Recognizing the steadily-increasing realities of the terrorist threat, Mr. Spano leveraged his personal and professional contacts to create The Counterterrorism Institute with the objective of educating and empowering professionals, scholars, school-aged children, and the general public to better understand, prepare for, and counter the threat of domestic and transnational terrorism.

Prior to founding The Counterterrorism Institute, Mr. Spano served as an Associate Professor of Homeland Security Studies in American Public University System’s School of Security and Global Studies, and as the Director of National Security Policy for The Investigative Project on Terrorism; a private counterterrorism organization dedicated to investigating, identifying, and exposing sources of ideological and material support for terrorism within the United States.

A graduate of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Mr. Spano served as a Special Agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations’ Antiterrorism Specialty Team; where he became a subject matter expert in counterintelligence, force protection, protective service operations, and trans-national terrorism. This specialized experience bolstered his academic study in homeland and national security law, which included an externship coordinating cyber-security and cyber range policy, training, and operations for the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

While in law school, Mr. Spano served as Magister of the International Legal Honor Society Phi Delta Phi, and co-founded the Thomas M. Cooley Homeland & National Security Law Review; the first online, peer-reviewed, scholarly publication of its kind in the United States.

Mr. Spano holds an Associate of Arts in Criminal Justice from Valley Forge Military College, a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Education from Wayland Baptist University, a Citation in Strategic Management from Harvard University’s Extension School, a Juris Doctor, Cum Laude, from Western Michigan University’s Cooley Law School, and was recently selected for inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who in America for his work in counterterrorism.

In addition to his work with the Institute, Mr. Spano is actively involved in advancing counterterrorism awareness and capability as a member of several national security, international affairs, and policy-focused nonprofit and professional organizations.