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Members of the EGRN are researchers, practitioners, and public/private sector service providers with a vested interest in understanding the links between gaming(-adjacent) platforms and radicalization, extremism, and preventing/countering violent extremism. If you’re interested in learning more about the Network and our work, please look through the pages here and use the contact form at the bottom of the page to get in touch with us.
We offer several types of membership:
All categories are open to the public to apply for via an online form below. These are reviewed by the EGRN administrators and, if necessary, the Steering Board prior to admission. Criteria for membership includes: a genuine expression of interest in the EGRN, relevant professional or academic experience, a suitable public record and lack of known offences, extremist, terrorist, or criminal activity.
Members also must meet the following requirements and opportunities to remain a publicly listed member of the EGRN:
For Individuals and Students, a commitment to:
For Institutions, a commitment to:
Galen is a senior researcher and management professional working at the nexus of violent extremism, conflict, and tech issues. His work promotes human rights and positive, sustainable peace. For over 10 years, Galen has worked across 30+ countries to manage projects for humanitarian and development NGOs, United Nations agencies, governments, think tanks, and many of the largest tech platforms. Galen co-founded and jointly convenes the Extremism and Gaming Research Network. He is a Preventing & Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) advisor to various clients and is an Associate Fellow at RUSI.
Dr Jessica White is a Senior Research Fellow in RUSI’s Terrorism and Conflict group. Her expertise encompasses counter-terrorism and preventing and countering violent extremism policy and programming, as well as gender mainstreaming strategies. She has over a decade’s worth of experience as a researcher and security practitioner, with a prior career as an intelligence and language analyst in the United States Navy. Jessica conducts research and manages projects on a range of topics including far-right extremism and terrorism, security policy, gender, and terrorism in the media and online. She is also an Associate Fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT).
Petra Regeni is a Research and Project Officer in the Terrorism and Conflict group at RUSI Europe, focusing on the Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) Policy Support programme. Prior to joining RUSI, she worked for the research and analysis department at Hedayah on VE/CVE-related projects and served as a capacity building and third-party M&E officer at Trust Consultancy in Gaziantep, Turkey. Petra holds a BA with Honours in Political Science from Dalhousie University, having also studied international security at the Australian National University, where her dissertation examined the fluctuating interpretation and operationalization of ‘jihad’ among radical Islamist groups and across time. She is also completing her MSc in International Crimes, Conflict and Criminology at the VU Amsterdam with a focus on terrorism and extremism.
Claudia Wallner is a RUSI Associate Fellow and was formerly a Research Fellow in RUSI’s Terrorism and Conflict research group. Her research focuses on preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE), including a multi-year project assessing the evidence base for P/CVE interventions in different thematic areas, as well as contributions to EU-funded P/CVE training and the EU Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) Policy Support. Aside from her focus on P/CVE, Claudia is also conducting research on radicalisation and recruitment into violent extremism, with a particular focus on far-right extremism and terrorism.
Linda Schlegel is a PhD student at the Goethe University Frankfurt and a Research Fellow at modus zaD in Berlin. Her research focuses on the nexus between gaming and extremism, gamification, the use of gaming content in P/CVE projects, and storytelling in narrative campaigns against extremism. She has published multiple articles on gaming and (counter-) extremism, including for the Radicalization Awareness Network, GNET, and academic journals.
Jacob Davey is Head of Research & Policy for Far-right and Hate Movements at ISD. Jacob has managed projects focusing on online hate speech, the international far-right and political violence. He has led a number of projects piloting novel models for identifying extremist conversation and hate speech online, including analysis tracking hate groups in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia, and is currently leading a major programme of work mitigating hate threats in the US. He has advised national and local policymakers on right-wing extremism, including the Home Affairs Select Committee and the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament. Jacob has managed and co-authored numerous ISD reports including Between Conspiracy and Extremism: A Long COVID Threat?, ISD’s Gaming and Extremism Series, and A Safe Space to Hate: White Supremacist Mobilisation on Telegram.
