Prominent experts on global terrorism trends will share their thoughts on the current threat and suggestions for future policy during a forum Tuesday, Oct. 6, at the University of Central Florida.

“Global Terrorism in 2009: Assessing the Changing Threat,” organized by the Global Perspectives Office, will take place in the Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union from 3 to 4:30 p.m. The forum is free and open to the public. 

Presenters will include Sebastian Gorka, National Defense University; Jena Baker McNeill, The Heritage Foundation; John Schindler, United States Naval War College; and Mark Thompson, U.S. Department of State. The forum will be moderated by Stephen Sloan, the Lawrence J. Chastang Distinguished Professor of Terrorism Studies at UCF.

Gorka is a professor of International Security Studies at The National Defense University’s College of International Security Affairs.  An internationally recognized authority on issues related to national security, terrorism and democratization, he has worked in government and the private and non-governmental organization sectors in Europe and the United States.

McNeill is a homeland security policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. Before joining Heritage in 2008, McNeill worked as a research assistant for Hutchinson Group LLC, a homeland security consulting firm founded by Asa Hutchinson, former undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security at the Department of Homeland Security.

Schindler is a professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, R.I.  Prior to joining the college in 2005, he spent nearly a decade with the National Security Agency as an intelligence analyst and counter-intelligence officer, working counterterrorism operations in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and South Asia. He is also the author of “Unholy Terror: Bosnia, Al-Qa’ida, and the Rise of Global Jihad.”

Thompson is the deputy coordinator for operations in the U.S. Department of State’s Counterterrorism Office. His directorate monitors existing and potential terrorist activities, participating in a variety of interagency counterterrorism efforts. His office also leads the interagency-configured Foreign Emergency Support Team, which deploys overseas in support of U.S. ambassadors during terrorist-related events.

In addition to the Global Perspectives Office, sponsors include the UCF Terrorism Studies Program; the Institute for Transitional Democracy and International Security in Budapest, Hungary; Lawrence J. Chastang and the Chastang Foundation; the UCF Political Science Department; the UCF Criminal Justice and Legal Studies Department; the UCF International Services Center; UCF LIFE; and the Global Connections Foundation.