Christopher Whyte is an Assistant Professor in Homeland and National Security at the L. Douglas Wilder School of Policy and Government at Virginia Commonwealth University. He teaches coursework on political risk, strategic planning and cybersecurity. Whyte received a BA in International Relations and Economics from the College of William and Mary and an MA in Political Science from George Mason University. He is presently a non-resident fellow with Pacific Forum CSIS, a fellow at the Center for Security Policy Studies at George Mason University, and has worked as a research program manager at several consultancies and think tanks.

President and Founding Partner of Cyber Intelligent Partners (CI-Partners), a Washington DC area start-up focusing on cyber intelligence training and education for Industry and Government organizations. As an executive in international business for over 17 years, Michelle worked primarily for British Telecoms’ (BT) global network solutions groups in Silicon Valley, London, New Jersey and New York. Michelle specialized in the telecommunications, and information security, computing and technology (ICT) industry, focusing primarily on cyber security, policy development, and negotiating strategic business partnerships. Michelle earned her Masters’ Degree in National Security and Statecraft from the Institute of World Politics, and studied International Relations at New College, Oxford University.

Margaret Myers is concurrently the director of the China and Latin America Program at the Inter-American Dialogue. Margaret is also regularly featured in major domestic and international media. Before arriving at the Dialogue, Margaret worked as a Latin America analyst and China analyst for the US Department of Defense, a senior China analyst for SAIC, and Chinese Mandarin langauge consultant for Fauquier County Schools. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and conducted her graduate work at The George Washington University, Zhejiang University of Technology, and the Johns Hopkins University/Nanjing University Center for Chinese-American Studies.

Sherman Xiaogang Lai is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC). He served in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army from 1987-1997. He served in the infantryman during the PRC’s war with Vietnam in 1989, a military observer in the UN mission to Western Sahara (MINURSO), and a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Military Science. Sherman retired from the PLA in 1997 as a Lieutenant Colonel and immigrated to Canada. Sherman obtained his B.A. History from Nankai University, a M.A. in History from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences , and a second M.A. from the RMC. In 2008, he received a Doctorate in History from Queen’s University.

President and Founding Partner of Cyber Intelligent Partners (CI-Partners), a Washington DC area start-up focusing on cyber intelligence training and education for Industry and Government organizations. As an executive in international business for over 17 years, Michelle worked primarily for British Telecoms’ (BT) global network solutions groups in Silicon Valley, London, New Jersey and New York. Michelle specialized in the telecommunications, and information security, computing and technology (ICT) industry, focusing primarily on cyber security, policy development, and negotiating strategic business partnerships. Michelle earned her Masters’ Degree in National Security and Statecraft from the Institute of World Politics, and studied International Relations at New College, Oxford University.