Expertise.

Strategic Stabilization Advisors (SSA) is a partnership of seasoned experts dedicated to delivering impact in fragile and conflict-affected environments. Our team brings together former government officials, military leaders, researchers, and practitioners with decades of experience across Africa and the Middle East. Working alongside a trusted roster of local consultants, we combine global expertise with field-based knowledge to deliver evidence-driven strategies that help partners navigate complexity and build sustainable solutions.

SSA operates across North, West, and Central Africa, with field teams in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Guinea. This footprint is reinforced by a growing network of regional experts, enabling us to quickly adapt and scale into new contexts across Sub-Saharan Africa in response to client needs.

Meet the Team

Aneliese Bernard
Founder & Director

Aneliese Bernard is the Founder and Director of Strategic Stabilization Advisors (SSA), where she advises governments, multilaterals, and private-sector clients on navigating complex security environments. She has over a decade of experience in counterterrorism, stabilization, DDR, and security sector reform across North and West Africa.

Previously, she served as Stabilization Advisor with the U.S. Department of State in Niger, managing the U.S. Counter-Boko Haram strategy and leading a regional defections and reintegration program across the Lake Chad Basin and Sahel. Since 2014, Aneliese has lived and worked extensively in the region, committed to advancing field-driven, context-specific solutions to today’s most pressing security challenges.

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Core Group

  • Rodrigo Behague

    Regional Program Manager

    LinkedIn

  • Julia van Stenis

    Operations Manager & Research Fellow

    LinkedIn

Associates & Advisors

  • Stake Experts

    Principal Local Partner, Benin

    LinkedIn

  • Amit Arkhipov-Goyal

    Senior Consultant

    LinkedIn

  • Major General (Ret.) Marcus “Mark” Hicks

    Senior Advisor

    LinkedIn

  • Madeline Vellturo

    Advisor

    LinkedIn

  • Field Consultants

    SSA works with a trusted network of local field-based consultants in Nigeria, Benin, Guinea, Niger, Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Chad. These local experts bring deep contextual knowledge and partnerships that strengthen every engagement.

Stronger Engagement. Smarter Solutions.

Trusted support in fragile environments,