Joel Weaver

Before joining Buckinghamshire New University in 2024, I was a senior intelligence planner and analyst within the US Intelligence Community for over 10 years following a 20-year career as a military intelligence officer in the US Air Force. I have been involved in most conflicts from the First Gulf War to the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine with experience as a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) staff officer. I taught as an adjunct lecturer at the US National Intelligence University at the master’s level for over 4 years and have dreamed of lecturing full time, now a reality at BNU.

I studied for my undergraduate degree in Political Science at the US Air Force Academy, master’s in public administration at Central Michigan University, and finally, my doctorate (PhD) at Walden University. My specialist area of interest/research is global governance from a policy evaluation framework concerning Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs). I find this interesting as NGOs increasingly fill gaps left by national governments and help address wicked challenges such as climate change, pandemics, mass migration and resource scarcity.

I am a member of the American Society of Public Administration, Fellow of the American Political Science Academy, and Senior Fellow of the Institute for the Polarities of Democracy. I have been a member of the NGO, Rotary International for over 13 years within the UK’s Rotary District 1070 (East Midlands area) and have held several certifications with Rotary, to include Assistant District Governor, member of the Cadre of Technical Advisors in Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention and more recently as a Rotary and Institute for Economics and Peace European Peace Activator and Ambassador.

My specialist knowledge has led me to work with multinational organizations on projects like the NATO International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan and Rotary’s many peacebuilding initiatives which include environmental efforts aimed to increase resiliency through the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and Framework Conventions on Climate Change.

My greatest accolade to date is being designated a Paul Harris Fellow by my Rotary Club, one of the highest forms of recognition a Rotarian can receive with respect to humanitarian work, given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world.

• Lecturer