Matthew W. Doherty

Senior Vice President

Assessing the potential for danger and preventing targeted violence against our nation’s leaders, national critical infrastructures and events has been the cornerstone of Matthew W. Doherty’s career in law enforcement. As the retired U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge of the National Threat Assessment Center, Doherty brings over 24 years of experience leading law enforcement, protective intelligence programs and investigations in the prevention of violence by developing and enhancing methodologies with national security priorities and defining the front lines of America’s best practice-based approach to threat assessment.

Doherty’s reputation as one of this nation’s leading experts – on threat assessment pertaining to assassination, school violence, judicial threats, information sharing and protective intelligence investigations – is based on a stellar career. He has managed training on threat assessment and targeted violence prevention for over 70,000 federal, state and local law enforcement personnel. He has created the first information-sharing database (TAVISS) for the prevention of violence against protected officials, including the U.S. President, Vice-President, cabinet secretaries and governors. He has developed and supervised numerous research projects on targeted violence including the Secret Service partnerships with Carnegie Mellon University for the Insider Threat Study (ITS) and with Harvard University and the Department Education for the Bystander Study. Frequently called on to testify as an expert before Congress, Doherty has also routinely briefed the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Justice Department and members of Congress on threat assessment methodologies.

Additional highlights of Doherty’s career in the Secret Service include providing daily briefs for U.S. Presidential and Vice Presidential Protective Divisions on threat investigations, and coordinating some of our nation’s most critical protective intelligence investigations. On Capitol Hill, Doherty not only coordinated and supervised all visits by the President, Vice President and heads of states; he also coordinated all threat cases involving Members of Congress, Supreme Court Justices and Secret Service protectees. In October of 2000, he was assigned the task of creating the newly established Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center.

Doherty has received numerous awards and commendations including Treasury and Homeland Security Departments for Exceptional Service; U.S. Marshal Service Directors Award for assisting in developing their Threat Assessment Program; U.S. Capitol Police Chiefs Award for assisting in developing their Threat Assessment Program; the Department of Defense’s Counter Intelligence Field Activity Directors Award for developing joint partnership terrorism training with the Secret Service; a commendation from U.S. Senator Grassley for Exceptional Service in regards to Senate Judiciary investigations; and a commendation for the Oklahoma City Bombing Investigation.

Featured in numerous magazines, newspapers and television news media for major articles on insider threats, assassinations and school shootings, Doherty also serves on two Advisory Boards; the U.S. Marshal Service Judicial Threats Center and the U.S. Capitol Police Threat Assessment Section. At the same time, he is a consultant with the National Institute of Justice Native American Law Enforcement Program and serves as a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals. He holds a Top Secret Security Clearance.