John Holland-McCowan E-mail: [email protected] || Mobile: +1 408 348 6509

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I currently serve as a Predoctoral Research Fellow at the Harvard Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs’ International Security Program as I complete my PhD in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. While revising my thesis on the Syrian Kurds and their partnership with the U.S.-led coalition in the fight against ISIS, I also work part-time as an Adjunct Professor at American University and a Teaching Assistant at the . I am actively looking to transition from the academic and think tank worlds to a career in public service in order to advance U.S. national security interests.

EDUCATION King’s College London || London, UK || Sept. 2016-present Doctor of Philosophy in War Studies (full-time) • Research Area: Examines the Syrian Kurds’ and their U.S.-led coalition backed campaign against ISIS from 2014 to 2019. • Analyses how their joint campaign was fought, influenced by politics, and shaped by its territorial environment. • Degree expected to be awarded by March of 2021.

King’s College London || London, UK || Sept. 2015-Sept. 2016 Master of Arts in Terrorism, Security, and Society Distinction • Classes included “Terrorism, Security and Society”, “War and Insurgency in the Middle East Since 1945”, and “The Meaning and Experience of Imperialism”. Completed full-time MA while working as a research assistant part-time at ICSR. • Wrote a dissertation assessing the various Kurdish armed groups’ relative contributions to the fight against ISIS.

Harvard College || Cambridge, USA || Sept. 2011-May. 2015 Bachelor of Arts with a Concentration in Government and a Secondary in Archaeology GPA 3.644 • Coursework in international relations, history, political science, and archaeology. • Committed 30 hours per week to the Harvard Varsity Water Polo Team for the first three fall semesters and was an active member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.

CAREER TO DATE Predoctoral Research Fellow || Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs || Cambridge, USA Aug. 2019-Present • Serves as a predoctoral research fellow at the Belfer Center’s International Security Program (ISP) at the as I am completing my doctoral thesis. • Participates in the Conflict, Security, and Public Policy Work group, attends weekly ISP seminars, as well as presents research to colleagues in peer workshops.

Adjunct Professor || American University || Washington D.C., USA Jan. 2021-Present • Is the instructor for ‘Justice in the Face of Terror’ for first year MA students in the School of Public Affairs. Topics include defining terrorism, analysing state and non-state acts of terror, and assessing counterterrorism methods. • Grades the 15 student’s weekly assignments, final papers, and administrates the asynchronous online course.

Teaching Assistant || The Harvard Extension School || Cambridge, USA Sept. 2019-Present • Currently serving for the second time as a Teaching Assistant for ‘American Foreign Policy’. Was also a Teaching Assistant for ‘National Security Policy in the Middle East’ and ‘Power and Identify in the Middle East’ during the 2019- 2021 academic year. • Have led weekly seminars, office hours, and marked hundreds of student’s examinations.

On-Air Commentator || The Network – ESPN+ || Cambridge, USA Sept. 2019-Present • One of two on-air commentators for the water polo games that will be played at Harvard and broadcast on ESPN+. • Serves as the “color commentator” who provides expert water polo analysis and context for the viewer. • Called 50 games throughout the Men and Women’s Water Polo 2019-2020 seasons.

Research Fellow || The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation || London, UK Aug. 2016–July 2019 • Served as the lead expert on the Kurds and one of the principal researchers of insurgency studies at the center. • Wrote four policy reports, shorter analytical pieces, and spoke with the media on behalf of ICSR on topics ranging from terrorist financing, the Syrian Civil War, to the fight against ISIS. • Authored a dozen 1,000-word briefs for Ernst and Young (EY) for client distribution on topics ranging from Al-Qaeda’s revenue streams to the security situations in various MENA countries such as Libya and Turkey.

Visiting Research Fellow || The Institute for Regional and International Studies || Sulaymaniyah, Iraq Oct. 2018-March 2019 • Served as a research fellow at IRIS while furthering my PhD/ICSR research on the Kurds and the fight against ISIS. • Worked and lived in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq for a total of three months during a six-month period. • Travelled extensively throughout Iraqi Kurdistan while conducting dozens of interviews with generals, journalists, politicians, and NGO workers to gain their perspective on regional security issues.

