Evanna Hu was a fellow in New America's International Security program.
Hu is the CEO and Partner of Omelas, a cutting edge technology company that provides the real-time, online information environment pertaining to security and influence threats. By utilizing machine learning/ artificial intelligence and data analytics, it is also one of the first to offer an organic monitoring and evaluating tool to measure the effectiveness of non-lethal warfare, including countermessaging campaigns and information operations. With offices in New York City, Washington, DC, Chicago, and Dubai, UAE, Omelas is operational in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Evanna is also a subject matter expert in CVE/CT in both Salafi-jihadism and neo-Nazism and has worked at the intersection of governance, security, and technology in 25+ countries in Africa and the Middle East, including Kenya, Iraq, Gaza Strip, Syria, Tunisia, and Afghanistan. Prior to Omelas, she successfully founded two technology ventures, one based in Nairobi, Kenya and another in Amman, Jordan. To date, she has briefed 4 national heads of intelligence and has advised 8 Cabinet/Ministerial members on tech and security and spent 6+ years living in Africa and the Middle East.
A graduate of the University of Chicago, Hu sits on the following Boards of nonprofits: Re:Coded, an Erbil-based nonprofit that gives livelihoods to refugees by teaching them how to code through a comprehensive training program in Iraq and Turkey; Promote Leadership, which is founded by active officers and veterans to foster inclusive leadership within the U.S. Special Operations Forces community; and Project Ninevah Plains, which does reconstruction work in post-IS environments in the Ninevah Plains, Iraq. She has won numerous high-level accolades and recognition for her work.