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School of Diplomacy and International Relations

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.

cameron-birdCameron Bird is a senior at the School of Diplomacy and International Relations, double majoring in International Relations and Economics. He serves as opinion editor of The Diplomatic Envoy and president of the university’s chapter of Sigma Iota Rho, the international relations honor society. As a Serviam Student Fellow, he is the senior controller for Providence, the AI-driven software platform used to conduct crisis simulations. His academic and professional interests include U.S.-China relations, national security, and emerging defense technologies. He has lived in New York, London and Shanghai.

Liam Knotek HeadshotLiam Knotek is a student at Seton Hall University pursuing a bachelor’s in international and Homeland Security and is passionate about U.S. defense and cybersecurity.

 

Megan HayMegan 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 SuranoMatthew 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 PlotkeStephen 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.

kylie-myersKylie Myers is a Chicago native who is a Diplomacy & International Relations major, and part of the cross country team. She has Spanish and Farsi language skills. Kylie is especially interested in intelligence studies, as well as domestic and international terrorism and regional conflict resolution. She is interning with the State of Illinois.

allison-bennettAllison Bennett is majoring in Diplomacy and International Relations and Philosophy, with a minor in German at Seton Hall University. She is a member of Seton Hall's Honors Program, Managing Editor for the Diplomatic Envoy, and works for the Seton Hall School of Diplomacy Dean's Office marketing team. Her main areas of interest include European and German relations, along with evolving transatlantic relations.

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 BrennanJoseph 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 FieldMadeline 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.

Distinguished Fellows

Lt. Col. Adam ScherLieutenant Colonel Adam Scher, MPA is from New York City. He is a 2004 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he earned a Bachelor's of Science in Political Science. In 2013, he earned his Master's in International Security Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Adam was commissioned as an Infantry Second Lieutenant and deployed as a rifle platoon leader with the 101st Airborne Division in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (2005-2006), and deployed to Iraq a second time as a company executive officer (2007-2008).

In 2010, he deployed to Afghanistan as a Stryker company commander in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. While in Afghanistan, Adam was selected to teach American Politics in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point.

Adam taught courses from 2013-2016 on American Government, U.S. Foreign Policy, the Politics of Race, Gender, and Sexuality and Media in Politics, while also coaching the Army Policy Debate Team.

He deployed a 4th time in the summer of 2015 to serve as an assistant brigade operations officer in the fight against ISIS, focused on training the Iraqi Army and working with the interagency on preparations for the liberation of Mosul.

Following his assignment to West Point, Adam joined the 82nd Airborne Division and served as the second-in-command of an Airborne Infantry Battalion. In the summer of 2018, Adam began his 5th deployment (2nd to Afghanistan) to serve as the Aide-de Camp to the Commanding General of US/NATO forces in Afghanistan.

From 2019-2020, Adam served as a White House Fellow, where he was assigned as a Special Assistant to the Program Associate Director for National Security Programs in the Office of Management and Budget. LTC Scher joined the Army staff in October 2020, and in February 2021, he was selected by the Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Defense for COVID to serve as his executive officer.

In August of 2021, Adam joined the Policy shop in the Pentagon and served as Military Assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy during the Afghanistan withdrawal and Russia's further invasion of Ukraine.