Harvard Kennedy School

Before coming to HKS Mr. Bajraktari worked at the U.S. Institute of Peace where he led efforts in establishing a Center of Innovation on Media and Conflict. Prior to this role, Mr. Bajraktari has worked on the Institute's projects on Post-Conflict Peace and Stability Operations. In this role he has helped organize, research, and publish Institute's efforts on issues related to post-conflict in the area of: governance, elections, role of women, natural resources, and civilian military relations in non-permissive environments. Prior to joining USIP, Mr Bajraktari served as the founder of The Forum, a prominent non-governmental organization in post-war Kosovo. He served as Executive Director until 2002, initiating and directing the implementation of numerous projects in the field of advocacy, political accountability, ethnic reconciliation, and reintegration of former combatants. Under his leadership, The Forum emerged as one of the leading voices of Kosovar civil society. Mr. Bajraktari moved to the United States to pursue his studies and graduated with a B.A. degree from the Elliot School of International Affairs at The George Washington University.

Janine Davidson

Director of the Consortium for Complex Operations, Office of the Secretary of Defense

Dr. Janine Davidson is the Director of the Consortium for Complex Operations (CCO), in the office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Stability Operations. As Director, she manages a growing network of civilian and military educators, trainers and lessons learned practitioners dedicated to improving education and training for stabilization & reconstruction operations, counterinsurgency, and irregular warfare. Prior to joining OSD, Dr. Davidson was Director, Counterinsurgency Studies with the Center for Adaptive Strategies and Threats at Hicks and Associates, Inc, where her work focused on counterinsurgency, terrorism, stability & reconstruction operations, Red Teaming and war-gaming. Dr. Davidson was an Associate and consultant at DFI Government Practice in Washington D.C. where she directed projects for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs and for the Air Force Directorate of Strategic Planning.

From 2003 to 2004 Dr. Davidson was a pre-doctoral Research Fellow at the Brookings Institution where she conducted research on the U.S. military's doctrine, education, and training for stability and reconstruction operations. From 1988 to 1998, Dr. Davidson served in the United States Air Force as an aircraft commander and senior pilot for the C-130 and the C-17 cargo aircraft. During her Air Force career she conducted combat support and humanitarian air mobility missions throughout Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. As an instructor pilot in the T-3 aircraft, she also taught flying, aerodynamics, and navigation at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO. Dr. Davidson currently teaches at George Mason University's Graduate School of Public Policy as an adjunct professor and has also taught at Davidson College in North Carolina. Dr. Davidson earned her B.S. degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Colorado and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in International Studies from the University of South Carolina.

Beth Cole

Center for Post-Conflict Peace and Stability Operations, US Institute of Peace

Beth Cole is a senior program officer in the Center for Post-Conflict Peace and Stability Operations. She leads USIP's Civilian Peacefare Initiative that began in 2007 with a multiyear project to produce comprehensive "doctrine" for civilians in stabilization and reconstruction missions. This includes work on other civilian capacity components such as building a civilian reserve, interagency planning and coordination, and training and education for civilians. Cole also co-chairs the Working Group on Civil-Military Relations in Non-Permissive Environments; an ongoing forum for the U.S. armed forces, U.S. government agencies and U.S. humanitarian assistance organizations. She serves as the lead for the USIP Afghanistan Security Project and is USIP's official liaison to the U.S. Army Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute.

Among other posts, Cole was past director of the Congressional Roundtable on Post-Cold War Relations in the U.S. Congress and a senior fellow at George Mason University's Program on Peacekeeping Policy. Cole was a coauthor of the recent RAND book, The Beginner's Guide to Nation-Building, published in January 2007. She coauthored a number of USIP Special Reports including, "Transitional Governance: From Bullets to Ballots" (2006) and "Building Civilian Capacity for U.S. Stability Operations: The Rule of Law Component" (2004), and she coauthored the Peace Through Law Education Fund's A Force for Peace and Security: U.S. and Allied Commanders Views of the Military's Role in Peace Operations and the Impact of Terrorism on States in Conflict, (2002) and A Force for Peace: U.S. Commanders Views of the Military's Role in Peace Operations (1999). Cole also served in positions at the Congressional Research Service and the U.S. Department of State working on arms control treaty issues and was executive director of several non-governmental organizations, including the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and the Peace Through Law Education Fund. Cole received a B.A. in political science and French from the University of Vermont and completed Kent State University's program on international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland.                                                

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