining the organization, he interned at the Arms Control Association and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Luke graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in International Affairs.
John Caves
John is a Senior Research Associate at the Wisconsin Project. He is responsible for the organization’s Iran and Russia research. John oversees a project on Iran sanctions, assists with managing Iran Watch, and is responsible for content related to Iran and Russia in the Risk Report database. John uses his Persian and Russian language abilities to support his work. Previously, he served as a field artillery officer in the U.S. Army and held research positions at the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Institute for the Study of War. John graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in Public and International Affairs and earned an M.A. in Global Communication from the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.
Treston Chandler
Treston is a Senior Research Associate at the Wisconsin Project. He is responsible for content related to China and North Korea in the Risk Report database and oversees a project on North Korea sanctions. Treston also manages the organization’s IT systems and data modeling and visualization work. He contributes to the organization’s strategic trade control outreach effort, including through global Risk Report training. Previously, Treston worked at the Syrian American Medical Society and with the peacebuilding arts nonprofit, CARAVAN. Treston graduated from Lake Forest College with a degree in history and politics.
Meghan Peri Crimmins
Meghan is Deputy Director of the Wisconsin Project. She oversees the organization’s work on sanctions and counterproliferation finance and contributes research and writing on these topics for both the Risk Report and Iran Watch. Meghan directs program development and advocacy at the Wisconsin Project and designs and delivers strategic trade control outreach training. She also oversees data modeling and visualization work for the Risk Report and the Iran Sanctions Project. Previously, Meghan represented energy-sector clients at an international government relations firm and also worked as a researcher at the International Finance Corporation and the State Department. She earned an M.S. at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a B.A. from George Washington University.
Paul Esau
Paul is a Research Associate at the Wisconsin Project. He contributes research to the Risk Report database with a focus on North Korea, Russia, and related sanctions evasion networks, and supports the Project’s export control policy advocacy. Before joining the organization, Paul earned a PhD in History from Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, Canada, and taught classes on the history of arms control at several Canadian universities. His dissertation explored Canadian military export policy during the Cold War. Paul is a former Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellow and Project Ploughshares (Canada) intern.
Katie Gorman
Katie is a Research Assistant at the Wisconsin Project. She conducts research on Russia’s military proliferation for the Risk Report database using her Russian language skills. She also contributes to the organization’s IT systems and data modeling and visualization work. Prior to joining the organization, Katie interned in the State Department’s Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance and at Nuclear Threat Initiative on the Scientific and Technical Affairs team. Katie graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Political Science.
John A. Lauder
John is a Senior Fellow at the Wisconsin Project. He is an authority on weapons of mass destruction, nonproliferation, arms control, and intelligence analysis and collection. John retired from the U.S government with over 33 years of experience in the Central Intelligence Agency, National Reconnaissance Office, and as an arms control negotiator and served subsequently as a senior manager and corporate officer within Areteꞌ Associates, a research and development company. He continues to advise and shape nonproliferation and intelligence initiatives as a member of government, academic, and laboratory advisory panels, as well as in leading studies to improve WMD-related intelligence and the verification of international agreements. John has received multiple government awards for his leadership and innovation in collection systems, analytical approaches, and national security decisions. He has a B.A. from Hiram College and an M.A. in International Relations from Yale University.
Jessica Seltzer
Jessica is a Research Associate at the Wisconsin Project, where she uses her Russian language skills to conduct research on Russia’s missile and military programs for the Risk Report database. Before joining the organization, she interned at the Nuclear Threat Initiative and consulted for international media development nonprofit Internews. Jessica graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service with a degree in International Politics and a minor in Russian and earned an M.A. in Security Policy Studies at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.