Our Story
It all started at the United States Embassy in Lagos, Nigeria, where Lila was an intern in the summer of 2000. During this internship, she noticed the heavy emotional burden foreign affairs work had on many of the officers. With this observation, she had an idea for a state Department-sponsored touring theatre company that would operate as a modern hybrid of USO and Embassy Morale Boosting Programs. The political climate at the time was not right for such a proposal, but the idea of arts and artists in security did not leave her thoughts. Over the years, she became more interested in national and international security, so much so, that she decided to leave her career in entertainment behind and transitioned into the security sector. Bringing an artist’s mind into international studies academia, she found herself having conversation after conversation with colleagues and professors alike, who would say, “Huh….I never thought of it that way;” whatever “it” may be. She started to realize artistic people think differently by design; trained and professionally experienced to be unconventional problem solvers. It then occurred to her: artistically-trained people should be consultants to national and international security leaders. This idea led to her fellowship with the Pacific Council in 2022, where she was able to be coached by strategists in foreign affairs, policy and business. Now, The Particle Accelerator is a multi-faceted neo-think tank and and consultancy. We are here to help as many leaders in the security apparatus of North America as possible.
Lila is currently an International Affairs Fellow for 2024-25 with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), focusing on comparative national security between the U.S. and Canada as well as counter radicalization of youth through positive education programs. She is being hosted as a Visiting Fellow by the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies (CASIS-Vancouver).
Prior to this, she worked for six years in trade controls for Autodesk, Inc., a Fortune 500 software company. During this time, she was regularly invited to participate in roundtable discussions on trade controls that included representatives from the USG, private consultants, and academics at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS).
In 2022, Lila was an Amplify Fellow with the Pacific Council on International Policy and remains a member of the Pacific Council.
Lila was the President of Women in International Security - Western Region (WIIS West) for five years, from 2018-2022. As president of WIIS West, she was an invited speaker to delegations from the U.S. Department of State and was a hosted guest at the United Nations in New York City. She continues to hold an Emeritus role with WIIS West.
She was twice an intern at U.S. Embassies; in Lagos, Nigeria, and in Belgrade, Serbia. During her time in Nigeria, she assisted White House staff during the Summer 2000 visit to Abuja by then President Bill Clinton.
Prior to her career in national and international security, Lila was a professional actor and dancer, having worked on stages and in front of cameras in Chicago, New York, London, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. She remains a proud member of SAG-AFTRA.
She holds an MA in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies with Specialization in Financial Crimes Management from the Middlebury Institute for International Studies (MIIS) and a BFA in Theatre from DePaul University. She lives in British Columbia with her son and two dogs, kayaking and skiing as much as possible.
Experienced Leadership
What We Do
We:
Create solutions for complicated policy issues, civil-social problems, and national/international security concerns.
Create more engaging media to educate the public on political and security agendas, issues, developments, etc.
Help develop compassion and influence a more balanced view-point in our governmental leadership.
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Educate youth in a fun, engaging way that encourages civil society and even a career in national security.
Develop achievable schedules, bound in a sacrosanct commitment, for the implementation of these solutions.
Have a space where the two groups are motivated and inspired by each other while independently working.