Elizabeth “Beth” Hawthorne is a professor and a cybersecurity graduate program director in the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University, based in Arlington.

Hawthorne joined Khoury College in 2024 to collaborate with top-notch computer science and cybersecurity colleagues in the Align network and to impact the career trajectories of students. She teaches graduate courses in cybersecurity and digital forensics, and is particularly passionate about the exciting, dynamic field of cybersecurity education.

Previously, Hawthorne was an online lecturer at Rider University, where she served as founding director and curriculum developer for the university’s cybersecurity graduate program. As director, she taught online cybersecurity courses, advised students, supervised graduate assistants, and hired faculty. Hawthorne strives to broaden participation in computing and is a former chair of the ACM Education Board, which promotes computing education at all collegiate levels.

Malihe Alikhani is an Assistant Professor at Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University, a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution working on AI policy, the Ethics Chair of the Association for Computational Linguistics, and a member of the Northeastern Ethics Institute. She works towards developing safe and fair AI systems that enhance communication, decision-making, and knowledge-sharing across disciplines and populations. Alikhani work spans academia, public policy, and applied AI research, bridging theory, practice, and governance to ensure that AI serves society effectively and responsibly. 

She leads the Contextual AI Lab, where they develop and evaluate AI systems that operate meaningfully within context, across language, embodiment, and society, to support safer, fairer, and more productive interactions between humans and machines. By integrating insights from cognitive and social sciences with machine learning, their models capture the richness of human interpretation and support collaborative meaning construction.

Dr. Costis Toregas is the Director of the Cyber Security and Privacy Research Institute at The George Washington University, where his current research interests include cybersecurity risk assessment and organizational strategies, the role of insurance in cyber risk management, the use of block chain in Disaster Risk Reduction, apprenticeships and exploring a fuller utilization of Community Colleges in cybersecurity work force strategies.  He also has a courtesy faculty appointment to the GW Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration as well as a Visiting Scholar appointment to the Institute for International Science and Technology Policy at the GW Elliot School of International Affairs.

He is the IT Adviser to the Montgomery County Council, and a Director for the non-profit organizations   National Cyber League and Women in Cyber Security. He is a trusted consultant to national governments and intergovernmental organizations and is a Trustee Board member of the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics at UCLA. He is a consultant to the National Cybersecurity Training and Education Center where he is responsible for Industry programs and international program expansion. He is co-chair of the International Cybersecurity Education Collaborative, intended to create a platform of targeted shared efforts in cybersecurity research and education for academic leaders in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Dr. Toregas has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a M.S. and a Ph.D. in Environmental Systems Engineering from Cornell University.  

Tom Romanoff is a seasoned leader in AI and technology policy, with extensive experience in shaping public policy that addresses the rapidly evolving landscape of emerging technologies. His work spans AI governance, data privacy, cybersecurity, and digital infrastructure. Tom works at the intersection of public policy, technology, and innovation, advising government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private sector leaders on cutting-edge policy solutions.

Currently, he serves as Director of Global Policy for the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the world’s largest association of computing professionals. In this role, he leads ACM’s international technology policy strategy, engaging with governments and multilateral organizations on issues including AI regulation, cybersecurity, and digital governance. He manages ACM’s network of regional policy committees across the United States, Europe, India, and emerging regions. His work ensures that policy recommendations are grounded in computer science expertise and responsive to real-world challenges.

Previously, as Director of the Technology Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center, Tom spearheaded initiatives focused on emerging technologies and their impact on public policy. His efforts at BPC addressed a wide range of issues, including AI, data privacy, cybersecurity, augmented reality (XR), competition in the tech sector, cloud computing, space technologies, and online content moderation. His hands-on work within the U.S. federal government included publishing government-wide IT and cybersecurity policy at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and leading modernization initiatives across federal agencies. He advised leaders at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, the General Services Administration, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.