Institute Fellows
Student Fellows
The Serviam Institute’s student fellows are the beating heart of its crisis simulations, helping make large, complex exercises possible. Often lasting eight hours and involving more than forty students, these simulations depend on student fellows to help research, design, organize, and execute complex exercises focused on international security and foreign policy. Most importantly, the fellowship places students in real leadership roles where they help organize teams, manage complex events, and turn ambitious ideas into high-impact learning experiences.
The student fellows for Fall 2026 include Cameron Bird, Liam Knotek, Megan Hay, Marshall Van Attan, Matthew Surano, and Kylie Myers.
Liam Knotek is a student at Seton Hall University pursuing a bachelor’s in international and
Homeland Security and is passionate about US defense and cybersecurity.
Megan Hay is a student from Washington state double majoring in International Quantitative
Economics and International Relations, and in Spanish, with a minor in History. She
is the training coordinator for Seton Hall’s Model United Nations, a writer for the
Diplomatic Envoy, and a member of DiploLab. Her main areas of interest include the
relationship between economics and security, along with economic development and trade
in South America.
Matthew Surano is majoring in International and Homeland Security at Seton Hall University. He is
a Marine Corps Veteran currently serving as an Intelligence Chief in the United States
Marine Corps Reserve. Additionally, he serves as the Vice President of the Seton Hall
Student Veterans Organization. His areas of interest include intelligence support
to policy, reserve intelligence integration, and defense modernization.
Stephen Plotke ’27 is majoring in International and Homeland Security with minors in Cybersecurity, Russian,
and Russian and Eastern European Studies. Stephen has interned with the U.S. Marshals
Service, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and NJ Office of Homeland Security.
His main research interests are geopolitics, cybersecurity, and international security
in Russia and the near abroad.
Associate Fellows
Associate Fellows are rising practitioners affiliated with the institute who bring real-world experience, subject-matter expertise, and professional insight to its programs and initiatives. Through this role, they help advance the institute’s mission by supporting research, training, experiential learning, and public engagement activities that strengthen strategic thinking, leadership, judgment, and applied problem-solving.
Associate Fellow for Applied Simulations and Wargaming
Joseph Brennan is a Game Design Fellow at Expert Theory, where he works with clients to design simulations.
In that role, he supports the use of Providence, Expert Theory’s simulation platform,
which leverages AI to enhance realism, tailor dynamic injects and create more immersive
decision-making environments. He previously worked at the Quincy Institute for Responsible
Statecraft in the Global South Program and at War on the Rocks as a content associate.
Joseph is also a former Marcellus Policy Fellow, where he wrote a paper advocating
for a more restrained U.S. cyber strategy. He graduated from Seton Hall University
with a B.S. in International and Homeland Security and a minor in data analytics.
Associate Fellow for National Security Media and Analysis
Madeline Field is a 2024 graduate of Seton Hall University where she graduated with degrees in Diplomacy
and International Relations and Economics, and a minor in Arabic. She was the School
of Diplomacy 2024 co-valedictorian and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year from 2021
to 2024 as a member of the women’s swim and dive team. She previously worked as an
editorial intern for the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, and at University
of Maryland’s Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security. She is currently
an Assistant Editor at War on the Rocks, a respected publication in defense and national
security, where she helps run Cogs of War, a vertical dedicated to defense technology
and industrial policy. Her publications can be viewed here: Madeline Field, Author
at War on the Rocks.