International Security & Biopolicy Institute

Barry Kellman, J.D.

PRESIDENT

Barry Kellman, J.D. Yale (76), is Professor of International Law and Environmental Law as well as Director of the International Weapons Control Center at DePaul University College of Law.

Professor Kellman’s work for the past eight years has focused on bioviolence. His book, BIOVIOLENCE: Preventing Biological Terror and Crime (Cambridge University Press, 2007), is a comprehensive strategy for law enforcers, scientists, and public health officials to prevent intentional disease. He initiated and was Special Advisor to the Interpol Program on Prevention of Biological Terrorism. He served on the National Academies of Sciences Committee on Research Standards and Practices To Prevent the Destructive Application of Biotechnology (2003). In 2000, he served as legal adviser to the National Commission on Terrorism. He works closely with the United States Departments of State and Homeland Security, as well as United Nations and other governments. He has organized over a dozen major international workshops on bioviolence and speaks often at other conferences and symposia around the world.

Professor Kellman’s professional work has long been concerned with weapons of mass destruction proliferation and terrorism. He worked for ratification and implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention as lead author of the Manual for National Implementation of the CWC (1993; 2nd ed. 1998) and by testifying to Congress as to the constitutionality of its inspection scheme (1997). In 2000, he served as legal adviser to the National Commission on Terrorism. He was commissioned by the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT) to draft, Managing Terrorism’s Consequences (2003) which reviews legal authorities for responding to terror activity in the United States. He has published widely on: weapons proliferation and smuggling, the laws of armed conflict, Middle East arms control, and nuclear non proliferation.

Leslie Platt, J.D.

VICE PRESIDENT

Leslie Platt brings over three decades of senior level life sciences and healthcare experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors to the International Security & Biopolicy Institute.  Among his legal, policy, and management positions, Leslie has served as Counsel at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, where he provided counsel and representation on public policy, projects and compliance in life sciences and healthcare, focusing on emerging medical technologies and global risk management standards.

Previously, he served as in-house General Counsel at The Institute for Genomic Research and the American Type Culture Collection; as Executive Assistant to the Director and Chief of Operations at the National Institutes of Health; and as a Principal in global health sciences at Ernst & Young LLP.   Earlier, Platt worked in the U.S. government as Deputy General Counsel at the Department of Health and Human Services and as Counsel and Staff Director of the interagency White House Agent Orange Working Group.Platt has worked on a range of regulatory issues, matters and investigations involving the conduct and reporting of research, covering human subject protections, scientific fraud, biosecurity and biosafety, clinical trials and laboratory management, and fraud and abuse in grants and contracts. He also has extensive background in healthcare risk management, quality assurance and control, and organizational governance.

Platt has served as Board Chairman of the nonprofit BioJudiciary Project, and currently chairs the Loudoun County, VA Science & Technology Cabinet. He has taught legal and ethical aspects of bioscience management at George Mason University. In addition, he is a frequent lecturer at industry conferences in the U.S. and internationally and has authored numerous articles. Platt holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.A. from George Washington University. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, American Bar Association, Federal Bar Association and American Judicature Society.

Kimothy Smith, DVM, Phd

VICE PRESIDENT

Dr. Smith is the Director of The Global Resource Initiative, a nonprofit organization that focuses its efforts on bolstering the critical resource base of underserved countries and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. Dr. Smith most recently was the Senior Advisor for International Biodefense for the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Health Affairs and was detailed to the U.S. State Department Office of International Health and Biodefense. Prior to this Dr. Smith served as the Acting Director of the National Biosurveillance Integration Center. In this capacity he was responsible for setting the vision and strategy of a US Government-wide effort to acquire, aggregate, integrate, analyze, interpret and disseminate all-source biosurveillance information from governmental and private sectors for epidemiological analyses and health protection.

Dr. Smith also was the Department of Homeland Security’s first Chief Veterinarian and served as the Chief Scientist for the Office of Health Affairs. He came to work for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2005 where he began work within the Science and Technology Directorate as the Chief of the Research Programs and Countermeasures Office, directing the intramural research program executed through the federal and National Laboratories.

Prior to coming to work with the DHS, Dr. Smith was at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) where he served as the Deputy Division Leader for Operations in the Counter-terrorism and Incident Response Division of the Non-proliferation, Arms Control and International Security Directorate. In this capacity Dr. Smith was responsible for maintenance and readiness of the Laboratories nuclear response deployment and assessment teams. Before accepting this appointment, Dr. Smith served as a Deputy Associate Program Leader for the Chemical and Biological National Security Program where he was responsible for administering and managing the portfolio of biodefense research projects at LLNL.Dr. Smith had actively engaged in research execution and program development in the areas of infectious disease ecology, developing molecular typing methods and the application of molecular epidemiological techniques to forensic investigations as an associate professor on the Northern Arizona University (NAU) faculty prior to going to LLNL.

