The Defense and Security Student Organization, the Human Rights Working Group, and the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies present:

“Let’s Talk about Drones”

with Dipali Mukhopadhyay and Stuart Gottlieb
Saltzman Institute, SIPA 

Daniel Medina
Journal of International Affairs, SIPA

Maria McFarland
Human Rights Watch

Adam Scher
United States Army

Jason Lemieux
United States Marine Corps 

Join a panel of experts and practitioners from academia, the non-profit sector, and the military as they discuss the evolving role of drones in United States foreign policy and its legal and security ramifications.

Dipali Mukhopadhyay joined the SIPA faculty as an assistant professor in July 2012.  She received her doctorate from Tufts University’s Fletcher School in the fall of 2010 and spent 2011 as a post-doctoral fellow at Princeton University. She has been conducting research in eastern and northern Afghanistan, as well as Kabul, since 2007 and made her first trip to the country for a project with the Aga Khan Development Network in 2004. Dr, Mukhopadhyay teaches in the field of international security. She has worked in consultation with the US Department of Defense, the Canadian government, the US military, and the World Bank. Dr. Mukhopadhyay holds a PhD from Tufts University’s Fletcher School for Law and Diplomacy.

Stuart Gottlieb is Adjunct Professor of International Affairs and Public Policy at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and an Affiliate at the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies at Columbia University. Dr. Gottlieb teaches courses on U.S. foreign policy, counterterrorism, and international security. He also serves as faculty adviser for SIPA’s summer degree program in international relations, and teaches courses for New York University’s graduate program in international politics. Dr. Gottlieb holds a PhD in International Relations from Columbia University.

Daniel Medina is Lead Editor at the Journal of International Affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Daniel has written extensively on the CIA’s classified drone program as a freelance journalist for the Huffington Post. His work has also appeared in the New York Times, New York Magazine, and other prominent media publications. Daniel is a dual degree student and spent last year at the Columbia Journalism School.

As Deputy US Program Director for Human Rights Watch, Maria McFarland helps to guide the organization’s work on counterterrorism, immigration, and criminal justice in the United States. Previously, as Deputy Washington Director for Human Rights Watch, McFarland conducted advocacy before the US government on a wide array of global human rights issues, including in particular matters related to the Middle East and North Africa during the “Arab uprisings” of 2011, as well as South and Central Asia. McFarland has conducted extensive advocacy before the governments of the United States, Canada, and European and Latin American countries; has authored and edited numerous Human Rights Watch reports; has testified before the US Congress and Canadian Parliament; and is a frequent voice in the media. She holds a JD from New York University School of Law.

Adam Scher is a Captain in the United States Army that served as an infantry officer in Iraq and Afghanistan. He graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in 2004. He deployed to Iraq in 2005 and again in 2007 with the 101st Airborne Division, serving as a rifle platoon leader, company executive officer, and battalion assistant operations officer. Adam commanded a Stryker company on his most recent deployment to Afghanistan from 2010-2011 before attending SIPA, where he studies International Security Policy. Still on active duty, Adam’s next assignment is to teach American Politics at West Point.

Jason Lemieux served five years in the US Marine Corps infantry and three tours in Iraq. Jason has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Columbia University. He is a May 2013 candidate for the Master of International Affairs with a concentration in Human Rights and a specialization in Advanced Policy and Economic Analysis.