[Webinar] Unveiling Defense: Transparency and Accountability in Global Arms

Director of the Security Assistance Monitor (SAM) Program, Center for International Policy

Previously, Ari was the U.S. Program Manager at Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) and the Herbert J. Scoville Peace Fellow at the Stimson Center’s South Asia Program. Ari is an expert with the Forum on the Arms Trade and received her BA in International Relations and MA and Middle Eastern Studies, both with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin.

People Over Pentagon Advocate, Public Citizen

Savannah Wooten is the People Over Pentagon Advocate at Public Citizen, where she manages a coalition to reduce military spending and reinvest in urgent human needs priorities. She has a background in student organizing and atrocity prevention. Prior to her role at Public Citizen, she was a Program Associate at the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG) and the Student Director of STAND: The Student-Led Movement to End Mass Atrocities. She has a B.A. in Public Policy and Peace, War, and Defense from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Research Analyst, Stimson Center Conventional Defense Program

Elias’s research focuses on the global arms trade and arms control, issues related to remote warfare and use of force, and international security cooperation and child soldiers prevention. Prior to joining the Stimson Center, Elias was the Deputy Director of the Security Assistance Monitor at the Center for International Policy where he analyzed the impact of U.S. arms transfer and security assistance programs on international security, U.S. foreign policy, and global human rights practices. Elias was previously a Campaigns and Research Officer with Crisis Action in Beirut, Lebanon, where he worked on advocacy and policy proposals to improve civilian protection, humanitarian access, and conflict resolution in Syria, Yemen, and South Sudan. He also worked with Crisis Action in Washington, D.C. as a Campaigns and Advocacy Associate, where he advised on U.S. policy related to civilian harm in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. Elias received his BA from American University.

Senior Researcher, OpenSecrets

Dan is responsible for overseeing OpenSecrets’ databases tracking lobbying activity and the revolving door and directs the Foreign Lobby Watch program, launched in 2017. He joined OpenSecrets in 2004 and has specialized in monitoring political action committees and the personal finances of government officials. Dan graduated from the University of Delaware with degrees in political science and history.