Dr. Smith earned a PhD in molecular epidemiology from Louisiana State University (1999) where he curated the worldwide Bacillus anthracis collection. He earned his BS in Biochemistry and Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Oklahoma State University and was a practicing veterinarian for almost 10 years. During this time he also owned and managed a cotton and wheat farming operation in addition to a beef cattle stocker and production operation.

Allen Shofe, J.D., LL.M

VICE PRESIDENT

Mr. Shofe has served as senior vice president public affairs for Emergent BioSolutions since January 2008. Mr. Shofe served as vice president public affairs from May 2007 to January 2008, and vice president government affairs from 2005 to 2007. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Shofe served as director, federal government affairs for Eli Lilly from 2002 to 2005. Prior to joining Eli Lilly, Mr. Shofe served as chief of staff for Congressman Gil Gutknecht from 2001 to 2002, head of corporate and regulatory affairs, Middle East and North Africa for BAT Industries from 1996 to 2001, traffic control materials division manager for 3M TCM in 1996, and vice president, state government affairs for The Tobacco Institute from 1992 to 1996. Mr. Shofe held various positions related to the election and administration of former Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson from 1990 to 1992, and served as campaign director for the Minnesota Republican Senate Caucus and Republican Party from 1987 to 1990. Mr. Shofe received an LL.M Master of Laws from the University of Leicester School of Law, United Kingdom and a B.A. in International Relations from University of Minnesota-Morris.

Michael Kraft

SECRETARY 

Michael B. Kraft is a Washington-based counterterrorism consultant and writer with more than 25 years of experience working on counterterrorism issues in the State Department, Congress and the National Defense University.His extensive State Department work on U.S. counterterrorism policy and programs included legislative liaison with Congress and the Justice Department, interagency coordination, public affairs, budget and regional issues. 

During his 19 years in the State Department he also worked on nonproliferation issues and sanctions.  In the legislative arena, Mr. Kraft conceived and drafted, with the State Department Legal Advisors Office and the Justice Department, major counterterrorism legislation to curb material support for terrorist organizations and individuals. He also conducted with the Justice Department a series of seminars to help other countries strengthen their counterterrorism laws and a similar program for the International Law Institute in Kampala, Uganda.

After retiring as a senior advisor for legislative and budget affairs in the State Department Counterterrorism Office, Mr. Kraft served a year as an adjunct counterterrorism faculty member at the National Defense University Africa Center for Strategic Studies and has lectured at various civilian universities.  He has been consulting for various Defense Department and Department of Homeland Security projects and assisting non-government organizations.

Publications include the Evolution of U.S Counterterrorism Policy(Praeger/Greenwood Press, December, 2007), a three volume reference work that contains his extensive chapter on U.S. counterterrorism legislation and unclassified programs. Mr. Kraft also contributed chapters on USG counterterrorism research and development programs for Countering Terrorism and Insurgency in the 21 Centurypublished by Praeger Press in 2007 and counterterrorism legal issues in the McGraw-Hill Homeland Security Handbook (2005). He also edited papers that were incorporated in a 2008 NDU book, In 2008 Mr. Kraft co-authored for the Project for National Security Reform a major study on USG counterterrorism programs to assist other countries and this year headed the Washington-based research for the Board’s study on USG biosecurity programs and policies to assist other nations.  He contributes to The Counterterrorism Blog and also has written articles for the Center for International Relations Forum, the Counter Terrorism Journal, the Transatlantic Institute Journal, and op-ed articles for various U.S. newspapers. 

Before joining the State Department, Mr. Kraft served as staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia and as a national security legislative assistant to members of that committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Paul Schulte

BOARD MEMBER

Paul Schulte is a nonresident senior associate in the Carnegie Nuclear Policy Program and at Carnegie Europe, and a senior visiting fellow in the Disarmament and Globalization Program at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. Additionally he is a senior visiting fellow at both the Centre for Defense Studies at King’s College at the University of London and the Centre for the Study of Global Governance at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

He previously served as chief speechwriter to two UK defense secretaries (2006–2007), as director of proliferation and arms control for the UK Ministry of Defence, and as UK commissioner on the UN commissions for Iraqi disarmament, UNSCOM and UNMOVIC (1997–2002).

He also worked in Iraq’s Coalition Provisional Authority as director of defense organization in the Office of National Security Affairs (2004), the office responsible for rebuilding the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, and was founding head of the UK’s Post Conflict Reconstruction Unit (2004–2005) involved in planning the initial integrated British civil-military campaign in Helmand province in Afghanistan.

Paul Schulte holds a B.Sc. from the London School of Economics.  He has also attended the London Centre for Psychotherapy, the Senior Officers Course at the Royal College of Defense Studies, and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University.

Herb Hecht II, J.D.

BOARD MEMBER

Akhila Kosaraju, M.D.

BOARD MEMBER

Ali A. Mohammadi, DVM, MSc, PhD

BOARD MEMBER

Randy Murch, Phd

BOARD MEMBER

Suzanne Spaulding, J.D

BOARD MEMBER

Tim Stephens

BOARD MEMBER