Dr. Dennis Walkenhorst has conducted research on P/CVE since 2012. After assignments at Bielefeld University (Germany) and Johns Hopkins University (USA), he started working as a Research Fellow at Violence Prevention Network (Germany) in 2017 and was promoted to Director of Research in 2018. He is one of the co-founders of modus|zad– Centre for applied research on deradicalization, a member of the European Expert Network on Terrorism (EENeT). Dr. Walkenhorst regularly works as an expert for the EU Radicalization Awareness Network (RAN).
Suraj Lakhani is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Sussex. He also holds the roles of Research Fellow at VoxPol, Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, and Core Member of the Extremism and Gaming Research Network. His research interests include the sociology of terrorism, (violent) extremism and the internet, radicalisation, violent extremism and video-gaming, and counter-terrorism policy. He has published a number of peer reviewed journal articles in internationally recognised academic publications, including Critical Studies on Terrorism, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, Terrorism and Political Violence, and The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, amongst others. He also has a number of book chapters in edited collections. Suraj has acted as primary investigator, both individually and leading recognised international consortiums consisting of a number of renowned world-leading experts on terrorism, on research projects funded by, for example, the Home Office, European Commission, Research England, ESRC, British Academy, and the Leverhulme Trust.
Dr. Erin Saltman is the Director of Programming at the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT). She was formerly Facebook’s Head of Counterterrorism and Dangerous Organizations Policy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa; working with multi-sector stakeholders and building out CVE programs for Facebook in partnership with international NGOs. Dr Saltman’s background and expertise includes both far-right and Islamist extremist processes of radicalization within a range of regional and socio-political contexts. Her research and publications have focused on the evolving nature of online extremism and terrorism, gender dynamics within violent extremist organizations and youth radicalization. Previous roles include Senior Research and Programs positions at Quilliam Foundation and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD Global), where she remains a Research Fellow.
Katie works on the design and delivery of digital counter-messaging and intervention projects at Moonshot, specialising in the monitoring and evaluation of online at-risk user activity. Her work includes both the violent far right and Islamism across a wide range of geographical regions including North America, Europe and Asia.
Rachel Fielden is an International Project Manager at Moonshot where she oversees projects in Indonesia. Rachel works to build impactful and sustainable mechanisms to prevent intolerance, violent extremism and disinformation online. In these efforts, Rachel and her team designed and developed gamified inoculation tools to deliver media literacy to audiences in Indonesia. The game, called Gali Fakta, has since been awarded a bronze Webby award and second place in the U.S-Paris Tech Challenge.
Nusrat Farooq is the Technology and Programs Associate at the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT). She has worked as a Lead Research Assistant, under Professor Tamar Mitts, at the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University. She’s also worked as a Consultant to the World Bank, New America Foundation and UNICEF-India. Before completing her Masters in Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, Nusrat worked as a Project Manager at India Institute, a non-profit think tank in India. She is an alumna of International Academy for Leadership-Germany and a core member of Women’s Regional Network-India.
Scott Johnson is the Tech Lead at the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT). Scott worked for over fifteen years in the technology industry for a variety of companies and in various roles including software engineering, systems and data analysis, and product development management. As an engineer, Scott designed and delivered backend systems, microservices and APIs, developer infrastructure, and platform integrations. Scott specializes in applied research on the intersection of technology, social knowledge, and collective behavior. Scott is a graduate of The College of William & Mary (B.S. in Computer Science) and is currently pursuing a Master’s of Library and Information Science at the University of Washington with a focus on understanding the information science of disinformation and extremism.
Ashton Kingdon is a lecturer in criminology as the University of Southampton. Her research is interdisciplinary combining criminology, history, and computer science to explore the ways in which technology and imagery act as accelerators of radicalisation. Additionally her research analyses the relationship existing between terrorism and climate change.
