NEFA Foundation

The NEFA Foundation, short for "Nine Eleven Finding Answers", describes itself as "a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt, charitable organization created after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The Foundation strives to help prevent future tragedies in the U.S. and abroad by exposing those responsible for planning, funding, and executing terrorist activities, with a particular emphasis on Islamic militant organizations." It does documentary and field research.

Its President and CEO, M. T. Hayes, is a generalist in non-profit organizations and communications. David Draper, Director of Strategic Operations, is a financial and banking specialist who concentrates on financial intelligence. RONALD SANDEE Director of Analysis and Research

Dutch-born Ronald Sandee, Director of Analysis and Research, "specializes in analyzing terrorism in Africa and the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, as well as studying the radicalization process in Europe and the U.S." Mr. Sandee studied History and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Nijmegen and received his MA in History in 1995. Over the past decade, he held a variety of positions within the Dutch Ministry of Defense, most recently acting as Senior Analyst in the Counter Terrorism branch of the Dutch Defense Intelligence Service's Counter Intelligence Department. In 2006, Ron moved to the U.S. and joined the NEFA Foundation as Director of Analysis and Research. He has delivered numerous lectures at conferences, including at the American Enterprise Institute, the [Hudson Institute]], the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and the Transatlantic Institute. Ron

Douglas Farah worked on contract to the Washington Post to cover drug organizations in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia. In 1997, Farah returned to Washington as the international investigative reporter covering drug trafficking and organized crime. He covered the emergence of Russian organized crime groups in Latin America and the Caribbean, the growth of Mexican drug cartels within the United States and drug-related banks in the Caribbean. In March 2000, Farah was named West Africa bureau chief for The Washington Post. Based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, he traveled and wrote extensively about the brutal civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia. He also wrote about the interlocking networks of agents, under the protection of governments across the region, which profited from those conflicts and the diamonds-for-weapons trade. In November 2001 Farah broke the story of al Qaeda's ties to those diamond and weapons networks. Despite threats against his life, Farah has continued to travel around the world to report on the financial network of Usama Bin Laden. EVAN F. KOHLMANN Senior Investigator

Evan Kohlmann is an International Terrorism Consultant who has spent a decade tracking Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups. In the course of his research, he has traveled overseas to interview prominent Al-Qaida spokesmen and has amassed one of the largest databases in the world of terrorist communiqués and multimedia. He currently works as a senior investigator on behalf of the Nine Eleven Finding Answers (NEFA) Foundation and has served at various times as a private consultant in terrorism matters for the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the U.K. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), and Scotland Yard's SO-15 Counter Terrorism Command. Mr. Kohlmann holds a degree in International Politics from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (Georgetown University), and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is also the recipient of a certificate in Islamic studies from the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (CMCU) at Georgetown University. Mr. Kohlmann has been a frequent expert guest on nationally televised news programs and is featured as an exclusive on-air terrorism analyst for NBC News.

Mr. Kohlmann has served as an approved expert witness in various federal terrorism trials--including court testimony in sixteen cases:

- United States v. Sabri Benkhala (Eastern District of Virginia, 2004) - United States v. Ali Timimi (Eastern District of Virginia, 2005) - United States v. Uzair Paracha (Southern District of New York, 2005) (link to Daubert ruling) - United States v. Ali Asad Chandia (Eastern District of Virginia, 2006) - United States v. Yassin Aref (Northern District of New York, 2006) - United States v. Sabri Benkhala (Eastern District of Virginia, 2007) - United States v. Rafiq Sabir (Southern District of New York, 2007) - United States v. Emadeddine Muntasser et al. (District of Massachusetts, 2007) - United States v. Hassan Abu Jihaad (District of Connecticut, 2008) (link to Daubert ruling) - United States v. Mohammed Zaki Amawi et al. (Northern District of Ohio, 2008) - United States v. Mohamed Ibrahim Shnewer et al. (District of New Jersey, 2008) - United States v. Salim Hamdan (Guantanamo Bay Military Tribunals, 2008) - United States v. Ali Hamza al-Bahlul (Guantanamo Bay Military Tribunals, 2008) - United States v. Oussama Kassir (Southern District of New York, 2009) (link to Judge Keenan's ruling) - United States v. Syed Haris Ahmed (Northern District of Georgia, 2009) (link to Daubert ruling) - United States v. Ehsanul Islam Sadequee (Northern District of Georgia, 2009)

