Staff
Dr. Stephen R. Bowers, Director
Maison University for nineteen years as well as a faculty member of Berry College and Floyd Junior College in Rome, Georgia. In Dr. Stephen R. Bowers currently serves as the Director for the Center for Security and Science. With forty years of teaching experience at the university level, Dr. Bowers was a member of the faculties James Madaddition he taught at Tennessee Wesleyan University in Athens, TN and Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. He served as a lecturer at the Special Warfare Center at Ft. Bragg, as well as Operations Staff Officer for the US Special Operations Command MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.
Bowers was also a Joint Staff Officer at the Special Operations Command (Europe) in Stuttgart, Germany. In 1995, he was an advisor for the US Department of State in their Partnership for Peace Program in Moldova. In 1991, he was a guest of the Moldovan Parliament, and he has worked as Vice-Rector for Romanian-American University.
Dr. Bowers co-authored Technology and Terrorism: The New Threat for the Millennium, 1998. He also wrote Ethnic Politics in East Europe, 1992, as well as numerous other publications dealing with Eastern Europe and contemporary issues of international relations.
John Kiriakou, Associate Director
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He's a former CIA analyst and counterterrorism case officer, former senior investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and former counterterrorism consultant for ABC News.
Kiriakou left the CIA in March 2004. He later served as a senior investigator on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as senior intelligence advisor to Committee Chairman Senator John Kerry. Kiriakou also authored a bestselling book, "The Reluctant Spy: My Secret Life in the CIA's War on Terror," and worked as an intelligence consultant
Throughout his career, Kiriakou received 12 CIA Exceptional Performance Awards, the CIA's Sustained Superior Performance Award, the Counterterrorism Service Medal, and the State Department's Meritorious Honor Award.
In 2007, Kiriakou appeared on ABC News in an interview with Brian Ross, during which he became the first former CIA officer to confirm that the CIA waterboarded detainees and he labeled waterboarding “torture.” Kiriakou's interview revealed that this practice was not the result of a few rogue agents, but was official U.S. policy approved personally by the President.Kiriakou writes a weekly column syndicated by Reader Supported News. His first book, "The Reluctant Spy: My Secret Life in the CIA's War on Terror," rose to #5 on the New York Times bestsellers list. His second book, "Doing Time Like a Spy: How the CIA Taught Me to Survive and Thrive in Prison," was published in May 2017. It was named a finalist for the Foreward Reviews Memoir of the Year. His third book, "The Convenient Terrorist: Abu Zubaydah and the Weird World of the CIA's Secret Prisons" was published in July 2017.
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Veaceslav Pituscan, Associate Director
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Veaceslav Pituscan is currently a Distinguished Fellow with the Georgia Institute of Technology, Scheller College of Business, Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship. He also serves as a Member of the Board and as an Executive Director for Business Development and Government Affairs of PASS LLC, an U.S. strategic consulting company based in Washington D.C. Metro Area. Veaceslav is the President of the Romanian-American Chamber of Commerce, Washington D.C. Chapter, and Deputy National Chair of the Moldovan-American Chamber of Commerce. He also serves as Vice President of the US-based Moldova Foundation.
As a senior Moldovan career diplomat (1994-2016), he holds the diplomatic rank of Minister-Counselor. During his assignment in Washington D.C. as a Chargé d’Affaires a.i. (2016), Deputy Chief of Mission and Minister-Counselor of the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova in the U.S. (2014-2015), he was instrumental in the launching of the US-Moldova Strategic Dialogue. Previously, he held various Directorate-level positions in the Moldovan diplomatic service and had overseas assignments in Brussels as Deputy Chief of Mission to the EU (2001-2004) and Counselor at Moldova’s Embassy in Bucharest (2007-2010).
