NPC Communicators Candid Conversation: Combating Global Disinformation

The National Press Club Communicators Team will host an online/virtual “Candid Conversation on Combating Global Disinformation” on Thursday, April 14 at 6:00 p.m. EDT to discuss how public diplomacy, military and Intelligence Community communicators are navigating increasingly complex and muddied information environments.

Disinformation has infiltrated nearly every aspect of society. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shown that this problem has reached the highest geopolitical, military and diplomatic levels.

Distinguished speakers from the Department of Defense, State Department, and National Security Agency will join National Press Club President Jen Judson in a conversation on how they are facing the challenges of disinformation from maligned actors, adapting and training the next generation of communicators to communicate in a contested information battlefield, building trust and reaching vulnerable audiences.

This program is free and for National Press Club members ONLY. Members may register online.

About the Speakers

Lieutenant Colonel Charles “Kip” Patterson leads the Public Affairs and Communication Strategy Directorate at the Department of Defense Information School (DINFOS), the primary training institution for professional military communicators in the fleet and field. In his role as director, he enables the DOD’s communication professionals to successfully navigate the complex, volatile global environment by educating them in topics ranging from disinformation and strategic forecasting to systems thinking and cognitive biases. Patterson has had a distinguished military career recognized by the Bronze Star Medal (one bronze oak leaf cluster); Defense Meritorious Service Medal; Meritorious Service Medal (two bronze oak leaf clusters); Joint Service Commendation Medal, among others for service that includes multiple tours in Afghanistan, NATO, and U.S. Army Cyber Command. The Philadelphia native earned a bachelor’s degree in English Education at the Pennsylvania State University and master’s degree in International Relations from Webster University.

Stevie B. Hamilton, II serves as the Director of the Interagency and International Coordination Cell at the State Department's Global Engagement Center (GEC). Hamilton's primary responsibilities are leading, supervising, and managing GEC liaison officers dispatched to and from select USG departments, agencies, and international partners. Before joining GEC, Hamilton most recently served as a Senior Strategic Communications Advisor at the Bureau of Counterterrorism, Office of Countering Violent Extremism; Deputy Coordinator at the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications; and as the Team Lead for the Overseas Security Advisory Council in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and as a member of Special Operations Forces community. Hamilton is currently an Officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, serving as a Foreign Area Officer for the Middle East and Sub-Sahara Africa. He is a 2021 Nathanson Public Diplomacy Fellow, Aspen Institute’s Socrates Program and Council on Foreign Relations, Term Member (2014 -19). He attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he was an Earhart National Security Fellow, and received his master’s degree in Law and Diplomacy in 2002 and Morehouse College where he received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science in 2000.

Caroline Ferrari is the Deputy Chief of Public Affairs for the National Security Agency, where she is charged with telling the story of how NSA's missions, programs, policies and authorities have an impact on national security and the defense of American citizens. Prior to joining NSA, Ms. Ferrari served as the Strategic Communications Programming Officer in the Office of Public Affairs for U.S. Embassy Kabul, with the U.S. Department of State. During her tour in Afghanistan she directed one of the Embassy's major development focuses of Expanding Media Outreach and Advancing Communication Capacity, where she managed a diverse public communications portfolio and oversaw production of television programming that informed the Afghan public about all aspects of the elections process and key issues. Prior to her tenure at U.S. Embassy Kabul, Ms. Ferrari served at the U.S. Embassy Brazzaville in public diplomacy, developing key crisis communication and educational outreach plans. Ms. Ferrari also served at U.S. Embassy Bogota in Consular Affairs. Before joining the State Department, Ms. Ferrari worked as television producer for ABC and Buena Vista/Disney for nearly a decade, producing several talk and variety shows in Los Angeles and New York, including 'Jimmy Kimmel Live', 'The Tony Danza Show' and 'The Wayne Brady Show'. 

Jen Judson is president of the National Press Club and the land warfare reporter for Defense News. She has covered defense in the Washington area for over six years. She was previously a reporter at Politico Pro and InsideDefense.com. Judson began her reporting career in Boston, Mass. as a State House correspondent for the MetroWest Daily News. She also covered city government for the Daily News Tribune in Waltham, Mass. and was a jack-of-all-trades reporter at the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin. Judson is a Denver, Colo., native. She holds a Master of Science degree in print Journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio.