Who We Are

About Us

Parallel Networks, Inc. was founded by uniquely qualified individuals all dedicated to combating hate and extremism. This synergistic mix of two 'former' jihadists, the former head of the NYPD Intelligence Division and experienced writers and researchers forms the core of a team at the center of the institution. They include:

Jesse Morton

Jesse Morton was once a prominent radicalizer in the West. As a co-founder and chief propagandist of Revolution Muslim, a New York City-based group active in the 2000s, he helped to insert the narrative of Al-Qaeda and Salafi-jihadist ideology into the American ambit. Morton had direct contact with some of the most prominent extremist preachers in the West. Revolution Muslim was connected to a number of terrorism cases.

Jesse holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services and a Master’s in International Relations from Columbia University, with a concentration on the Middle East and nonprofit management. He has lectured at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Sunderland University in Casablanca, Morocco, and is widely read in classical Islamic theology and jurisprudence and historical relations between the United States and Middle Eastern nations. He was included in Foreign Policy Magazine's 2017 'Global Thinkers' listing and is a certified substance abuse and mental health counselor in New York State.

Jesse worked briefly at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, while there he focused on issues such as the propaganda of terrorist organizations, Islamic and jihadist ideology, countering radicalization and extremism and promoting disengagement. He currently consults with organizations countering violent extremism and is the research coordinator of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue's Against Violent Extremism (AVE) Network in North America.

Mitch Silber

Mitch Silber is a founding partner of the Guardian Group, an intelligence and security-consulting firm.

Mr. Silber is a professional global political risk and intelligence analyst and has more than 20 years of experience creating, building and leading analytic teams and organizations dedicated to providing high-end finished intelligence, bespoke consulting and advisory work for a wide range of corporate, financial and governmental clients. He is a regular commentator on political risk and terrorism related issues for both print and broadcast news outlets.

At FTI Consulting, Mr. Silber was the founder and head of the Geopolitical Intelligence practice. Before FTI, he served for more than three years as the Executive Managing Director of the Threat Intelligence and Data Analytics practice areas at K2 Intelligence. Prior to his work at K2, Mr. Silber served as Director of Intelligence Analysis at the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) and was responsible for building out and managing the Analytic and Cyber Units. He supervised the research, collection and analysis for the Intelligence Division’s entire portfolio of ongoing terrorism related investigations and was responsible for strategic assessments of emerging and future threats to the City of New York. Mr. Silber was involved in internal planning, development and new unit creation for the department and initiated and managed relations with foreign intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

Mr. Silber has presented on behalf of the NYPD to the White House, the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Counter Terrorism Center, and has testified before the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He also co-authored the 2007 NYPD report “Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat,” and is the author of The Al Qaeda Factor: Plots Against the West, published in 2012 by the University of Pennsylvania Press.

Mr. Silber is a visiting lecturer at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (“SIPA”) where he teaches a course on Modern Urban Terrorism. He also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board at SIPA and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Juncal Garayzabal

Juncal Garayzabal, PhD., has spent the last years researching on the parallels between recruitment for human trafficking networks and those employed by jihadist groups. Based on the results of her dissertation, she now researches and develops appropriate programming for those who once embraced violent extremism, and particularly foreign fighters.

Juncal has ample experience in researching conflicts, forced migrations, organized crime and security. Her research has developed through collaboration in projects with different research institutes, both in Spain and at international level.

She has combined academic work in institutions like Georgetown University, Comillas ICADE (Madrid, Spain) and The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS) with political advocacy in countries like Peru and Equatorial Guinea. While studying International Cooperation for Development in Madrid (Spain) she also gained experience in developing training and sensitization programs through her works at Madrid's Regional UNICEF Committee.

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