• President Update

  Our International Women’s Forum stands in agreement as we mourn the loss of our beloved honorary member Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  Many of us recall spirited discussions with her at the Supreme Court. She was a hero, a believer in the rule of law, a woman of a certain stature, a force to be reckoned with, a lawyer, a jurist, but most of all, a leader who revelled in the promise of the next generation.

  The first time I ever spoke with Justice Ginsburg, I was paying tribute to Judge John Garrett Penn after his portrait was placed in the ceremonial courtroom of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Imagine, you are a seasoned lawyer, but by no means beyond being starstruck by a woman Supreme Court Justice.  She crosses the room to tell you how touched she was by your remarks and you go from starstruck to silent. Thinking back, she was all the things that truly mattered: vocal when her voice was needed, gracious, strong, and focused on making a difference for women. It is a treasured memory of time with an icon.

  We live in a time where in the blink of a moment, the status quo can immeasurably change. Just going to sleep and awaking the next day is a blessing and a challenge all in the same moment. But we have a legacy and a path that has been forged by women who not only blazed the trail but came back to make sure others could find the way. At IWF-DC, the legacy of RBG places a torch in each of our hands so that we can lead others onward. We will all strive to be known as a ‘notorious’ woman.

  Kim

• Kathleen Kiernan

  New Member

  Kiernan Group Holdings Founder & CEO Kathleen Kiernan is a 29-year veteran of Federal Law Enforcement. She previously served as the Assistant Director for the Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) where she was responsible for the design and implementation of an intelligence-led organizational strategy related to explosives, firearms, and illegal tobacco diversion, the traditional and non-traditional tools of terrorism.

  Dr. Kiernan is a recognized expert in strategic thinking, strategy development, and facilitating critical incident management exercises for senior leaders across government and private sector organizations. These include national and international level policies related to criminality and terrorism; Active Shooter/Active Threat; Insider Threat, unconventional threats impacting the warfighter; anomalous behavior detection; continuity of operations and crisis management and crisis communications. In addition, Dr. Kiernan has served as a SME for Risk Assessment and Gap Analysis efforts for some of our nation’s most critical assets. She was the Principal Investigator for an international project related to suicide bomber methodology; the results of which informed national level risk mitigation policies and the development of behavioral detection training, as well as countermeasure investment.

  Dr. Kiernan is the recipient of a number of national awards to include the Women of Influence-Public Sector award; the American Security Today Platinum Award for Best in Homeland Security in 2017, 2018, and 2019; and the Illinois Security Professionals Association Excellence in Emergency Management. Other highlights of Dr. Kiernan’s credentials include: Chair of InfraGard, a nationwide public-private partnership sponsored by the FBI with over fifty thousand members; Member of the Army Science Board, where she led a panel exploring the transition of law enforcement training and technology to the warfighter; member of the Air Force Strategic Studies Board; chair of the Domestic Intelligence Council for the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA); graduate of the FBI’s National Executive Institute (Class 26); and a Senior Fellow at the George Washington Homeland
  Security Policy Institute.

  Dr. Kiernan is an adjunct faculty member of the Johns Hopkins School of Education and the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School. She is also a member of the AFCEA Intelligence Committee, Co-Chair of the Business Executives for National Security (BENS) Resilience Council, and member of the ASIS International Academic Council.
  

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