Close to 100 people gathered at the Coastal Carolina University’s Burroughs and Chapin Building on the morning of Thursday, December 5, for the seventh Chanticleer Intelligence Brief Symposium. The event featured information about the achievements of several CIB current and former analysis, presented by the analysts themselves before an engaged and curious audience that included current and former members of the Intelligence Community. The symposium was held in conjunction with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Coastal Carolina University, and supported by the Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts at CCU.

The audience was exposed to information on several personal achievements by the presenters. Alex Clark, who serves as the CIB’s Chief Operations Officer and head of the Russia Desk, outlined his personal journey in the CIB, which took him from a freshman initiate to a published author in the CIB/EIA publication The Intelligence Review and recipient of the CIB’s prestigious Achievement Award. Fabio, the CIB’s Executive Director, spoke about his recent internship with Mercom Corporation, a defense contracting company that specializes in providing mission critical support to the department of defense and intelligence agencies. Eric Winter, who served as the CIB’s Recruitment Officer and head of the Special Topics Desk, discussed his research presentation at the US Strategic Command Deterrence Symposium in La Vista, Nebraska. Morgan-McKay Hoppman, a member of the CIB’s Asia Desk, presented highlights from her recent trip to Lahore, Pakistan, to attend the International Student Festival held there. Finally, longtime CIB analyst and executive officer Shannon Brophy recounted her experience as a student intern in the US Department of State’s Regional Security Office at the US Embassy in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.

During the event, the CIB raised funds for its activities by offering community subscriptions to The Intelligence Review, its peer-reviewed publication that is published twice a year in cooperation with the European Intelligence Academy. The Symposium was moderated by CIB Faculty Advisor Dr. Joseph Fitsanakis. The CIB wishes to express its gratitude to CCU Director of Community Outreach Dr. Carol Osborne, OLLI Senior Director of Operations Kelli Barker, OLLI Administrative Specialist Ellen Jampole, and OLLI Board of Advisors member Samih Baalbaki for their help in coordinating this event.