KIEREN ARIS
CUNY The Graduate Center
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
524 West 59th Street
New York, NY 10019
Email: karis@jjay.cuny.edu
More on request
INTERESTS
Violent extremism, groups and organisations; targeted and mass violence; disengagement, desistance, and deradicalisation interventions and methodologies; media and communications; evaluation.
EDUCATION
Sep 2023 – Present
Sep 2013 – Sep 2015
Sep 2008 – Jul 2011
John Jay College of Criminal Justice | The Graduate Center, CUNY,
PhD Criminal Justice (current)
King’s College London, University of London,
MA Digital Culture and Society
Aris, K. (2015). ISIS Propaganda on Social Media and Effects on UK Audiences. King’s College London.
Heythrop College, University of London,
BA Abrahamic Religions
Aris, K. (2011). 'Convivencia' as a Model for the Cordoba Initiative in New York City. Heythrop College, University of London.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
John Jay College of Criminal Justice,
Graduate Research Assistant under Professor Joshua D. Freilich
The American School Shooting Study (TASSS) funded by the US National Institute for Justice (NIJ): John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University, and the University of South Carolina.
Aug 2023 – Present
RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS
Aris, K.; Conroy, M; Stekelenburg, J.; Monsell, L.; Abelson, A. (2021). Cross-Sector Guidance for Cultivating a Holistic Understanding of the Strategic Environment. The Defence Horizon Journal. URL: https://www.thedefencehorizon.org/post/digital-political-influence-space-understanding
CONFERENCE AND WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS
Aris, K. (2021). The De-Weaponization of Digital Information. Alliance for Peacebuilding.
Aris, K. (2020). International Conference on Media and Conflict. Pakistan Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Aris, K. (2019). International CVE Research Conference. Hedayah.
Aris, K.; Fielden, R. (2019). Fake News and Elections in Asia. Asia Centre.
Aris, K. (2019). Strategic Communications and Counter-Narratives in the Western Balkans. Hedayah.
Aris, K. (2018). Countering Violent Extremism Through Community Organizations. Dutch National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism.
Aris, K. (2018). Effectively Evaluating Online PCVE Initiatives. European Strategic Communications Network (ESCN).
Aris, K. (2018). Effectively Evaluating Online PCVE Initiatives. US Department of Homeland Security.
PROFESSIONAL REPORTS
Aris, K.; Petricevic, L. (2023). Evaluation of the Program to Address Polarization, Radicalization, and Extremism in Kenya (PROACT), Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD).
Aris, K.; Bartz, A. (2023). Extreme Dialogue: Radicalization Awareness in Schools, Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD).
Aris, K.; Bescancon, H. (2023). Bringing Digital Citizenship Education to YouTube, Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD).
Aris, K.; Goodman, E. (2023). Media Literacy Initiative Evaluation Toolkit. Ofcom. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/media-literacy-research/approach/evaluate/toolkit
Aris, K.; Xu, C. (2022). American Identity Content Project, More In Common.
Aris, K.; Fielden, R. (2021). Advancing Media Literacy in Indonesia: Building Resilience and Measuring Behavior Change, Moonshot. https://moonshotteam.com/resource/advancing-media-literacy-in-indonesia-building-resilience-and-measuring-behavior-change/
Aris, K. (2021). Violent Extremist Risk in the US Military, West Point and the US Department of Defense.
Aris, K. (2021). Domestic Violent Extremist Mobilization in the United States, Moonshot.
Aris, K.; Conroy, M.; Stekelenburg, J.; Monsell, L.; Abelson, A. (2020). Evaluation of Data Analytics Tools for Political Influence Campaigns, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).
Aris, K. (2020). The Impact of Social Distancing and Engagement with Violent Extremist Content Online in the United States and Canada, Moonshot.
Aris, K.; Pel, A. (2020). Gender-Based Violence And Violent Extremism Technical Assessment Report, USAID. https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00WK9W.pdf
Aris, K. (2019). Evaluation of Voice Accelerator 2.0, Australian Department of Home Affairs.
Aris, K. (2018). Evaluation of the Russian Nerve Agent Attack in Salisbury and Response, UK Home Office | UK Cabinet Office.
Aris, K. (2018). 'Regional Hub' Approach to CSO Engagement for CVE, UK Home Office.
Aris, K. (2017). Russian influence and interference measures following the 2017 UK terrorist attacks, UK Home Office | Cardiff University.
Aris, K. (2017). Revised Strategy to Countering Salafist-Jihadism and Far-Right Reciprocal Radicalization and Cumulative Extremism, UK Home Office.
Aris, K.; Vadher, K. (2017). Evaluation of the Finsbury Park Terrorist Attack and Response, UK Home Office.
