Take Point Initiative 2015 Veterans Foreign Policy Challenge Presenter Biographies and Projects

Take Point Initiative
2015 Veterans Foreign Policy Challenge
Presenter Biographies and Projects
Take Point Initiative – Veterans Foreign
Policy Challenge
Friday, October 23, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Atlantic Council Headquarters
Tom Berry
MA Candidate, Global Affairs, Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, Yale University
New Haven, CT
Project: Tigris and Grove Street Project: A Miniseries
A miniseries telling the story of veterans and refugees of the Iraq War that explores
its legacy and the impact these groups have on the next generation of emerging
leaders in our armed forces.
Biography: Tom served for seven and a half years as an infantry officer in the US Army after graduating
from the US Military Academy at West Point. He led soldiers as a platoon leader in Diyala Province, Iraq
in 2008-2009 and as a company commander in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2011-2012. After leaving active
service in 2013, Tom traveled to several countries in South America to study issues affecting
disenfranchised youth as well as to work with organizations seeking to improve access to education and
employment for this marginalized demographic. He returned from South America to Yale in 2014 to
pursue a Masters in Global Affairs. At Yale, Tom studies strategies to enhance security through
empowering youth who might otherwise be co-opted into violence. This past summer he designed and
implemented a business development workshop to allow Kenyan youth entrepreneurs in areas affected
by political violence to productively employ their peers. With the Tigris & Grove Street Project, Tom
continues this mission of empowerment by bringing together Iraq War veterans at Yale and Iraqi refugees
resettled in Yale’s shadow to tell their stories, help each other heal, and drive future policy.
Daniel Trusilo
Independent Advisor
Poolesville, MD
Project: Patriots: A Novel
A work of fiction based on real-life experience on an embedded military transition
team in Iraq in 2006. It is a novel about America's shared experience of the Global
War on Terror written by a former combatant in the tradition of literature such as
All Quiet on the Western Front. This work addresses the modern conventional combat experience and the
post-conflict transition for the common soldier with the goal of connecting both civilians and policy
makers to the ground truth of daily life in modern conflict.
Biography: After completing his Bachelor of Science at West Point, Daniel was commissioned as an officer
in the US Army. During his service, Daniel deployed to Iraq where he worked as an operations advisor on
an embedded Military Transition Team. Daniel also worked at the US Army North Atlantic Treaty
Organization and US Army Europe Headquarters. After leaving military service as a Captain, Daniel carried
out a double-degree masters program in International Affairs with the University of St. Gallen,
Switzerland, and the Fletcher School at Tufts University, in which he focused on issues of human security
and humanitarian intervention. During his graduate studies Daniel competed at the Telders International
Law Moot Court Competition at The Hague as part of the Swiss National Team, carried out research on
disaster risk reduction in conflict and post-conflict environments for the Feinstein International Center
and worked at the International Committee of the Red Cross Delegation to the United Nations in New
York. After completing his graduate studies Daniel was selected to be a Fulbright-Clinton Public Policy
fellow to Nepal where he worked on civil-military issues related to disaster preparedness and emergency
response with the Government of Nepal and Nepali security forces.
Colin Wood
Pathways Intern, Researcher, US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and
Development Center
Champaign, IL
Project: Rethinking Unconventional Warfare in a New Era: A Research Monograph
A monograph analyzing current policy and thought surrounding Unconventional
Warfare (UW) and rethinking intelligence and special operations in the modern
conflict environment.
Biography: Colin is a federal intern conducting research for the US Army Engineer Research and
Development Center at the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL). His research
focuses on political violence, with a particular interest in terrorism, and irregular and unconventional
warfare. A veteran of the US Army, Colin served in Mosul, Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom III as a
Combat Medic assigned to the Scout/Recon Platoon, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry, 25th Infantry Division,
and later in various postings in Germany. He graduated Summa Cum Laude as a Distinguished Honors
Scholar with a BA in International Studies (focus in Security and Diplomacy) and with minors in Arabic and
Anthropology from the University of North Texas in December 2014. Colin is a former National Science
Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF-REU) fellow; a Department of Homeland
Security, Homeland Security Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (DHS HS-STEM) intern;
and a member of Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society. He is a member of the International Studies
Association, the Midwestern Political Science Association, and serves in various volunteer leadership roles
with the American Red Cross. He plans to pursue his PhD in Political Science next Fall.