Critical Thinking for Strategic Intelligence

Katherine Hibbs Pherson, Chief Executive Officer of Pherson Associates, LLC, consults with government and private industry on building strong analytic communities and security issues. As Vice Chair of the Intelligence and National Security Association (INSA)'s Security Policy Reform Council, she was primary drafter of its white paper titled "Next Steps for Security Reform: Industry Proposals to Enhance Efficiency and Reduce Costs in National Security Contracts." Ms. Pherson retired from the CIA in 2000 after a twenty-seven-year career in intelligence and security analysis and resource management. As head of the Director of Central Intelligence's Center for Security Evaluation, she managed the IC's involvement in rebuilding the penetrated US Embassy in Moscow. She is a recipient of the CIA's Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal and the Intelligence Community's National Distinguished Service Medal. She received her AB from Vassar College, and MAs from the University of Illinois and the University of Oklahoma. 

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Randolph H. Pherson, CEO of Globalytica, LLC, teaches advanced analytic techniques and critical thinking skills to analysts in the government and private sector. He coauthored Structured Analytic Techniques for Intelligence Analysis with Richards J. Heuer Jr. and has written twelve other books on analytic tradecraft. Mr. Pherson completed a twenty-eight-year career in the US Intelligence Community in 2000, last serving as National Intelligence Officer (NIO) for Latin America. Previously at the CIA, Mr. Pherson managed the production of intelligence analysis on topics ranging from global instability to Latin America, served on the Inspector General's staff, and was chief of the CIA's Strategic Planning and Management Staff. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Intelligence Medal for his service as NIO and the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal. He received his BA from Dartmouth College and MA in International Relations from Yale University.