Veaceslav earned a B.Sc. in Physics at the State University of Moldova, an MA in Political Science at the Bucharest National School of Political and Administrative Studies, and a Certificate in Diplomacy at Oxford University.​
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Ceslav Ciobanu, Associate Director
Ceslav Ciobanu is a Senior Research Scholar with the Center for Security and Science. He served as Moldovan Ambassador to the US from 1999 - 2003. Previously, he was an economics advisor to the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachov. Following the collapse of the USSR, he assumed responsibility for Moldova's economic
provatization program. He has a PhD in Economics from Moscow State University, and is now an Associate Professor of Economics at Virginia State University.
Dr. Nicholas Dima, Advisory Board
Dr. Nicholas Dima, who escaped from Communist Romania, is retired from a career in the Voice of America’s Romanian Service. During his years of service to the US government as well as to various universities, Dima has demonstrated his broad understanding of issues that shape international diplomacy, resource management, and political change.
In his many years as a journalist, he has been witness to some of the most significant events of the post-World War Two world. Dr. Dima has developed, managed, and conducted specialized courses and seminars at the graduate level on European Area Studies as well as global Socio-Political Studies. He has written numerous scholarly books that were utilized as texts at James Madison University; Boston College; University of Nebraska at Omaha; the US Army's J. F. K. Special Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg, N. C.; Naval War College, Newport, RI, and others. From1987 through 1988, he was Director for European/Soviet Studies, US Army, Fort Bragg, NC.
Filip Razvan Ghitescu, Associate
Filip has his BBA in International Business from Romanian-American University in Bucharest, as well as his MBA from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He has served as Project Manager for the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculutre, and Consumer Protection and Romanian-German-Italian PHARE Twinning. He has also served as the Counselor for European Affairs with the Romanian Ministry of European Integration and the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture in Bucharest, Romania from October of 2001 - October of 2003. He also has experience as Program Coordinator for the William R. Nelson Institute for Public Affairs in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He currently works with the project "Further Support for the Full Implementation of the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) in Romania" in Bucharest, Romania and has been there since March of 2006.
Filip co-authored the text, Economic Crime in Romania, seen in the 2001 Journal of Social, Economic, and Political Science (Washington, DC). He also served as a representative of Romania at the Control with Remote Sensing in Agriculture Conferences organized by the European Commission (DG - Joint Research Center) from 2004 - 2005. He has also participated in other workships and conferences organized by DG-JRC/Agrifish.
Steven Alan Samson, Ph.D., Associate
He served as a professor of government at Liberty University from 1998 through 2017 when he
retired. His research and writing focus on the European and American intellectual, cultural, and
constitutional traditions, giving particular attention to their ideological challengers. Beginning in 1977, he taught political science, history, geography, and humanities at a dozen colleges in half a dozen states: Oregon, Indiana, Michigan, Florida, Texas, and Virginia. When the Helms School of
Government was founded in 2004, he served for three years as the department chairman. He and
his wife Sally, who is a retired R.N., are both from Oregon but currently live in Virginia. They have
four grown children and seven grandchildren.
Ion Tabarta, Moldovan Associate
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Dr. Tabarta is an analyst of the political situation in Republic of Moldova. He is author of “Analysis Moldova’s policies of reintegration. Monitor Reintegration Policies of the Government of Moldova”,which explains pathways for increased interaction and integration for these sectors.
He has 15 years’ experience of working as a university professor. He has been a lecturer at the of European Political and Economic Studies “ConstantinStere” where he taught Foreign Policy of the Repu blic of Moldova, Conflict theory, Democracy: theory and practice, Transitology
For five years, he has been vice-director at the Institute of Political Analysis and Consulting
“POLITICON”. H He is also an expert at the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) “Viitorul”.
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Kyle Statham, Associate
Kyle Statham, who is a research associate, is a graduate of Liberty University with a B.A. in
Government: International Relations. He serves in the US Virginia National Guard as a reconnaissance scout. He is a founder of an organization called Area Vitae taking the initiative to alleviate the problems of world's orphan population through education reform, while teaching selective college courses in Bucharest, Romania as a Distance Learning Intensive instructor.