Rachel Kowert, Ph.D is a research psychologist and the Research Director of Take This. She is a world-renowned researcher on the uses and effects of digital games, including their impact on physical, social, and psychological well-being. An award-winning author, she has published a variety of books and scientific articles relating to the psychology of games and, more recently, the relationship between games and mental health specifically. In 2021, Dr. Kowert was chosen as a member of The Game Awards Future Class, representing the best and brightest of the future of video games.
Kesa White is a Program Research Associate at PERIL. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and a Master of Science degree in Terrorism and Homeland Security from American University. Her work focuses on white supremacy, violent extremism in online spaces, and de-radicalization with a focus on homeland security.
Kesa’s interest in the far-right came after she was the victim of a hate crime. She realized that anyone can be a victim of a hate crime, and these are issues that must be studied to deter them. Since then, she has completed classes and research to develop her expertise in the subject in order to speak authoritatively on the far right. In the future, Kesa hopes to become a distinguished scholar and have a direct impact on policymaking.
George Weiss is the founder and CEO of Radio La Benevolencija Humanitarian Tools Foundation (“RLB”), an organization that sets up media projects to teach populations to resist hate speech and incitement to identity-based violence. RLB is one of the first to use long-duration nation-wide broadcast campaigns to mass audiences for the purpose of a citizen “inoculation” against scapegoating and propaganda, as well as teaching trauma healing techniques to wounded populations. Based on Weiss’ experiences working for La Benevolencija Sarajevo, a unique local NGO during the Bosnia War of 1992-95, RLB’s work promotes an agenda of sanity, empathy and mutual help among minorities and individuals who are target of hate speech- and those who want to protect them.Kesa’s interest in the far-right came after she was the victim of a hate crime. She realized that anyone can be a victim of a hate crime, and these are issues that must be studied to deter them. Since then, she has completed classes and research to develop her expertise in the subject in order to speak authoritatively on the far right. In the future, Kesa hopes to become a distinguished scholar and have a direct impact on policymaking.
Garett Reppenhagen is the son of a Vietnam Veteran and grandson of two World War II Veterans. He served in the U.S. Army as a Cavalry/Scout Sniper in the 1st Infantry Division. Garett completed a deployment in Kosovo on a 9-month peace-keeping mission and a combat tour in Baquaba, Iraq. Garett gained an Honorable Discharge in May of 2005 and began working as a veterans advocate and a dedicated activist. He served as the Chairman of the Board of Iraq Veterans Against the War, worked in Washington, DC, as a lobbyist and as Vice President of Public Relations for the Nobel Prize winning Veterans For America, as a Program Director for Veterans Green Jobs and was the Rocky Mountain Director for Vet Voice Foundation. Garett lives in Colorado where he serves as the Executive Director for Veterans For Peace.
Chris Velazquez is the Digital Organizer for Veterans For Peace and the lead organizer for the Gamers For Peace initiative. Chris was a civil affairs operator in the United States Marine Corps from 2004 to 2010 with combat deployments to Fallujah, Iraq and Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Chris is a life-long gamer, who is committed to using digital gaming and hobby spaces to engage antiwar and social justice activism, while combating the predatory recruiting practices of the military.
Mick Prinz is the project manager of Good Gaming – Well Played Democracy. After studying social sciences, he started working at the Amadeu Antonio Foundation in Berlin. His main focus is the instrumentalization of German gaming spaces by the far right. Apart from that, he is interested in how narratives are utilized in video games and loves creative open world designs.
Khaoula El Khalil is a PhD candidate in Political Science at McGill University. She is also a research advisor at the Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence in Quebec, Canada. She is also a member of the CECD (Centre pour l’étude de la citoyenneté démocratique) and Le laboratoire de recherche sur la Technologie, l’Activisme et la Sécurité – LarTAS). Her Master’s thesis focused on the framing done by right-wing influencers in Quebec during the Covid-19 pandemic. Her current research interests are closely related to cyber violence. Specifically, her doctoral thesis will examine the use of discursive opportunities of gamification (i.e. the use of game rhetoric in a non-gaming context) by Canadian far-right groups for propaganda and recruitment purposes.
