Dr. Karie Gibson
ABOUT
Licensed Psychologist. Certified FBI Profiler. FBI Supervisory Special Agent (Retired). A career spent learning what moves a person toward violence and what can move them away from it.
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Karie Gibson has spent more than twenty years at the frontier of violence prevention. A licensed psychologist and a certified FBI Profiler, she most recently served as Unit Chief of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit-1 (BAU-1), where she led the Behavioral Threat Assessment Center (BTAC) and a national team dedicated to preventing terrorism and targeted violence.
Over her career she has personally deployed to mass-casualty events, led post-attack analyses to understand what drives offenders to choose violence, and helped mitigate threats against elected officials, professional sports organizations, and high-profile corporate executives. She has briefed the U.S. Congress two times, provided expert testimony in state and federal courts, co-authored several of the nation's foundational violence-prevention resources, and personally trained more than 50,000 safety stakeholders across the United States and around the world.
Now, as she transitions from federal service, Dr. Gibson brings that same rigor and humanity to organizations, audiences, and leaders in the private sector — as a speaker, trainer, consultant, and expert voice on the prevention of targeted violence.
Dr. Gibson is committed to the mission of helping others, which many times involves finding solutions to complex, multifaceted problem sets.
CAREER TIMELINE
October 2026 - Present
Adjunct Faculty, University of Virginia (UVA)
Develops curriculum and case-based teaching in critical incident analysis, forensic psychology, and behavioral threat assessment. Contributing member of the UVA School of Medicine's Critical Incident Analysis Group (CIAG), which turns research on violence, terrorism, and mass casualty events into prevention, response, and recovery practice.
October 2026 – Present
Chief Executive Officer, Twin Oaks Consulting, LLC
Combines behavioral threat expertise, clinical psychology, and digital risk analysis to help organizations reduce risk from high-concern individuals and situations — partnering with security, HR, legal, and leadership teams on practical mitigation and decision support.
2021 – 2026
Unit Chief, FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit-1
Led a 20+ member elite team and the Behavioral Threat Assessment Center (BTAC), delivering operational support and training to law enforcement and partners nationally and internationally.
2015 – 2021
Supervisory Special Agent, FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit-1
BTAC Lead and certified FBI Profiler (2016). Threat assessment, threat management, and completed behavioral analysis across counterterrorism and targeted violence cases.
2007 – 2015
Special Agent, FBI Minneapolis / Joint Terrorism Task Force
Counterterrorism investigations, crisis negotiation, and sworn testimony in U.S. Federal Court.
2005 – 2006
Forensic Evaluator, State of Washington
Court-ordered evaluations — competency to stand trial, mental state at time of offense, and civil commitment.
2002 – 2005
Chief of Psychological Services, U.S. Air Force (Captain)
Clinical care and high-stakes psychological and security-clearance assessments for a military installation of roughly 12,000 personnel.
ADVISORY ROLES & EXPERT PANELS
Beyond her operational career, Dr. Gibson is repeatedly invited by governments, international security networks, and professional standards bodies to help shape how the field prevents violence. These independent advisory roles reflect a reputation — and a level of trust — that reaches well beyond any single institution.
SHARING POLICY AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL
Counterterrorism Preparedness Network (CTPN) — London, UK (2026). Selected as an independent reviewer of the CTPN's 2026 Annual Report, advising a network of global cities on counterterrorism readiness.
EU High Risk Security Network (HRSN) — Lisbon, Portugal (2024). Invited into the European working group that helps more than 40 countries strengthen preparedness against terrorism and mass violence at high-risk public spaces.
DHS / NCITE BTAM Expert Forum — Washington, DC (2024). Contributed to the National Threat Evaluation and Reporting expert working group developing national guidance on how to establish and sustain behavioral threat assessment across sectors.
Texas Governor's Safety Commission — Austin, TX (2019). One of just 26 experts convened by Governor Greg Abbott after the El Paso attack to build the state's action plan against domestic terrorism and targeted violence. Dr. Gibson advised on the role of threat assessment and management in prevention.
ADVISING GOVERNMENT & LAW ENFORCEMENT LEADERS
Minnesota Governor's Safety Council (2026) · Tri-City Police Chiefs, Columbus, OH (2026, 2024) · Preventing Terrorism & Targeted Violence Seminar, Houston (2019) — helped contribute to the first national implementation guide adopted for the Major Cities Chiefs Association.
ADVANCING PRACTICE INTERNATIONALLY
Queensland Police Service — Brisbane, Australia (2025). Invited to lead a delegation abroad and taught a 40-hour Behavioral Threat Assessment & Management course, helping QPS build a renewed national capability to prevent terrorism and targeted violence.
SETTING PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS
ASIS Workplace Violence Prevention & Intervention (WVPI) Standard — Technical Committee member (2025-2026). Named to the technical committee updating the ASIS International standard that guides how organizations worldwide prevent and respond to workplace violence.
EDUCATION
Psy.D., Clinical Psychology (Forensic concentration)
Minnesota School of Professional Psychology, 2002
M.A., Clinical Psychology
Minnesota School of Professional Psychology, 2000
B.A., Psychology
University of Minnesota, Morris, 1997
CERTIFICATIONS
Certified FBI Criminal Profiler
FBI Certified Instructor (Behavioral Analysis, Terrorism, Violent Crimes)
Insider Threat Program Manager — Carnegie Mellon University
LICENSURE
Licensed Clinical Psychologist — Virginia & Minnesota
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Behavioral Threat Assessment & Management
Insider risk and workplace violence prevention
High-risk terminations & safe separations
Crisis management & de-escalation
Executive & public-figure threat mitigation
Interviewing High-Concern Individuals
Mental health & violence risk
Stalking & fixation
Post-incident review
SELECTED
RECOGNITION
FBI Medal of Excellence — Exceptional Performance Award (2025, 2019)
Domestic Security Alliance Council (DSAC) Distinguished Achievement Award (2024)
Attorney General's Award for Excellence in Furthering U.S. National Security (2013)
The Millon Prize for excellence in Clinical Personality Studies (2002)