Elizabeth Block

Intelligence Analyst

FBI Baltimore

Elizabeth Block works as an Intelligence Analyst on National Security investigations at FBI Baltimore. IA Block serves as one of the FBI Baltimore Open Source Trainers. Though this role, she provides training to the field office and local partners on open source tools, tricks, and techniques to raise the proficiency of open source intelligence throughout the law enforcement and intelligence communities. IA Block is a Team Leader for the Social Media Analyst Response Team (SMART) which provides timely open source support in crisis response situations. She joined the FBI in 2018.

IA Block has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and American Studies from Christopher Newport University and a Masters in Applied Intelligence from Mercyhurst University. Prior joining the FBI, she worked as a contractor for the US Navy.

Jeff R. Cugno

Special Agent & Primary BAU Coordinator

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Special Agent (SA) Cugno entered on duty with the FBI on May 7, 2000. He was assigned to the FBI Los Angeles Field Office’s (FBILA) Cyber Crime Squad. SA Cugno was also a Team Leader for the FBI’s Evidence Response Team (ERT). As an ERT Team Leader, SA Cugno led crime scene investigators during the collection of evidence in a variety of investigations, including but not limited to, bank robberies, kidnappings, homicides, Agent-involved shootings, and airplane disasters.

Since 2006, SA Cugno has maintained the position of the FBILA’s Primary Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) Coordinator. In this role, SA Cugno assists with the investigation of repetitive and violent crimes, counterterrorism, and threatening communications. In addition to his primary role as the BAU Coordinator, SA Cugno also provides leadership and consultation in the following six specialized areas concurrently: Threat Management Coordinator, Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team – West Coast Team Leader, Threat Assessment ReGional Evaluation Team (TARGET) - Director, Campus Liaison Agent, Adjunct Faculty Instructor, and Crisis Negotiator. 

In 2022, SA Cugno was selected to be a member of the California Child Abduction Task Force and the Los Angeles County’s Veteran Suicide Review Team (VSRT). 

SA Cugno holds a Master of Science Degree in Justice, Law and Society.

Barb Daly

Director

Training and Emergency Management

New York-Presbyterian Hospital

Barb Daly is an experienced practitioner in the fields of Crisis Management and Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management, with specialties in Workplace Violence, Threat Mitigation and Active Assailants.  She is a 30-year veteran of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), retiring in April 2019 after 30 years of service.

For nearly a decade, Barbara served as the Supervisory Special Agent overseeing the joint FBI/NYPD Violent Crime Task Force and was also the primary Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) Field Coordinator in the FBI’s New York Office during that time.  As such, Barbara served as the main liaison between local, state and federal law enforcement entities and the FBI’s BAU, to include Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP) requests. 

Barbara was involved with the FBI’s Active Shooter program from 2007 to 2019 and regularly speaks on the topics of identifying, assessing and managing emerging threats, targeted attacks and workplace violence.  Barbara has an M.A. in Forensic Psychology from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a B.A. in Journalism from New York University, and has earned a Certified Threat Manager (CTM) designation through the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP). 

Gene Deisinger, PH.D.

President

Deisinger Consulting

Dr. Gene Deisinger is President of Deisinger Consulting, LLC, specializing in operational psychology, protective intelligence,  and behavioral threat assessment & management for an international base of clients in business, education, healthcare, government, military, law enforcement, non-profit organizations, and security and protective operations. Dr. Deisinger helps clients develop, implement, and operate comprehensive, holistic & collaborative programs to prevent & mitigate harm, sustain continuity of operations, and enhance the safety and well-being of the organization and its members.

In June 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice appointed Dr. Deisinger to serve as a subject matter expert on the Critical Incident Review Team regarding the mass casualty incident at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX. Since 2021, Dr. Deisinger has served as a founding member and subject matter expert for the Mass Violence Advisory Initiative, a joint project of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance. 

Since February 2015, Dr. Deisinger has been retained as the Threat Management Consultant for the Virginia Center for School; Campus Safety.  Dr. Deisinger provides threat management training and consultation for schools, campuses, and government and law enforcement agencies across Virginia. 

Until his retirement in December 2014, Dr. Deisinger served as Deputy Chief of Police and Director of Threat Management Services for Virginia Tech, positions to which he had beenn recruited following the 2007 mass casualty incident at that campus.  As executive officer for the Virginia Tech Police Department, Dr. Deisinger provided leadership for law enforcement operations to support a safe and secure campus environment and directed the university’s multi-disciplinary threat management functions across its global facilities.