Graduate Teaching Assistant || War Studies Department, King’s College London || London, UK Jan. 2017-April 2017 • Led a weekly seminar of 20 students for a BA module titled “The War on Terror”. • Topics covered included guerrilla warfare, counter-insurgency, and suicide terrorism. • Graded the 3,000-word papers of 30 students throughout the duration of the course.

Research Assistant || International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation || London, UK Aug. 2015-July 2016 • Produced weekly news bulletins on Iraqi Kurdistan and the coalition’s fight against ISIS for staff consumption. • Compiled and standardized online library of more than 250 articles related to online radicalization for VOX-Pol in preparation for publication - http://voxpol.eu/library/

Academic Tutor || Harvard Summer School Tutor Program || Cambridge, USA June 2015-Aug. 2015 • Worked with five Harvard Summer School students for an average of 10 hours per week on classes ranging from American Foreign Policy, Introduction to International Relations, to Anthropology 101.

Summer Proctor || Harvard Summer School – Secondary School Program || Cambridge, USA June 2015-Aug. 2015 • Fostered a healthy, fun, and academic setting for 14 high school students attending the Harvard Summer School. • Hosted weekly study breaks, held regular on-on-one meetings with students, chaperoned trips, and enforced curfew.

Intern || The Chertoff Group || Washington D.C., USA June 2014-Aug. 2014 • Conducted extensive open-source research for several of the firm’s security service projects. • Created several analytical briefs for low to top ranking members of the company and for client consumption after review on subjects ranging from Nigeria’s oil wealth to the security vulnerabilities of high net worth individuals.

Intern || Harvard Kennedy School National Security Fellows Program || Harvard Kennedy School || Cambridge, USA June 2013–Aug. 2013 • Edited Fellows’ research papers on American military doctrine and cyber security. • Worked as an assistant administrator. Duties ranged from editing Fellow’s bios to updating the program’s databases. • Have subsequently attended 3 of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Executive Programs that covered topics such as terrorism, the ethics of intervention, and security policy development.

Research Assistant || Harvard Weatherhead Center for International Affairs || || Cambridge, USA Sept. 2012–April 2013 • Evaluated U.S. foreign policy options in Afghanistan and Central Asia post-2014. • Assessed the evolving public perceptions of the United States and Europe in the Middle East from 2000-2012 by analysing public opinion polling data and media output.

PUBLICATIONS Articles/Reports • ‘Will ‘We Won’ Become ‘Mission Accomplished’? A US Withdrawal and The Scramble for Northeastern Syria’, ICSR, Dec. 2019. • ‘If Syria Safe-Zone Talks Fail: How the SDF Might Respond to Turkish Intervention’, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 17 May 2019. • ‘Anti-ISIS Operations in Syria: Assessing Scenarios after the U.S. Withdrawal’, IRIS, Feb. 2019. • ‘The Kurds After the ‘Caliphate’: How the Decline of ISIS has Impacted the Kurds of Iraq and Syria’, ICSR, Oct. 2018. • ‘War of Shadows: How Turkey’s Conflict with the PKK Shapes the Syrian Civil War and Iraqi Kurdistan’, ICSR, Aug. 2017. • ‘Caliphate in Decline: An Estimate of Islamic State’s Financial Fortunes’, co-authored with Stefan Heißner, Prof. Peter Neumann, and Rajan Basra, ICSR; EY, Feb. 2017. • ‘ICSR Insight – Who Will Hold the Keys to Al-Bab?’ co-authored with Adam Alayli, ICSR, Dec. 2016. • ‘ICSR Insight – Why the Kurdish-led SDF Will Struggle to Retake Raqqa’, ICSR, Nov. 2016. • ‘ICSR Insight – Limits on Iraqi Kurds’ Impact on the Battle for Mosul’, ICSR, Oct. 2016. • ‘At a Crossroads: Identifying the Key Challenges for Counter-terrorism Practitioners in 2016’ co-authored with CC Jon Boutcher, Prof. Peter Neumann, and Nick Kaderhbai. LinCT 2016 Convention Report.

LECTURES, PRESENTATIONS AND CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION • Panelist, Taking a Closer Look at the Peshmerga and the SDF, Washington Kurdish Institute, 23rd July 2020. Webinar. • Panelist, Iraqi Kurdistan: Identity at the Intersection of Interests, MENAF, 1st May 2019. Cambridge University, UK. • Participant, Sulaimani 2019 Forum, Iraq and It’s Neighbors: Towards a New Regional Order, 6th –7th March 2019. Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. • Presenter, “Will the U.S. Withdraw from Syria and Why it Matters”, (American University of Iraq, Sulaimani, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, 4th March 2019). • Presenter, “The Kurds After the Caliphate: How the Decline of ISIS Has Impacted the Kurds of Iraq and Syria”, (paper launch, American University of Iraq, Sulaymaniyah, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, 9th October 2018). • Presenter, “The Kurds After the Caliphate: How the Decline of ISIS Has Impacted the Kurds of Iraq and Syria”, (paper launch, ICSR, London, UK, 9th October 2018). • Panellist, “Into the Vacuum: How the PKK and ISIS Insurgencies Exploited the Syrian Civil War and Iraqi Crisis from mid 2014 to mid 2017”, University Panthéon-Assas, The European Initiative on Security Studies’ (EISS) 2018 Conference, 22nd June 2018. Paris, France. • Guest lecturer, “Caliphate in Decline: An Estimate of the Islamic State’s Financial Fortunes”, (class lecture, War on Terror, King’s College London, London, UK, 1st March 2018). • Presenter, “War of Shadows: How Turkey’s Conflict with the PKK Shapes the Syrian Civil War and Iraqi Kurdistan”, (paper launch, ICSR, London, UK, 7th August 2017). • Panellist, “Neighbouring Countries’ Policies towards Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan”, Iraqi Kurdistan at a Crossroads: Current Issues of Domestic and Middle Eastern Politics”, University of Kurdistan Hewler, 24th-25th May 2017. Erbil, Iraq. • Guest lecturer, “Caliphate in Decline: An Estimate of the Islamic State’s Financial Fortunes”, (class lecture, National Security Policy, Bentley University, Waltham, USA, 20th March 2017). • Participant, St. George’s House Consultation: Stemming ISIS Financing – Current Policy Gaps and Urgently Needed Action, May 2016. Windsor, UK. • Participant, LinCT 2016 Conference: The Changing Dynamics and Social Implications of Terrorism, 27th-29th April 2016. New York, USA.

MEDIA INTERVIEWS • Interview, ITV News at Ten, Rageh Omaar, 3rd November 2017. • Interview, Wall Street Journal, Niki Blasina, 24th October 2017. • Interview, BBC Daily Politics, Emma Vardy, 4th May 2017. • “Comment les revenus du groupe État islamique ont fondu de moitié”, France 24, 22nd February 2017. • Interview, BBC Newshour, 17th February 2017. • “The Islamic State’s ‘business model’ is failing study says”, The Washington Post, 17th February 2017.

SKILLS AND ACTIVITIES Languages/Interests • Limited working level of proficiency in French acquired while living in Paris, France from Sept 2004-Aug 2005. • Interests include current events, history, and international travel. Volunteering • Served as President of the Kid’s Cheering Kids chapter at Menlo High School. Involved leading student volunteering events to local children’s hospitals. Sept. 2008-Jan. 2010. • Volunteered as a tutor for the Harvard Program of International Education where I led weekly classes of 25 students in Boston area high schools discussing international relations, Jan. 2013-May 2013. Computer Skills • Windows/OS X, MS-Office applications. • Canvas, Blackboard, and Zoom teaching tools.