Mr. Kohlmann has also testified nine times as an approved expert witness during criminal cases in Europe and Australia, including the following:

- International Prosecutors v. Abduladhim Maktouf (Supreme Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina [SUD-BIH], June 2005) - Regina v. Mohammed Ajmal Khan and Palvinder Singh (Snaresbrook Crown Court, UK, 2006) - H.M.A. v. Mohammed Atif Sidique (Glasgow High Court, Scotland, 2007) - Regina v. Samina Malik (Old Bailey Crown Court, UK, 2007) - Regina v. Hassan Mutegombwa (Old Bailey Crown Court, UK, 2007) - State Prosecutor for Serious Economic Crimes v. Al-Aqsa Foundation (High Court in Copenhagen, Denmark, 2007) - Regina v. Belal Khazaal (Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia, 2008) - Regina v. Imad Shoubaki (Southwark Crown Court, UK, 2008) - Public Prosecutor v. Hammad Khurshid et al. (Glostrup Court in Copenhagen, Denmark, 2008)

CLAUDIO FRANCO Senior Investigator / Writer

Claudio Franco works as a consultant to the NEFA Foundation. Focusing on investigative journalism and documentary production, Franco conducts in-depth, investigative research for as much as half the year in the regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he has has been a regular visitor since approximately 1999. Mr. Franco has an academic background in the Philosophy of Language and Logic, and in the past has worked as a consultant and journalist for several European, American, and British organizations, including The Times of London, La Repubblica, L'Espresso, The Independent, ISN, Eurasianet, The San Francisco Chronicle, Sanogin Sanomat (Finland), Sky News 24 (Italy), and the BBC (as a senior consultant on terrorism and as an associate producer). Mr. Franco is currently working on a book on the Talibanization process in Pakistan.

Madeleine Gruen Senior Analyst

Madeleine Gruen is currently a Senior Analyst for the NEFA Foundation and is a contributor to the Counterterrorism Blog. As an intelligence analyst with the New York City Police Department’s Counterterrorism Division, she supported the mission to prevent future terrorist attacks by analyzing terrorist and extremist-group capabilities and intentions. Her research on extremist and terrorist-group radicalization and indoctrination tactics has been published extensively, and she has presented lectures at numerous conferences, including those hosted by NATO; the Center for Policing Terrorism; the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point; and the Hudson Institute. Specializing in domestic terrorism and in radicalization and recruitment tactics, Gruen has worked on many terrorism cases and analytical products with federal and local law enforcement and intelligence agencies. She received her master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University. JOSH LEFKOWITZ

Josh Lekowitz is an analyst for NEFA. He isformer Assistant Director of Terrorism Research at The Investigative Project and an Intelligence Analyst in the New York City office of New York State Homeland Security. Josh Lefkowitz has worked extensively with federal, state, and local authorities to track and analyze terrorist groups. He has also served as a consultant to the FBI's senior management team -- including the Assistant Director of the Bureau's Directorate of Intelligence -- and has presented to an array of FBI executives, to include the Director, the Deputy Director, Executive Assistant Directors, and the Special Agents in Charge. Mr. Lefkowitz has published on a number of subjects, including terrorist recruitment, financing, and strategies, in publications such as The Wall Street Journal Europe. He has also assisted in preparing testimony delivered before The 9-11 Commission and various Congressional committees. His focus is on terrorist networks within the United States, particularly the exploitation of charitable front groups, and he has compiled a groundbreaking summary page of the exhibits released in U.S. v. Holy Land Foundation. He graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Williams College and holds a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard University.