Graduates of our Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies (NPTS) master’s degree program are in high demand for careers promoting the reduction and elimination of weapons of mass destruction and responding to threats from terrorism and financial crime.

Alumni Career Profiles

Michelle Alford, Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies graduate

Michelle Alford

First Job After Graduation: Intelligence Analyst, Global Intelligence Center, eBay (San Jose, California)

Internship: Center for Global Security Research Intern, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Livermore, California)

Specialization: Financial Crime Management

Institute Advantage: The Institute’s courses—such as Introduction to Terrorism, Apocalyptic Millenarianism, Weapons of Mass Destruction Nonproliferation Policy, and Science and Technology—helped secure my internship with the Center for Global Security Research. My connection to the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management Student Chapter gave me the chance to visit the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the initial networking opportunity.

Valentina Bianco Hormaechea MANPTS ‘20

Valentina Bianco Hormaechea

Current Employment: Associate External Relations and Reporting Officer, UNHCR (Peru)

Internship: Research and Liaison Unit Intern, United Nations Operations and Crisis Centre (UNOCC)

Institute Advantage: I truly believe that the skills I acquired at MIIS, plus my internship and field experience, contributed to my landing my current job at UNHCR.

Story: How I Got Hired

Lila Green

Lila Green

First Jobs After Graduation: Export Compliance Analyst, Autodesk (San Rafael, California); Consultant, Institute for Inner Economy (Marina, California)

Professional Associations: President, U.S. West Coast Chapter of Women in International Security

Institute Advantage: I was able to build meaningful relationships with professors and colleagues alike, including working as a graduate assistant for my favorite professor. I started my own student organization—the Middlebury Institute chapter of Women in International Security (WIIS)—which led to my work with the Institute for Inner Economy, where I consult on nonproliferation-related issues and security sector vernacular. It also led to me being appointed as the President of WIIS West after I graduated.

Mark Leon-Guerrero MANPTS '19

Mark Leon-Guerrero

Current Employment: Platform Policy Enforcement Investigator in Developer Operations, Facebook (Sunnyvale, California.)

First Job After Graduation: KYC Compliance Investigator, Mercari (Palo Alto, California)

Institute Advantage: Language studies helped me tremendously, as I ended up working for a Japanese company initially. The Center for Advising and Career Services team, especially Elizabeth Bone and Bryce Craft, helped me with salary negotiation, searching through the alumni database for potential contacts, and so on. The Financial Crime Management specialization also helped me hit the ground running in my new field.

Story: How I Got Hired

Kyle Pilutti

Kyle Pilutti

Current Employment: Safeguards Analyst, National Nuclear Security Administration (Washington, D.C.)

First Job After Graduation: Research Assistant, Ploughshares Fund (Washington, D.C.)

Internship: Global Security Intern, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Livermore, California)

Institute Advantage: The Middlebury Institute network has been very helpful in navigating the nuclear policy space—almost every sector has Institute graduates.

Story: Four Institute Graduates Awarded Fellowships with Nuclear Agency

David Zacks, NPTS graduate

David T. Zacks

Current Employment: Head of Compliance, Auka, a Norwegian VC-backed technology company that enables retail banks to issue mobile payment products (Oslo, Norway)

First Job After Graduation: Liaison to Mexico, U.S. Department of Treasury, FinCEN (Washington, D.C.)

Institute Advantage: I stayed in contact with Professor Moyara Ruehsen, who introduced me to the field—I have since hired several Institute students as interns and alumni for full-time positions. Good second-language skills are a great asset, and one thing that you can say about Institute graduates is that they can always be trusted to stand on their own feet as professionals from the first day.

Expertise: Payments and compliance

Story: GSIPM Young Alumni Achievement Winner 2018

Check out more profiles on our security career insights blog.

One Year After Graduation

Many of our alumni are in rewarding careers around the world; scroll down to see where they are and what they are doing within 12 months of graduation.

Mouse over charts to see details.

