About the Founder

DJ held numerous senior national security positions in government, including in the U.S. Intelligence Community, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the National Security Council. During these years of public service, DJ was intimately involved with critical initiatives addressing complex national security and global political challenges.

In government, DJ oversaw Department of Justice reviews of proposed inbound direct investment subject to national security reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). He also led efforts to address the use of emerging technologies by threat actors and managed sensitive intelligence operations. 

77 Meridian builds on DJ’s extensive government service and years advising private clients as part of the Cybersecurity and Global Intelligence practices at the global corporate risk firm Kroll, where he founded and led its dedicated CFIUS practice group.

As a Fellow with the National Security Institute at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, DJ writes frequently on pressing national security matters, including CFIUS transactions, counterterrorism strategy, global diplomacy, and technology security. His insights have appeared in leading publications including The New York Times, Politico, The Washington Post, The Times of Israel, The Atlantic, CNN.com, and others. DJ is also an Adjunct Professor with the Honors College at the University of Maryland, where for over a decade he has taught the award-winning course, National Security Dilemmas. 

DJ is a graduate of the Honors College at the University of Maryland and the George Washington University Law School. Earlier in his career, DJ clerked for Judge Ricardo Urbina of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and served as a senior associate with the global law firm WilmerHale.