RUSI NextGen: Early Career Network for Defence, Security and International Affairs

Zoe Dharma Ciaccio

RUSI NextGen Ambassador

Zoe Dharma Ciaccio is a cyber threat intelligence analyst focusing on Russian threat actors targeting Europe. Prior to this role, she worked in intelligence covering the EMEA region. She started her career as an intern in NATO’s Defence Investment Division.

Zoe studied at SOAS, obtaining an MA in International Security and a BA in International Relations. She is also a certified SANS Cyber Threat Intelligence analyst. 

Ríoghnach Kearney

RUSI NextGen Ambassador

Ríoghnach Kearney’s experience includes international analysis, governance and regulations, and negotiations, with a top tier global investment bank. Growing up in Northern Ireland, Ríoghnach was born just before the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement brought an end to the ‘Troubles’. She witnessed first hand the power of dialogue and diplomacy, and the critical importance of relationships, rights and reconciliation in building pathways to peaceful social progress, values that she believes are vital in managing conflict. A law graduate from Ulster University, Ríoghnach maintains a strong interest in geopolitics and global economics, and legal and policy reform agendas.

Leila Laing

RUSI NextGen Ambassador

Leila is a strategic communications and public affairs consultant with deep expertise in policy coordination, stakeholder engagement, and cross-sector advocacy. With a track record of advising governments, international organisations, and NGOs, Leila specialises in navigating complex geopolitical landscapes, countering disinformation, and shaping strategic narratives that drive impact. 

Drawing on experience across government, think tanks, and the private sector, Leila has led high-profile international initiatives spanning security, defence, trade, and governance. From designing counter-disinformation frameworks to executing targeted engagement strategies, Leila equips decision-makers with the insights and strategies needed to respond to global challenges.

Tom Layhe

RUSI NextGen Ambassador

Tom Layhe is a young professional in the security domain, working as a Deployment Strategist at Palantir and a Reservist in the British Army. He previously worked as a data scientist in the UK Government and as a graduate analyst at JP Morgan. Tom is completing an MSc in Applied Social Data Science at the London School of Economics (part-time), where he is exploring computational disinformation attribution as a research assistant with the Phelan US Centre.

Tom holds a BA (Honours) in War Studies from King’s College London, where he was awarded the Sir Michael Howard Award for Best Graduating Student. Tom continued his research as a Future Maritime Strategist at the Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre. This work was published in The Naval Review and RUSI's Nuclear Reactions and was presented at the 2023 Project on Nuclear Issues Conference.

Alongside his role as an Ambassador for RUSI NextGen, Tom is a Freeman of the City of London through the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals, and is a sub-par rugby union player in his free time.

Emma Lowden

RUSI NextGen Ambassador

Emma Lowden joined the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office in August 2024. Prior to this, she worked for The Shaikh Group, a conflict resolution and mediation organisation, for three years, leading the development and implementation of Track 2 dialogues in the Middle East with a focus on GCC states, Iran and Iraq. She is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh with a first class degree in International Relations. Alongside her role as an Ambassador for RUSI NextGen she leads a local community run club in London. 

Ethan Sanderson

RUSI NextGen Ambassador

Ethan Jeremiah Sanderson is an international security-focused young professional who works as an Embedded Intelligence Analyst at Sibylline, while simultaneously leading the Africa Desk at London Politica, a geopolitical risk consultancy. Thematically, Ethan's main specialties/interests are counter terrorism, counter intelligence, conflict resolution, and humanitarianism. He has no particular regional focus but has an interest in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Ethan speaks Spanish fluently and is currently learning Arabic. 

Tara Zammit

RUSI NextGen Ambassador

Tara Zammit is a final year PhD Candidate in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. She has been awarded the SSHRC-CRSH Department of National Defence MINDS Initiative Doctoral Award to undertake her research on recruitment, retention, and integration of women and LGBTQ+ personnel in the British Armed Forces. She has spoken across the UK and internationally about her research, including at NATO Headquarters in Brussels and the 2025 International Studies Association Annual Conference in Chicago.  

Tara is a member of the Leadership Team for Women in Defence UK, a Royal United Services Institute NextGen Ambassador, a Future Maritime Leader at the Council on Geostrategy, a Postgraduate Representative for the British International Studies Association's War Studies Working Group, and a volunteer with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.  

She holds an MPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Cambridge (2019), and a BA (Honours) in Peace, Conflict and Justice and Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations from the University of Toronto (2018). In addition, Tara has extensive experience in podcast production and editing, communications strategy development, copywriting, and digital marketing. She also played in the front row for KCLWRFC.