Lauren Bean is a national security analyst and consultant. For seven years, Lauren has served as Managing Editor of the National Strategy Forum Review, a quarterly national security journal. As editor and analyst, she has authored articles, chapters, and reports on national security and homeland security issues including cybersecurity, critical infrastructure protection, crisis management, terrorism, and intelligence. Together with the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security, Lauren prepared a first edition career book for national security lawyers. She received her B.A. from Boston College and is pursuing her J.D. at Chicago-Kent College of Law. Her current research focuses on the convergence of domestic and global violence in Chicago, examining the crossover of gang warfare, drug war violence, and terrorism and the potential impact on local communities and policies. She is frequently invited to participate in public education panels examining U.S. national security strategy and foreign policy. Lauren was selected for the 2008 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Junior Fellows conference and was honored by the Business Council for Peace for her work with Iraqi women construction workers.