Casey Duff, Researcher
Casey Duff lives in Montana and is employed by an elevator company for which he manages day-to-day operations and is responsible for technological innovations to improve the firm’s competitiveness. He studies market changes in an effort to expand company operations.
Since his time as a student at the Helms School of Government of Liberty University, Casey Duff has expanded has studies of Russian politics and economics. In particular, he has evaluated how Russia has increased its influence across the European and Middle Eastern political and economic spectrum. Most recently, he has developed comparative assessments of the energy relationship between Ukraine and Russia.
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Thomas Houlahan, Researcher
Thomas Houlahan has earned a J.D. from Franklin Pierce Law Center, Concord, N.H. (1995), an M.S. (Government) from Campbell University, Buies Creek, N.C. (1987), and a B.S. (SocialSciences) from Campbell University, Buies Creek, N.C. (1985)
He worked as a Military Analyst for state-wide (New Hampshire) television and radio during the Gulf Conflict and was a political columnist (1990-92), for the New London (N.H.), Times, The Hometown Messenger, and The Highland Journal.
He is the author of Gulfwar: The Complete History (1999).
Mr. Houlahan was an Adjunct Researcher, House Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee (1988-90)has been a lecturer at James Madison University, Fort Hood and Fort Knox and he was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives (1992-94).
Beca Bruder, Staff
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​Beca Bruder received her master’s in Public Policy as well as her bachelor’s in International Relations from Liberty University. While a student at LU, she held a graduate teaching assistant position where she was able to instruct Undergraduate students. She was a recipient of the Leadership Award in 2019 and the Dean’s Council Award in 2017 and is a member of the Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society. Beca currently works The Philanthropy Roundtable as the Executive Assistant to the president.
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Professor Rodion Kandyba, Staff
Associate Professor of Political Science Pyatigorsk State University Pyatigorsk, Russia
PhD in Political Science, Pyatigorsk State University, 2005
Thesis topic: “Development of the Institute of Political Parties in the Period of Transformation of Russian Society”
Language proficiency: Russian and English
Research and teaching activities and interests
Relationship between economic and political problems
Economic geography of Russia
Contemporary petroleum related issues
The origin and development of Russian political parties since late 1980s
Role of parties in the Russian political system
Candidate participation in elections of all levels
Publications
Monograph: “Political parties: experience of institutionalization and activity in the conditions of
democratization of the Russian political system”, published in 2017
Numerous articles in Russian academic journals
Cătălina Popescu, Staff/Admin
Graduate of School of Domestic and International Economy of Tourism of the Romanian-American University in Bucharest.
Senior student at the LAW UNIVERSITY in Bucharest. One member of the RSEI, helping with technology issues and romanian legal issues.
Researcher in medical tourism (South Korea and Romania).
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Alexandru Butiseaca, Staff
Alexandru Butiseacă is the Chief Financial Officer with the Romanian Post National Company since January 2023, managing financial strategy, resources, risks, accounting, and reporting. He collaborates with departments and interfaces with external fiscal and financial entities.
He is a Senior Researcher with the Institute of World Economy, Romanian Academy, concentrating on international economic relations since 2016. His governmental advisory roles included serving as Counselor to the Prime Minister and to the Minister at the Ministry of Investments and European Projects, where he advised on economic policies between 2021 and 2022.
Butiseacă was a lecturer with the Romanian-American University from 2007 to 2021, teaching international trade and business ethics. He has been the Chief Editor of The Review of Social and Economic Issues since 2013.
He led the Center for European Studies and Documentation and founded the Murray Rothbard Center for Political Economy and Business.
He holds a Ph.D. in economics, a master's in European Economic Integration, and a bachelor's in International Economic Relations. His awards include the 2018 Special Award for University Professor of the Year in Financial Education and the 2011 Templeton Freedom Award.
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Professor Emeritus Award