Dr. Deisinger earned his doctorate in psychology from Iowa State University. He is a licensed psychologist, a certified health service provider in psychology, and, until his retirement, a certified law enforcement officer. Dr. Deisinger was a founding member of the Iowa State University Critical Incident Response Team, a multi-disciplinary team that conducted pro-active planning and coordinated institutional responses during crisis situations. As part of that initiative, Dr. Deisinger developed and directed the Threat Management Team for Iowa State from the team’s inception in 1993, until accepting his position at Virginia Tech in 2009.

Since 1994, Dr. Deisinger has provided threat assessment & management consultation and training to organizations across the United States and abroad, assisting hundreds of organizations in developing, implementing, and refining their threat management processes. He has provided consultation on a broad range of cases, helping organizations to implement integrated case management strategies. Dr. Deisinger has been an invited speaker for numerous national & international professional and government organizations. 

In 2008, Dr. Deisinger was the lead author of The Handbook for Campus Threat Assessment & Management Teams, which is recognized by the American National Standards Institute as exemplifying the standard of practice for implementing and operating campus threat assessment and management teams. Several campuses, corporations and healthcare systems have adopted the Handbook as an operating guide. 

Since 2012 he has served as a subject matter expert for the White House, and the US Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Defense, in their efforts to prevent targeted violence and other insider threats. 

From 2009-2011, Dr. Deisinger served as a subject matter expert and primary trainer for the national Campus Threat Assessment Training initiative, a program offered through the US Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. 

From 2009-2012, Dr. Deisinger was appointed as a Fellow of the US Department of Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention. 

From 2008 to 2010, Dr. Deisinger was appointed as a subject matter expert for a joint project by the US Department of Education, US Secret Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation that resulted in a monograph entitled Campus Attacks: Targeted Violence Affecting Institutions of Higher Education. 

In 2009, following the tragedy at Fort Hood, the US Army requested Dr. Deisinger’s assistance in enhancing force protection and threat management capabilities. He subsequently served as a subject matter expert for the Defense Science Board, providing briefings to enhance understanding of targeted violence and application of threat management methodologies in military settings. His contributions were included in the Board’s 2012 publication entitled Task Force Report: Predicting Violent Behavior. 

He has been featured in Nature - International Weekly Journal of Science, and in the American Psychological Association Monitor on Psychology, and the PBS Special, The Path to Violence.  

Heather L. Morris

Major, PsyD, ABPP, CTM

Associate Director, Behavioral Threat Assessment 

HQ Office Special Investigations (OSI) Behavioral Sciences Directorate 

Behavioral Threat Assessment Cell (BTAC)

United States Air Force

Maj Heather L. Morris is an investigative and operational psychologist at Headquarters Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) Behavioral Science Directorate (HQ AFOSIXB) in Quantico, VA. She is a board certified clinical psychologist with a background in forensic psychology and is a Certified Threat Manager (CTM). 

Dr. Morris is currently the Associate Director of OSI Behavioral Threat Assessment and leads the OSI Behavior Threat Assessment Cell (BTAC). BTAC is a multidisciplinary team with special agents, analysts, and investigative psychologists, which provides behavior threat assessment and management consultation to OSI field offices across the globe. 

Dr. Morris also teaches several advance courses on targeted violence, threat assessment, and Domestic Violent Extremism. Maj Morris was previously a clinician at the Peak Performance Center for the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO (CWPS). There she provided evaluation and treatment services for cadets, taught Introduction to Behavioral Sciences, consulted with leadership on mental health issues related to cadets, developed and managed the Gender Forum program, conducted Sanity Boards, and was the Director of the Substance Abuse and Prevention Services program. In addition, Dr. Morris has consulted and served as an expert witness in several Courts-Martial cases. 

Maj Morris received her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in leadership from the University of West Florida, where she was also captain of the women’s basketball team (2002). She then obtained her master’s degree in forensic psychology from the University of Denver in 2004. Maj Morris completed her second master’s degree (2006) and her doctorate in clinical psychology (2008) also from the University of Denver. 

Her clinical experience includes treating and evaluating offenders - including sex offenders - both in prison and in the community. Maj Morris practiced in a police psychology firm for eight years in which her duties included: consulting with schools, universities, and workplaces on insider/outsider threats; conducting behavioral threat assessments; trial consulting; investigative case consultation; responding to critical incidents to provide psychological first aid; and conducting trainings on trauma, stress management, verbal de-escalation, threat assessment, and active shooter prevention, response, and recovery. 

In 2007, Maj Morris traveled to Antarctica with a team of psychologists to conduct pre-deployment evaluations. 

She entered the United States Air Force in April 2013, receiving a direct commission in the Biomedical Services Corps. Maj Morris graduated Commissioned Officer Training in September 2013, earning the Distinguished Graduate honor.

Cari Robins

Supervisory Special Agent - Behavioral Analysis Unit

FBI

Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) Cari J. Robins joined the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) in 2013 and is assigned to BAU-4.  This unit is responsible for providing behaviorally based investigative and operational support to Federal, state, and local law enforcement partners on cases involving crimes against adults, such as homicide, sexual assault, and kidnapping.  

