Dr. Lydia Kostopoulos is a Science and Emerging Technology advisor at the U.S. Joint Special Operations University, and previously served as Innovation Advisor for the USSOCOM J5 Donovan Group, where she analyzed strategic trends relevant to Special Operations in the context of emerging technologies.  The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Armed Forces.  The Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) is the designated agency within USSOCOM to conduct joint Special Operations Force (SOF) education.  Dr. Kostopoulos’ work lies in the intersection of national security, strategy, and technology. She forecasts emerging threats around disruptive technologies, participates in the NATO Science for Peace Program, is on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers -USA AI Policy Committee, and has been awarded the U.S. Presidential Service Award for her service to the cybersecurity community.   Separate from her work at SOCOM, Dr. Kostopoulos is passionate about social tech awareness, has an art series about AI (#ArtAboutAI ) and released an open source game on technologies that affect humanity called Sapien 2.0.  Dr. Kostopoulos is also the Founder of a fashion label called Empowering Workwear by Lydia, which has an agenda to promote awareness for change around women's issues and UN's sustainable development goals.  Dr. Kostopoulos is also very focused on wellness and currently exploring epistemic wellness and human performance.  Dr. Kostopoulos has a PhD in Political Science & Security Studies from  University of Siena, Italy, an M.A. in Security & International Conflict  from University of Innsbruck, Austria, and a B.A. in  International Relations  from  American University Sharjah, UAE.   Dr. Kostopoulos fluently speaks English, Spanish, Russian, Italian, and Greek.