Avery Borens is a Researcher with the Middle East Security Program at the Institute for the Study of War. She previously interned with ISW during Fall 2024 and Spring 2025, contributing to the Axis of Resistance portfolio, and with the Critical Threats Project in Summer 2024. Prior to joining ISW, she held multiple internships focused on open-source intelligence (OSINT) research and analysis related to security and terrorism in the Middle East and Africa. She also served as a Lecture Assistant for the “Threat of Terrorism and Crime” course at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology.
Her research interests include grey-zone threats, extremist organizations, state fragility, and foreign involvement in conflict zones.
Ms. Borens has experience in OSINT research and analysis, geolocation, data analytics and visualization, computer programming, battle damage assessments, and graphic design. She has working proficiency in French and is currently studying Arabic.
She graduated from The Pennsylvania State University in 2023 with a degree in Telecommunications and minors in French, Global Security, and Security and Risk Analysis. She received a Letter of Recognition from the National Security Agency for her academic work. Ms. Borens is currently pursuing a Master’s in National Security and Intelligence at the Washington, D.C. campus of Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government and Public Service.
