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Roberto Flores

Faculty Member

Dr. Roberto Flores

Biography

Professor Roberto Flores joined Utah Valley University following a 13-year career as a U.S. intelligence professional. He served eight years in the U.S. Army as a military intelligence officer and all-source analyst, including two years deployed to Afghanistan in support of the Global War on Terrorism/Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).

He continued his service with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), spending over five years assigned to U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) in Miami, Florida. While at USSOUTHCOM, he served as a liaison to the militaries of Central America and the Caribbean and later focused on analyzing transnational threats to U.S. national security originating from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Dr. Flores is currently an Assistant Professor at Utah Valley University, where he teaches courses in National Security, Intelligence, and Area Studies.

Education

PhD, Florida International University, 2017

Major: International Relations

MA, Florida International University , 2013

Major: Internaional Relations

BA, Florida State University , 2000

Major: International Relations

Teaching

NSS 4800

Intelligence Analysis and Tradecraft, Summer 2025

NSS 4300

Intelligence Cycle and Collections, Summer 2025

NSS 3050

US Intelligence Community, Summer 2025

NSS 491R

Directed Readings and Special Projects in National Security, Spring 2025

NSS 4800

Intelligence Analysis and Tradecraft, Spring 2025

NSS 2010

Introduction to National Security WE, Spring 2025

NSS 301R

National Security Area Studies, Spring 2025

NSS 3050

US Intelligence Community, Spring 2025

Presentations

Flores, Roberto (Co-Presenter), Modlin, Kevin (Co-Presenter), National Security Innovations -- Speaker Series, "AI: An Analyst's Forecasting Tool", National Security Innovations, Inc., Remote. (July 10, 2025)
Yuan, Alex (Co-Presenter), Flores, Roberto (Co-Presenter), Utah National Guard 36th Annual Language Conference (LangCon), "The Sino-US Relationship in a New Time", Utah National Guard, Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City, 170 S. West Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101 . (February 7, 2025)
Flores, Roberto , UVU National Security Week -- Fall 2023, "The Role of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in the U.S. Intelligence Community", UVU Center for National Security Studies, UVU Campus, Orem, Utah. (September 12, 2023)
Flores, Roberto , International Studies Association's Asia-Pacific Conference 2023, "Strategic Leveraging of Diaspora Communities to Achieve Foreign Policy Aims", International Studies Association, Tokyo, Japan. (August 9, 2023)
Flores, Roberto (Panelist), UVU National Security Week, "Is India the Next China?", UVU -- National Security Studies Program, UVU Campus, Orem, UT. (January 23, 2023)
Flores, Roberto (Presenter Only), Defense Entrepreneurs Forum_ The China Challenge Revisited, "China's Regional Security Challenges", UAMMI - Utah Advanced Materials Initiative, Weber State Davis Campus Stewart Center, Layton UT . (October 22, 2022)

Scholarly/Creative Works

Flores, Roberto , (2024) "U.S. Mobilization of its Domestic Diaspora_ Strategic Leveraging of an Un[der]tapped Foreign Policy Resource " (Issue: 2, vol. 52). Hoboken, New Jersey: Politics and Policy. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/polp.12591
Flores, Roberto , (2020) "Speaking Private Authority_ The Construction of Sustainability in Forests and Fisheries" . Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793603043

Awards

National Security Studies Faculty of the Year

Criminal Justice Department, Center for National Security Studies - April 26, 2024

Unanimously selected by students and faculty as the Center for National Security Studies faculty member of the year. Was acknowledged for innovative classroom content designed to enhance learning outcomes, publications, and academic presentations, as well commitments to student success in and out of the classroom.