INSTRUCTORS

Your instructors for the course will be Luke Bencie, Nick Waugh, and Sarah Bencie.

LUKE BENCIE is the Managing Director of Security Management International (SMI) and the author of seven books on security, including “The CARVER Mindset: How to Think Like a Spy!” Mr. Bencie has been a consultant to the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Defense, Fortune 500 companies, as well as foreign governments. He has worked in over 100 countries and has trained thousands of police, intelligence and military officers in the U.S. and abroad in the fields of counterterrorism, counterintelligence and security strategy. Prior to establishing SMI, Mr. Bencie was a senior security consultant for Raytheon Company in the Intelligence and Information Systems Division. Mr. Bencie previously served as a representative from the CIA's Office of Special Activities on the U.S. Department of State's Foreign Emergency Support Team. In this capacity, he was responsible for immediately responding to terrorist attacks carried out against U.S. targets overseas; subsequently serving in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and other global hotspots.

NICK WAUGH, CPP, PSP has over 20 years' experience with conducting intelligence activities, performing law enforcement/security/anti-terrorism operations and leading surveillance efforts. Nick’s prior assignments within the intelligence/security field include serving as the Director of Security for the Counter-Unmanned Aerial System (C-UAS) Program Office, Director of Security for the Army Fixed Wing Project Office, Deputy Director of Security for the Joint Attack Munitions System (JAMS) Project Office, and Anti-Terrorism Officer for the U.S. Army 59th Ordnance Brigade. Prior to federal service, Nick served as a sworn police officer and was responsible for leading undercover operations, conducting criminal investigations, field training new officers and conducting monthly crime watch meetings to collect/share intelligence.

JENNI HESTERMAN retired as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. Her last assignment was Vice Commander at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, where she led installation security, including security for Air Force One, base support, and the 1st Helicopter Squadron. She regularly escorted POTUS and other heads of state on the ramp. After retiring in 2007, she began working as a cleared contractor, studying international and domestic terrorist organizations, transnational threats, organized crime and the terrorist and criminal exploitation of the Internet. She currently consults on security strategy to both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB). She holds a doctoral degree from Benedictine University, master of science degrees from both Johns Hopkins University and Air University, and a bachelor of science from Penn State University. She was a National Defense Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. where she studied the terror-crime nexus, and was a senior fellow at the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at George Washington University. She is an alumnus of the Harvard Senior Executive Fellows program. An award-winning author, her book Soft Target Hardening: Protecting People from Attack, was the ASIS Security Industry Book of the Year in 2015.

 SARAH BENCIE is the majority owner and Managing Partner of Security Management International. She oversees all day-to-day operations of the firm, as well as manages private sector and foreign government projects. Prior to investing in SMI, she operated her own successful consulting firm in Manhattan for over a decade, to include having an online presence of 2.5 million followers per month. In 2020, she was named one of Success Magazine's Top Female Small Business Leaders. She is a graduate of Haverford College.

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