Professional Bio

Dan Folk is a first-year graduate student in
American Politics and International Relations. He
completed his BA in International Politics in 2019
at Penn State and his MA in Public (Policy)
Management in 2021 at Johns Hopkins University.
His research interests involve cognitive bias and
its impact on national security. Dan is particularly
interested in how defense analysts cognitively
process new information and how this is affected
by training in the use of structured analytic
techniques and the development of critical
thinking skills.
Dan is coming to us from the Department of
Defense where he has just completed a 3-yr
rotation as an instructor teaching the fundamentals
of analysis at the Joint Military Intelligence
Training Center in Washington, D.C. He has over
20-years-experience working in the DoD, both in
uniform and as a civilian. Dan has served in
multiple analytic positions and has been a senior
briefer at the Pentagon and a senior analyst in
Afghanistan. Dan has two children, ages 8 & 11,
plays the guitar, and enjoys wood-working.