Data sources and terminology

Location (Employed or Continuing Education)

Afghanistan; Austria; China; Czechia; France; Hungary; Ireland; Jordan; Mexico; Peru; Russia; Switzerland; United Kingdom; United States

Select Employers

  • A1-Interpreters & Translators LLC
  • ACADEMI
  • Amazon
  • AML Rightsource
  • Analytic Services Inc.
  • Apple, Inc.
  • Arab Institute for Security Studies
  • ArdentMC
  • Argonne National Laboratory 
  • Autodesk 
  • Bank of the West
  • bitFlyer Group
  • Boren Fellowship 
  • Center for Energy and Security Studies (CENESS)
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Chainalysis
  • CipherTrace
  • CNA Corporation
  • Community Homeless Solutions
  • Conference on Disarmament
  • Dataminr
  • Defense Intelligence Agency
  • dKomplex, Inc.
  • eBay
  • Elanö-c3
  • Eliot
  • EnterIdeas 
  • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
  • FinClusive
  • George Mason University 
  • Golden State Events
  • Golden State Investigations
  • Government 
  • Institute for Politics and Society
  • Internal Revenue Service
  • International Atomic Energy Agency 
  • Interpol
  • JTG, Inc.
  • Kharon
  • Lafayette Group
  • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  • Limbik
  • Longnecker & Associates
  • Meta (Facebook)
  • MGIMO University
  • Middlebury Institute
  • Mintz Group
  • Moonshot CVE
  • Motley Rice
  • MUFG Americas
  • National Background Investigations Bureau
  • National Nuclear Security Administration
  • Northern California Regional Intelligence Center
  • NYS Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services
  • One Earth Future Foundation
  • OPANAL
  • Pacific Forum
  • Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
  • Pinkerton
  • Playstation
  • Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations
  • Raytheon Missiles & Defense
  • Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation 
  • San Jose Police Department
  • Sara Jacobs for Congress
  • Silicon Valley Bank
  • TD International, LLC
  • Thomson Reuters Special Services
  • U.S. Army
  • U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
  • U.S. Department of Commerce
  • U.S. Department of Defense
  • U.S. Department of Justice
  • U.S. Department of State
  • U.S. Department of the Treasury
  • United Nations
  • United States Senate
  • University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
  • Varo Bank
  • Venerable 

Select Positions

  • Chief Operations Officer
  • Chief Warrant Officer
  • Consultant
  • Crime and Intelligence Analyst
  • Crisis Response Intelligence Analyst 
  • Deputy Field Director
  • Export Compliance Analyst
  • External Relations and Reporting Officer
  • Financial Intelligence Unit Investigator 
  • Foreign Service Officer
  • KYC Associate 
  • Nonproliferation Policy Specialist 
  • Program Manager
  • Protective Services Specialist
  • Risk Analyst 
  • Senior Research Specialist
  • Special Agent
  • Special Investigator
  • Tactical Intelligence Analyst
  • Vice President of MDM (Mis-, Dis-, Mal-information)

 

Internships

Partnerships

The Middlebury Institute has partnerships with the following employers for unique internship opportunities—click on the link for more information:

Employer Testimonials

“[This student is a] conscientious and efficient professional demonstrating advanced critical, analytical and communication skills … [She has a] great sense of responsibility, reliability and commitment … [and a] readiness to address new and challenging tasks.”

International Professional Service Semester Supervisor, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna

Summer 2019–2021

Secured Opportunity: 80% (several opportunities canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic)

Locations: Fiji, Hungary, Mexico, Morocco, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United States

Select Internship Employers

There are 35+ employers of recent NPTS interns, a few are highlighted below:

  • Argonne National Laboratory
  • BNP Paribas
  • Center for Strategic and International Studies
  • First Republic Bank
  • Government Accountability Office
  • Hedayah
  • Hungarian Strategic Defense Research Institute 
  • Institute for Security Governance
  • Justice In Mexico
  • Kroll
  • Lawrence Livermore National Lab
  • OPANAL
  • PIR Center
  • Textron Specialized Vehicles
  • Thomson Reuters Special Services
  • U.S. Department of Commerce
  • U.S. Department of Defense
  • U.S. Department of State
  • United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)
  • United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) 

Select Internship Position Titles

  • Anti-Money Laundering Intern
  • Extremist Content Analyst
  • Fraud Department Specialist
  • Intelligence Analyst Intern
  • Investigator
  • Investment & Compliance Intern
  • Research Associate
  • Safeguards Intern
  • Strategic Trade Control Intern
  • WMD Branch Intern