SSA Robins entered the FBI in 2004 and was assigned to the New York Office (NYO) reactive violent crime squad investigating bank robberies, kidnappings, fugitives, and Somali Pirates.  She also served as a member of the Evidence Response Team.

Prior to the FBI, SSA Robins was an Assistant State Attorney (ASA) in the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office from 2000 to 2004.  In her last assignment as an ASA, SSA Robins was in the Career Criminal Robbery Unit where she specialized in prosecuting habitually violent offenders and complex robbery cases.

SSA Robins earned a Bachelor of Science from Boston University in 1997, a Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law in 2000 and a Master of Arts in Forensic Psychology from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2010. 

SSA Robins also became a certified forklift operator in 2012.

Scott Rutz

Special Agent – Threat Assessor

US Coast Guard Investigative Service, Threat Management Unit

Scott Rutz has been a Special Agent with the Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) for over 20 years. In 2013, he founded the CGIS Threat Management Unit (TMU) performing behavioral analysis of people presenting aberrant, aggressive, or violent behavior affecting the United States Coast Guard. 

In prior assignments, Scott spent two years as the CGIS human intelligence liaison to the Coast Guard Pacific Area Commander and 10 years as the CGIS full-time detailee at the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in San Francisco, CA. At the JTTF, he developed specialized experience in maritime security matters, counter-terrorism investigations, and investigations focused upon prison inmate radicalization throughout the California state prison system. 

Scott was a member of the SF FBI Hostage/Crisis Negotiation Team and a certified community mediator. Prior to entering federal service, Scott was police officer for five years with the City of San Diego Police Department. For over four years, Scott taught graduate and undergraduate courses related to criminal justice, organizational behavior, and communications.

Steve Shepherd 

Executive Director, On The INLETS

Special Agent, FBI. (ret.)

sshepherd@OnTheINLETS.org

Steve Shepherd became the Executive Director at the INLETS in January 2022.  There he leads a team to create unique and high level training programs for law enforcement investigators and analysts and Risk & Safety practitioners.  The INLETS program has received national recognition for its offerings and  its' 11,000 attendees have rated it a 9.3 over the last 12 years.

A 23-year veteran of the FBI, Shepherd was assigned to the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office from 2009-2021. There, he served as a Behavioral Analysis Unit Coordinator with focus on violent offenders and active shooters. He also served as the Active Shooter Program Coordinator for Maryland and Delaware, which is the FBI liaison to the Maryland Governors Office task force on mass casualty events, K-12 and colleges, OGAs and NGOs, and the Maryland Center for School Safety. Shepherd assisted law enforcement groups in designing certified training on crisis incidents, large scale response, and leadership development.

Entering into duty with the FBI in 1998, he was assigned to the New York Field Office where he served on the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). In 2004, he transferred to the US Virgin Islands JTTF.  During this time he responded to and investigated threats, acts of terrorism, and conducted operations across NYC and throughout the Caribbean, including a member on the command posts, case squads, and case agent for the USS Cole bombing, NYC-based 9/11 attacks, and NY-based Anthrax locations.  

During his career, he was a member of the FBI HAZMAT team and Team Leader for the FBI BA-Tactical Maritime team, and FBI liaison to special events, including: US Navy Fleet Weeks and Blue Angels air shows (NYC, Annapolis, and Baltimore), 2001 MLB World Series and 2000 MLB victory parade, United Nations General Assembly (2000-2003), the NYC-based Grammy Awards, and 2010 Vancouver-based Olympic Games. 

In 2006, Shepherd was promoted to Supervisory Special Agent in the Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate (WMDD) at FBI Headquarters. There he led the development of WMD training programs for all FBI personnel and designed multi-jurisdictional training for state and local agencies which where hosted in the USVI, Boston, New Orleans, Seattle, Honolulu, and Guam.

A former Adjunct Instructor at the FBI Academy, he collaborated with both the New Agent Tranining and FBI National Academy Units on content and design.  Shepherd co-designed the FBI's 80 hour Basic HUMINT course with USIC members, and holds a Master’s Degree in Criminology.

Theodore J. (TJ) Wagner, Jr

Digital Forensic Examiner (DFE) 

FBI Baltimore

TJ Wagner, Jr. joined the FBI in 2021 as a Digital Forensic Examiner Trainee (DFET). After completing a training curriculum covering topics such as file systems, Windows forensics, and mobile device forensics, TJ received his Digital Forensic Examiner (DFE) Certification in 2022. 

Prior to joining the FBI, TJ earned his Bachelor of Science in Information Technology from New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in 2019, and his Master of Science in IT Administration and Security from NJIT in 2020.