Aris, K.; Vadher, K. (2017). Evaluation of the Manchester and London Bridge Terrorist Attacks and Responses, UK Home Office.
Aris, K.; Vadher, K. (2017). Evaluation of the Westminster Bridge Terrorist Attack and Response, UK Home Office.
PRACTITIONER GRANTS AWARDED
(PI/Conceptualiser/Writer) “Boston Teachers, Educators, And Law Enforcement Against Violent Extremism in Schools (Boston Tea Leaves)”, US Department of Homeland Security, $1,140,067, 2023.
(PI/Conceptualiser/Writer) “Evaluation of Digital Political Influence Tools”, UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (dstl), £200,000, 2020.
(PI/Conceptualiser/Writer) “Advancing Media Literacy for New Digital Arrivals in Indonesia”, USAID, $600,000, 2020.
(Co-PI) “Alternative and Counternarratives to Prevent Violent Extremism in the Western Balkans”, International Organization for Migration (IOM), UN Migration, $750,000, 2019.
PRACTITIONER GRANT PROPOSALS AWARDED
(Conceptualiser/Writer) “One World Online Resilience Center (OWORC)”, US Department of Homeland Security, $749,300, 2021.
(Writer) “Citizens Crime Commission of New York City ‘Signals’ Project”, US Department of Homeland Security, $770,222, 2021.
(Writer) “McCain Institute ‘Prevention Practitioners Network’ (PPN)”, US Department of Homeland Security, $710,451, 2021.
(Conceptualiser/Writer) “Facebook Search Pilot Redirect Programme Evaluation”, Facebook, $191,000, 2021.
(Conceptualiser/Writer) “Extremist Content Assessment”, Spotify, $25,000, 2021.
(Conceptualiser/Writer) “Monitoring COVID-19 Disinformation in Mali”, USAID, $135,000, 2020.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
Award for Service to National Security, Home Office (2018)
Award for the Evaluation of the Westminster Bridge Terrorist Attack, Home Office (2017)
Best Overall Student, Department of Digital Humanities, King’s College London (2015)
ASSOCIATIONS, SCHOLARSHIPS, AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
American Society of Criminology (ASC) | Division of Terrorism and Bias Crimes
Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS)
Society for Terrorism Research (STR)
Association for the Study of Hate Crimes (ASHC)
Association of Threat Assessment Professionals
Trust and Safety Professional Association
Professional Associations
Sep 2023 - Present
Sep 2023 - Present
Sep 2023 - Present
Sep 2023 - Present
Jan 2019 - Present
Jan 2019 - Present
CUNY The Graduate Center Fellowship and Graduate Assistantship
360/Digital Sherlocks Scholarship, Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab)
Scholarships and Fellowships
Aug 2023 - Aug 2028
Mar - May 2023
TEFL Certificate Level 5 (CELTA-equivalent)
Tableau Desktop Certified Associate
PRINCE2 Practitioner
Professional Qualifications
Jan 2022
Mar 2020
Nov 2019
Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), Incident Response
Working Groups and Committees
Nov 2022 – Sep 2023
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
La Convivencia, Founder
Moonshot, Special Projects and Business Development
UK Home Office, Homeland Security Group, Research and Evaluation
UK Cabinet Office, Government Communication Service Fast Stream
Crisp, Risk Intelligence
Virgin Media, Community Management
Khoros, Community Risk Management
Dec 2021 – Present
Apr 2019 – Dec 2021
Mar 2017 – Apr 2019
Sep 2015 – Mar 2017
Sep 2013 – Aug 2015
Sep 2012 – Aug 2013
Sep 2011 – Sep 2012
MEDIA COVERAGE
Aris, K. (2021, April). Report: North Carolina Shows Above Average Interest in Political Violence [Interview]. Interviewed by Geoff West. INDY Week. URL: https://indyweek.com/news/northcarolina/report-northcarolina-extremism-political-violence-armed-groups/
Aris, K. (2021, March). Data shows Texas has heightened risks of domestic, violent extremism [Interview]. Interviewed by David Furtado. abc7 News Amarillo. URL: https://abc7amarillo.com/news/local/data-shows-texas-has-heightened-risks-of-domestic-violent-extremism
Aris, K. (2021, March). New data shows risks of domestic violent extremism in Tennessee [Interview]. Interviewed by Brian Armstrong. WDEF News. URL: https://www.wdef.com/new-data-shows-risks-domestic-violent-extremism-tennessee/
Aris, K. (2020, March). Extremists are using the coronavirus to radicalize and spread conspiracies online [Interview]. Interviewed by Justin Sherman. CBS News. URL: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-extremists-conspiracies-covid-19/
Aris, K. (2020, March). America’s far right is energized by covid-19 lockdowns [Interview]. The Economist. URL: https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/05/17/americas-far-right-is-energised-by-covid-19-lockdowns