Our Team
Meet our interdisciplinary team of James Madison University undergraduate students as we work on developing our products. The six of us represent seven diverse courses of study, which not only helps to give us a balanced perspective, but also makes things much more fun. Scroll below to learn more about each of our courses of study, experiences, and contributions.
Angela Head
Angela Head is a sophomore Nursing student at James Madison University. She was born in California and currently resides on her family farm located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Her goal is to become a Nurse Practicioner and start her own practice. She has a love for table tennis and is the current treasurer for the Table Tennis Club on campus. She is looking forward to Hack 4 Defense this semester because she believes it will get her out of her comfort zone and teach her some valuable skills.
Celina Relton
Celina Relton is a senior International Affairs major with a concentration in International Relations and Economics minor at James Madison University. Her leadership, communication, and organizational skills are reflected through her active roles in the Student Government Association and SafeRides. In addition, her hard-work is evident through her previous roles as a legal intern, non-profit communications and outreach intern, and government research intern. Relton joined Hacking for Defense because she enjoys problem-solving and hopes to use her skills to help solve the issues government agencies face.
Jack Ricci
Jack Ricci is Senior International Affairs Major with a Minor in Russian Studies. Upon graduation, Jack will be attending the JMU M.A. in European Union Policy Studies program based in Florence, Italy.
Mowafak Accad
Mac (whose birth name is Mowafak Accad) is a sophomore at James Madison University majoring in Political Science and minoring in Public Policy and Administration. He is a U.S. permanent resident and aspiring American citizen with a very international background. He was born in Damascus, Syria but left for Qatar with his family at the age of 7. He grew up in Qatar attending a private international school. He is also an Italian citizen and spent 3 months studying language in Italy in 2014 after graduating high school at the age of 16. In 2016 he moved with his family to the United States, settling in McLean, Northern Virginia. He is extremely passionate about Political Science and public/national service. He is greatly looking forward to joining the government workforce after completing his studies and becoming naturalized.
Rihaana Stephens
Rihaana Stephens is a sophomore at James Madison University. She is majoring in writing, rhetoric, and technical communication and minoring in Russian. With these degrees, she hopes to both write and edit stories and use her Russian language skills to become an asset to her government. As of now, she is writing news reports and editing for Shoot the Breeze Comics and writing articles for Geeks of Color. She writes stories, songs, and plays guitar in her free time.
Ian McClain
Ian McClain is in his 4th of 5 years at James Madison University, pursuing a B.S. in Public Policy and a B.A. in International Affairs with a minor in Economics. Upon graduation, he is considering going to graduate school, but is not quite set on that yet. Ian hopes to use the skills learned in Hacking 4 Defense to further his interests and understanding of todays cyberthreats, counter-terrorism issues, and human rights initiatives, and one day hopes to work in one of these or a related occupation, either in the US or abroad.