Jason Blazakis is Professor of Practice and Director at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.
Jason Blazakis
Senior Advisor

An eminent authority on terrorism, he devises strategies to prevent terrorists from gaining access to money and publicity. From 2008 to 2018, he served as Director of the Counterterrorism Terrorism Finance and Designations Office, Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism, U.S. Department of State. In his former role, he was responsible for directing efforts to designate countries, organizations, and individuals as terrorists, also known as State Sponsors of Terrorism, Foreign Terrorist Organizations, and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Jason previously held positions in the Department of State’s Political-Military Affairs, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, and Intelligence and Research Bureaus, and at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
Prior to working at the Department of State, he served as a domestic intelligence analyst at the Congressional Research Service. In addition, he was the national security advisor to a United States Congressional Representative. Jason is an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland. He is also the President of Riptide Threat Mitigation Group, Inc., a geopolitical risk consultancy.
Our Leadership Team
Ali SoufanChairman & CEO
Max RoseVice Chairman
Martin ReardonSenior Vice President
Andre KhouryVice President - Strategic Partnerships
Susan SimVice President - Asia
Ammar BarghoutyDirector of Cyber Consulting & Cyber Training
Colin P. ClarkeDirector of Research
Elijah FergusonDirector of Support Services
Stephanie FoggettDirector of Global Communications
Mohamed El ShaweshDirector of Digital Media
Dave ShellenbergerDirector of Special Operations and Tactics
Alex SchulzAnalyst
Patricia O’SheaExecutive Assistant and Office Manager
Nathan SalesSenior Advisor
Richard BarrettSenior Advisor
Jason BlazakisSenior Advisor
Kenneth KatzmanSenior Advisor
Thomas AlbrightCrisis Management & Preparedness Consultant
Thomas O’ConnorSenior Consultant
Jeffrey RingelConsultant
Michael SucciInfrastructure and Personnel Protection Consultant
Melissa ThomasBehavioral Analysis Consultant
Jason WarrenInfrastructure and Personnel Protection Consultant
Amjed KuriLaw Enforcement Instructor
Eugene CaseyInstructor
William CorbettInstructor
Rita AbboudExpert Interpreter & Translator
Rita El KhouryExpert Interpreter & Translator
Cosette N. SalibaExpert Interpreter & Translator