Dr. Diane M. Zorri

Dr. Diane M. Zorri is an Associate Professor of Security Studies at the National Defense College of the United Arab Emirates. She also serves as a non-resident Senior Fellow and Presidential Advisory Board member at Joint Special Operations University, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. Dr. Zorri has taught at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida and John Cabot University in Rome, Italy. Dr. Zorri earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from George Mason University; her dissertation focused on Iraqi political alignments and alliances after the fall of the Ba'ath party. Her major research interests are Gulf politics, U.S. foreign policy, defense strategy, and maritime cybersecurity.

Prior to her work in academia, Diane served as an officer in the United States Air Force and worked in the aerospace and defense industry. Upon leaving the Air Force, Diane worked for an Italian-U.S. defense company managing projects in foreign military sales, integrated communications, and physical security. During the Iraq war, she worked for Multi-National Force-Iraq in Baghdad, managing over 400 bilingual, bicultural advisors to the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Department of Defense. She has also done business consulting for European, South American, and Middle Eastern clients interested in security and defense procurement. Diane is also a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.