Judge Baker is one of the most highly regarded national security lawyers and policy advisors in the nation. Starting his career as an Infantry Officer in the US Marine Corps, Judge Baker subsequently joined the staff of Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan before serving the US Department of State, Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, and National Security Council. Mostly notably, he served on the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces for 15 years—the last four as Chief Judge—before stepping down in 2015. The Court hears appeals arising under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and its decisions are subject to review by the US Supreme Court. Judge Baker authored more than 250 opinions for the Court, addressing criminal law and procedure, rules of evidence, jurisdiction, and the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution.

Since 2015, when he was appointed by President Barack Obama, Judge Baker has served as a Member of the Public Interest Declassification Board, established by Congress in 2000 to promote transparency in national security activities. He is also a Member of the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ROLI) Board of Directors; a former Consultant for the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity; and a former Chair of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Law and National Security, which promotes public understanding of, and careers in, national security.

In addition to his exemplary public service, Judge Baker has been a teacher and scholar his entire career. He has taught as an Adjunct or Visiting Professor at Yale Law School (his alma mater, where he received a B.A. and J.D.); University of Iowa College of Law; University of Pittsburgh School of Law; Washington University School of Law; and the Georgetown University Law Center. His courses have included those on Managing National Security, Challenges in National Security, Federal Courts, and Ethics and Leadership. In 2017-2018, Judge Baker was Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow at MIT’s Center for International Studies, where he pursued scholarship on emerging technologies and artificial intelligence. Previous recipients of this prestigious fellowship include former UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Adm. William Fallon, former Commander of US Central Command.

Judge Baker is the author of two books,ĚýIn the Common Defense: National Security Law for Perilous TimesĚý(Cambridge University Press, 2007) andĚýRegulating Covert ActionĚý(Yale University Press, 1992, with Michael Reisman). As a Marine Corps Reserve Officer (1979-2000), he authored the revisedĚýMarine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual. Subjects addressed in his numerous book chapters and articles range from military justice, transnational law, and covert operations to teaching national security, effective presidential transitions, and the ethics of national security law. Among his several awards, Judge Baker has been honored by the National Security Council, Central Intelligence Agency, and the US Army Command and General Staff College (Honorary Master of Military Arts and Science, 2009).

One track of Zoli’s research investigates the changing nature of the US military force structure, the challenges of asymmetric warfare for military personnel, andĚýĚýinto servicemembers’ and veterans’ service and post-service experiences, including post-9/11 veterans’ reintegration and subsequent pathway in higher education, civic engagement, and employment. Zoli’s veterans research uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to help prioritize their perspectives, as in the co-authored white paper,ĚýMissing Perspectives: Servicemembers’ Transition from Service to Civilian Life.

On another track, Zoli analyzes the role of technology, culture, and religion in contemporary security dynamics and in postconflict transition. This includes the role of Islamic law in mitigating conflict and postconflict dynamics; Muslim-majority states’ international law conflict and compliance behavior; problems of law and governance in Afghanistan and Pakistan; and the importance of Islamic and international norms for transitioning post-Arab Spring states.

Zoli’s research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, the Andrew Mellon Foundation, and Google. Her work has been published inĚýForeign Policy, Harvard National Security Journal, and the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, among other venues.

Zoli earned her Ph.D. in cultural studies and international relations at SU and completed all credits in the professional policy master’s degree program at SU Maxwell School. She is a senior researcher at IVMF; a faculty member in political science and international relations at Maxwell School; an honorary professor at the Institute for Religion, Politics, and Society at Australian Catholic University, Melbourne; and Ěýfor theĚý.

The subjects of Banks’ more than 100 publishedĚýbook chapters and articles range from the military use of unmanned aerial vehicles, to terrorism in South America, to the role of the military in domestic affairs. Recent writing includes “Regulating Cyber Conflict;” “Regulating Drones: Military Law and CIA Practice and the Shifting Challenges of New Technologies;” “Exceptional Courts in Counterterrorism: Lessons from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA);” and “Programmatic Surveillance and FISA: Of Needles in Haystacks.”ĚýAdditionally, Banks has spearheaded numerous interdisciplinary research projects for INSCT, including ; ; and , a collaboration with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (UN CTED).