KGH Capability Statement
Dr. Kathleen L. Kiernan
CEO and Founder
- Dr. Kathleen Kiernan is Founder and CEO of KGH and a 29-year veteran of federal law enforcement. As Assistant Director for Strategic Intelligence and Information at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), she led the design and implementation of intelligence-driven strategies targeting explosives, firearms, illegal tobacco diversion, and terrorism.
- A recognized expert in strategic thinking, critical incident management, and national security policy, Dr. Kiernan has advised senior leaders across government and the private sector on active shooter and active threat response, insider threat, unconventional threats, anomalous behavior detection, and crisis communications. She served as Principal Investigator on an international suicide bomber methodology study whose findings shaped national risk mitigation policy, behavioral detection training, and countermeasure investment.
- Dr. Kiernan has developed and trademarked several proprietary frameworks: Fuciferi Versuiti® (Crafty Bastards), a metric-based, multidisciplinary problem-solving methodology for complex and emerging threats; PWP® (Preparedness Without Paranoia), a community-based training program bridging fear and fact for active threat preparedness; and G.O.T. Preparedness®, an adult learning–grounded LMS for active threat readiness and workplace violence prevention incorporating field ethnography and digital storytelling.
- Her honors include the Women of Influence–Public Sector Award, the American Security Today Platinum Award for Best Educational Program in Homeland Security (2017–2023), and the Illinois Security Professionals Association Excellence in Emergency Management Award. Dr. Kiernan is a graduate of the FBI National Executive Institute (Class 26) and a Senior Fellow at the George Washington Homeland Security Policy Institute. She has served on the Army Science Board, the Air Force Strategic Studies Board, and as former Chair of the Domestic Intelligence Council for INSA. She is Chair Emeritus of InfraGard.
- Dr. Kiernan is adjunct faculty at Johns Hopkins School of Education and the Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Homeland Defense and Security. She serves on the AFCEA Intelligence Committee, Business Executives for National Security (BENS), the National Police Foundation Center for Mass Violence Response Studies Advisory Board, and the Advisory Board for the Center for Advanced Red Teaming at the University at Albany, SUNY.