Biographies
The Honorable Ellen E. McCarthy
(U) Ellen E. McCarthy was appointed by President Trump to be the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. She was sworn in on January 17, 2019. Ms. McCarthy returns to government service after three years in the private sector, where she served as President of Noblis NSP, leading its mission…
Dustin Gard-Weiss
Mr. Dustin Gard-Weiss became the Deputy Director of National Intelligence (DDNI) for Policy and Capabilities (P&C) on August 16, 2020. In this role, he will work to ensure the Intelligence Community (IC) is well-positioned to anticipate and meet future mission requirements. Prior to this position, Mr. Gard-Weiss served as the Associate Deputy Director of National…
Dr. Stacey A. Dixon
Dr. Stacey A. Dixon is the eighth Deputy Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). In this role, she assists the Director in leading the agency and serves as the Career Service Head for the Senior Executive cadre. Dr. Dixon became NGA’s Deputy Director on July 1, 2019. From September 2018 to June 2019, Dr.…
Brigadier General Steven J. Butow
Brigadier General Steven J. Butow is the Space Portfolio Director for the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research & Engineering, located in Silicon Valley. Prior to joining DIU, he was the Vice Chief of the Joint Staff, California Military Department. Colonel Butow is a former Commander of the 129th…
Balan Ayyar
Balan Ayyar is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of percipient.ai, a Silicon-Valley based artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computer vision firm focused on intelligence and national security missions. Percipient.ai’s intelligence analysis platform Mirage is operationally deployed in the national security and Intelligence Community of the USG. Balan is a seasoned CEO and retired…
Abe Usher
Abe Usher is the Co-CEO at Black Cape, a machine learning and software development company. Still, he finds time to continue hands-on technical leadership as Lead Engineer, where he architects, designs, and develops machine learning capabilities that detect patterns and unknown relationships in complex data related to GEOINT. Usher is an award-winning technology leader and…
Upcoming Events
Scholarship Virtual Information Session #2
Monday, March 16, 2026
12:00 pm
ET
GEOINTeraction Colorado
Thursday, March 19, 2026
5:00 pm
– 8 PM MST
GEOINTeraction Tuesday
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
5:00 pm
– 7 PM ET
