Shannon Xiao is a Stanford M.S. candidate in Computer Science specializing in Artificial Intelligence. She has experience in both big tech and quantitative finance, completing two SWE internships each at Citadel Securities and Meta working on strategy research and software infrastructure projects. Shannon also did her undergraduate at Stanford, studying Symbolic Systems (AI) and Math. Her expertise and interests include machine learning applications, software engineering, and data analytics. 

Olivia Taylor is a Stanford student majoring in Computer Science in the Artificial Intelligence track. She has experience in robotics, artificial intelligence, computer vision, and full-stack development, among other areas. She spent last summer in a software engineering fellowship with quantitative trading firm Jane Street. Olivia will be working at McKinsey & Company in New York City this upcoming summer.

Andrew Couillard is a first-year MBA student at Stanford Graduate School of Business and serves as Co-President of the GSB Vets Club, Aerospace & Defense Club and Stanford DEFCON. As a Fellowship Investor at Harpoon Ventures, he builds strategic relationships within Stanford’s venture ecosystem while supporting local portfolio companies and sourcing deals. Previously, Andrew served as a U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Officer, leading elite teams across Asia, Europe, and Africa to neutralize underwater explosive hazards. He managed a $50 million portfolio of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) and spearheaded critical AI/ML upgrades to enhance operational efficiency and reduce risks to personnel. He holds a B.S. in Industrial & Systems Engineering from the University of Southern California, where he graduated magna cum laude.

Nate Low is a J.D. candidate at Stanford Law School. He previously worked as a Cyber Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of Defense and Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Nate holds a B.A. from Bowdoin College and M.P.A. from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).

Michael is a Stanford student studying Computer Science (BS) and Management Science and Engineering (MS). He previously worked as a Forward Deployed Engineer at Palantir and performed LLM research at the Stanford AI Laboratory, and will be joining OpenAI as a Member of Technical Staff. He specializes in building intelligence and data platforms to perform inference at scale, and will focus on key AI components of his project as a Defense Innovation Scholar. Outside of work, Michael knows five ways of making coffee, loves city photography, and is obsessed with corgis.

I am excited by deep problems that hope to re-contextualize how we see and interact with the world and each other. I’m a graduate student at Stanford University, where I research topics in robotic perception and innovation strategy.

Bryce Mitchell is pursuing a master’s degree in business administration at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy with a bachelor’s degree in international history, and from King’s College London with a master’s degree in international affairs. Bryce served as an Air Force intelligence officer across multiple theaters, leading teams across the United States Forces Korea (USFK), the United States Africa Command, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and AFWERX–the Air Force’s innovation directorate. He also served on the team that founded the Department of Defense’s Office of Strategic Capital (OSC), designed to attract and scale private investment into the Pentagon’s fourteen critical technology focus areas. Bryce was a Defense Ventures Fellow with Marque Ventures, a defense technology venture fund. He is also a national security fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

Helen Phillips is a second-year student in the Master’s in International Policy (MIP) program. While at Stanford, Helen interned at the Defense Innovation Unit and Starfish Space. She co-hosts the Defense Tech Underground podcast and is a research assistant to Dan Berkenstock at Hoover. Prior to graduate school, Helen worked for several years at the intersection of dual-use startups, venture capital, and the federal government. Helen was on the investment team at Booz Allen Ventures, the $100M CVC fund of Booz Allen, and scouted startups for DoD clients. 

Major Chris Cioffoletti is an active duty U.S. Army Infantry Officer with over a decade of experience leading teams in special operations, airborne infantry and light infantry formations. His six deployments include combat and contingency operations across the Middle East and East Africa. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelor of Science in Economics. As a General Wayne A. Downing Scholar, Chris is currently pursuing a Master's in International Policy degree at Stanford University.

Will is a second-year MSEE candidate focusing on sensing, mixed-signal electronics, and quantum technologies. He has held internships at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, L3Harris Technologies, SandboxAQ (prev. Alphabet), SLAC National Laboratory, and NASA Ames Research Center.

Will holds a BS Summa Cum Laude in Electrical Engineering with a Minor in Computer Science from the University at Buffalo, SUNY.