Dr. Jennifer L.  Hesterman Author of Evaluating Organization Development
FEATURED AUTHOR

Dr. Jennifer L. Hesterman

Counterterrorism Expert

Dr. Hesterman is an expert on international and domestic terrorist organizations, transnational threats, organized crime and the terror-crime nexus. She performs operational research on terrorist exploitation of the Internet through social networking, nonbank, Internet auction and Dark Web sites. She is also a consultant on soft target vulnerabilities and hardening tactics. An explorer, Dr. Hesterman climbed Mt Kilimanjaro (2017) and stood at both the South Pole (2018) and the North Pole (2019).

Biography

Dr. Jennifer Hesterman, Colonel, U.S. Air Force (retired), served in three Pentagon tours, and commanded in the field multiple times during her distinguished military career. Her last assignment was Vice Commander at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, where she was responsible for installation security, force support, and the 1st Helicopter Squadron, and regularly escorted the President and other heads of State on the ramp. Her decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters and the Global War on Terror medal.

She holds a doctoral degree from Benedictine University, Master of Science degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Air University, and a Bachelor of Science from Penn State University. In 2003, she was a National Defense Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. where she immersed herself in a year-long study of the nexus between organized crime and international terrorism. Her resulting book won the 2004 Air Force research prize and was published by AU Press. She is also a 2006 alumnus of the Harvard Senior Executive Fellows program.

Since her retirement in 2007, Dr. Hesterman continued serving as a cleared professional, studying international and domestic terrorist organizations, transnational threats, and organized crime. She is one of very few analysts specializing in the terror-crime nexus, detecting the liaising, sharing or mirroring of operational tactics and financing methods between groups. Dr. Hesterman performs operational research on terrorist exploitation of the Internet through social networking, nonbank, Internet auction and Dark Web sites. She is also a consultant on soft target vulnerabilities and hardening tactics for schools, churches, hospitals and malls. Dr. Hesterman instructs and designs courses for federal government law enforcement and security organizations. She advises the Homeland Security Training Institute at the College of DuPage and the Crisis Response Journal. She previously served as a senior fellow at the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at George Washington University, on the Homeland Security and Emergent Threats panel.

An academic author for Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, her recent book, Soft Target Hardening: Protecting People from Attack (2nd Edition), was selected by ASIS as the Security Industry Book of the Year (2019) and the Social Sciences Book of the Year (2019) by Taylor and Francis. The first edition was also the ASIS as the Security Industry Book of the Year for 2015.  She also authored The Terrorist-Criminal Nexus: An Alliance of International Drug Cartels, Organized Crime, and Terror Groups (Taylor and Francis/CRC Press, 2013) and Soft Targets and Crisis Management: What Emergency Planners and Security Professionals Need to Know (Taylor and Francis/CRC Press,2016).  
Dr. Hesterman is a sought after speaker, with over 50 keynote and guest speaking events since 2007, including several venues abroad.


Education

    MS, Operational Art and Science, Air University, US Air Force
    BS, Geography, emphasis in Remote Sense, Penn State
    Doctorate, Higher Education and Organizational Change, Benedictine University, Chicago
    MS, Applied Behavioral Science, emphasis in Organizational Development, Johns Hopkins University
    Senior Executive Fellow, Harvard
    National Defense Fellow, CSIS

Areas of Research / Professional Expertise

    International Terrorist Organizations; Transnational Organized Crime & Threats; Terror Financing; Domestic Terrorism; Threat Nexus; Soft Target Hardening; Terrorist and Criminal Exploitation of the Internet and Social Networking Websites; Leader Development for Intelligence, Law Enforcement and Military Communities; Online Security Instruction

Personal Interests

    Adventure travel, outdoor sports, rucking.

Books

Featured Title
 Featured Title - Soft Target Hardening 2e - 1st Edition book cover

Photos

News

Made it to the North Pole!

By: Dr. Jennifer L. Hesterman

Enjoyed an incredible 2 week trip on a Russian nuclear icebreaker in the Arctic Circle in June, 2019 - achieved the North Pole on June 18th at 0245.

Release of Soft Target Hardening: Protecting People from Attack, 2nd edition

By: Dr. Jennifer L. Hesterman
Subjects: Disaster Planning & Recovery , Emergency Response, Homeland Security

The second edition of Soft Target Hardening: Protecting People from Attack was released on December 17, 2018 and is available for purchase here: 

https://www.crcpress.com/Soft-Target-Hardening-Protecting-People-from-Attack/Hesterman/p/book/9781138391109

Please buy a copy, read it, and pass along to a school principal, church leader, hospital administrator, or anyone responsible for securing a soft target venue or mass gathering.

Thank you and stay safe!

Jenni

Soft Target Hardening Second Edition in 2018!

By: Dr. Jennifer L. Hesterman

With 14 new case studies on major terrorist attacks agains soft targets since 2014; update on terrorist groups and tactics such as use of vehicles into crowds and UAVS as weapons delivery platforms; new section on cyber hardening; soft target hardening academic curriculum with syllabus; and fresh, cutting edge ideas about hardening, including the use of deception tactics. Learned so much consulting with soft target venues in the last 3 years - excited to get this book out to churches, schools, malls, hospitals, sporting and recreational venues, hotels, businesses, and the transportation realm.

Another great cover from the design experts at CRC Press!

By: Dr. Jennifer L. Hesterman
Subjects: Forensics & Criminal Justice, Homeland Security

Love the cover for my latest book, due out December 12, 2014!

Video - I'm at 1:09!

By: Dr. Jennifer L. Hesterman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VnT9wrF3A5Q

Upon watching this video, my teenage daugter exclaimed "Momma, you're a subject matter expert?" Ah, yes. #candomorethanjustlaundry

Links to my 16 magazine articles on counterterrorism and security issues

By: Dr. Jennifer L. Hesterman
Subjects: Homeland Security

I have been on the staff of the Counter Terrorist magazine since its inception. We take strategic level thought and translate it into tactical level, actionable intelligence for law enforcement, analysts and military personnel.  I write on demand, since all topics in the security realm are of interest. Enjoy!

Red Hackers, the Eagle Union, and Unit 61398, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, February 2014, pages 57-67

Money Laundering in Real Estate, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, December 2013, pages 56-67

The Brothers’ Circle: Russian Criminal Network Spans The Globe, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, October 2013, pages 48-55

Hezbollah Advises the Mexican Cartels? The Counter Terrorist Magazine, February 2013, pages 60-66

Los Zetas Cartel Case Study, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, April 2012, pages 20-28

Internal Repression in Syria, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, December 2011, pages 47-56

North Korean Adventures in Unconventional Operations, Cover Story, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, December 2010

Mexican Crime Cartels Cross the Border, Cover Story, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, October 2010, pages 32-44

Cyber Vigilantes: Citizens Hackers Go to War, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, August 2010, pages 60-66

Catch and Release: Terrorist Recidivism, Cover Story, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, April 2010, pages 32-45.

Unsafe Harbor: Nefarious Use of Social Networking Sites, CTO Forum Magazine, India, March, 2010

Hezbollah, Party of God: 2009, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, December 2009, pages 46-53.

China vs. Islam, Cover Story, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, August, 2009, pages 26-41.

Mexican Drug War Spilling Across the Border, Cover Story, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, June, 2009, pages 26-38.

Gangs, Organized Crime, and Terrorist Groups: At the Crossroads, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, February, 2009, pages 28-33.

How Terrorists and Criminals Exploit E-Commerce, The Counter Terrorist Magazine,  September, 2008, pages 34-40