December 15, 2017
Colloquium Topic: Hacking for Defense – Or – Harnessing the National Security Talent of America’s Graduate Students
Hacking for Defense™ (H4D) is the most unique and rewarding class you’ll take at Georgetown. A Security Studies Program course designed for all graduate students in all schools and programs at Georgetown, and all graduate engineering students at universities in the National Capital Region Consortium, it takes an entrepreneurial, interdisciplinary approach to America’s hardest national security challenges. The complexity of these challenges demands a transformative effort that requires committed, multi-faceted teams comprised of graduate students who are policy wonks, lawyers, doctors, entrepreneurs, makers and mechanical engineers, systems engineers, computer scientists, data scientists, biomedical and public health professionals, physicists, techies, poets, and everyone between to be part of this unique effort. You will be at the forefront of changing the paradigm of problem-solving and solution development for the U.S. Government. The course is demanding; you’ll present at every class, you’ll work closely with your team, you’ll receive relentlessly direct feedback, your problem sponsors, mentors, and military and intelligence community liaisons will be in the room, and so will prospective investors, but you’ll be solving real problems for real customers, in real-time as we live-stream the whole endeavor.
Hacking for Defense is sponsored by its DoD proponent, MD5 – The National Security Technology Accelerator at the Pentagon, and created at Stanford University.
Colloquium Speaker: Chris Taylor
Chris Taylor, a global business leader and entrepreneur, is the CEO of Govini, a big data and analytics company focused on transforming the business of government through data science. He is also Senior Advisor for the MD5 The National Security Technology Accelerator at the Pentagon. Chris previously founded Novitas Group, a tech startup that used a unique talent-opportunity matching technology platform to aid veterans in their search for meaningful employment in the communities of their choice. He conceived of, and convinced The White House and ABC’s Shark Tank to collaborate on an all-veteran episode – which aired on Veteran’s Day 2014. For his work, he was named as one of, “HillVets’ 100 of 2014” most influential veterans in America.
Previously, as the CEO of Mission Essential, Chris was named one of, “15 to Watch in 2012” by GovCon Executive magazine. Chris is also an adjunct associate professor of national security studies at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service Security Studies Program, where he teaches, “The Business of National Security” and “Hacking for Defense.”
Chris spent 14 years in the U.S. Marine Corps as an enlisted infantryman and Force Recon Marine. Twice selected for meritorious promotion, he was the Distinguished Honor Graduate at the NCO Leadership Academy, the Distinguished Leadership Graduate at Amphibious Reconnaissance School, and the Class Commander at Marine Combatant Diver Course 93-40. Chris finished his undergraduate degree at night and left the Marine Corps to attend the College of William & Mary where he earned his MBA in Strategy & Leadership, and received the Dean’s Award for Leadership and Service at graduation. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School, where he earned a Master of Public Administration degree in Political Economy and International Security, and was chosen by his class to lead them into Harvard Yard for graduation. Chris also served as the Director of the Harvard Defense & Security Initiative and as a member of the Defense Leadership Project at Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership where he co-authored, Transforming the National Security Culture.
Chris speaks frequently at professional and academic forums, and has testified before Congress and the Commission on Wartime Contracting on private sector contributions to national security. He has appeared on MSNBC and CNN offering commentary on global security challenges. Chris is the former Chairman of the International Stability Operations Association and a member of Business Executives for National Security. He has attended Harvard University’s Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security and the Aspen Institute’s Executive Seminar and the Justice and Society Seminar.
Chris is a member of the Board of Trustees of the American University of Afghanistan, and the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Atlantic Council.