Tally Helfont - Institute for Security Governance

Faculty

Innovation & Learning

Ms. Tally Helfont joined the Innovation & Learning (I&L) Division of the Institute for Security Governance (ISG) in March 2021 as the Strategic Communications & Outreach Lead. Ms. Helfont's work lies at the intersection of internal and external communications, partnership, and outreach, and drives internal and external messaging; engages with stakeholders, practitioners, collaborators, and partner nation counterparts; facilitates advanced planning; and ensures data management, access, and integrity.

Prior to joining ISG, Ms. Helfont was the Founding Director of the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s (FPRI) Program on the Middle East, as well as the Project Lead for its “After the Caliphate” Project. Her research focused on the regional balance of power, Jordan, the Gulf States, and US policy therein. She was a frequent commentator in the media, and her 30+ articles and chapters have appeared in English, Hebrew, and Arabic in publications such as Orbis (US), The American Interest (US), INSS Insight (IL), Raisina Files (IN), al-Mesbar (UAE), and al Majalla (UK/KSA).

In her training role for K3 Enterprises, she provided instruction for Civil Information Management Training Courses using a range of asymmetric software packages for operational and tactical Civil Affairs Forces, Human Terrain Teams, and US Special Operations Forces assigned to Iraq and Afghanistan. As a Terrorism Analyst for a D.C. Think Tank, she supported government agencies on high-profile terrorism-related cases and served as a consultative expert in the federal prosecutions of Palestinian Islamic Jihad members and their US affiliates. She also delivered training sessions on counter-terrorism research methodology to federal law enforcement agents on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security.

Ms. Helfont holds a Master of Arts in Middle East Studies from Tel Aviv University, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from The George Washington University. Ms. Helfont lives with her husband and two sons in Pacific Grove, California.