Corporate Officers
IAFIE President
Dr. Craig W. Gruber
American University
Early Life and Education: Dr. Craig W. Gruber, a native of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, began his distinguished career by earning a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from American University. He subsequently completed a Master’s in Administration and a Graduate Certificate in School Administration from Johns Hopkins University. Pursuing further academic excellence, he engaged in graduate studies at the University of Cumbria and Lancaster University in the UK before earning his Ph.D. in Social Psychology with an emphasis on developmental issues in cognition and decision-making from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. Additionally, he completed the Joint Services Advanced Command and Staff College (UK) - Advanced Command and Staff Course (Reserves).
Civilian Career: Dr. Gruber is a Research Associate Professor at American University, where he also serves as the Lab Chief and Principal Investigator of the Decision Sciences Lab. His previous roles include Associate Vice President for Innovation Campus Programs and Research Associate Professor at Northeastern University, where he also held various directorial positions overseeing the Master of Arts in Homeland Security, Strategic Intelligence and Analysis, Criminal Justice, and Geospatial Services programs. He has also held adjunct and teaching positions at Mount Ida College, Gettysburg College, and several other academic institutions.
In his academic career, Dr. Gruber has been instrumental in developing significant academic programs, including the MA in Homeland Security, the Graduate Certificate in Port Security, and the MA in Strategic Intelligence and Analysis. He has initiated and developed partnerships with prominent institutions and organizations globally, enhancing the educational and research footprint of his institutions.
Military Career: Lieutenant Commander Craig W. Gruber commissioned into the Navy Reserve in 2008 through the Direct Commissioned Officer program. He has served in various capacities, including as the production report officer at the Office of Naval Intelligence and supporting the Chief of Naval Operations' Strategic Studies Group. His assignments have taken him to the Office of Naval Intelligence detachment in Newport, RI, JICCENT at Fort Devens, MA, and Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, among others.
Currently, LCDR Gruber serves as Chief of Staff and Deputy Officer-In-Charge of the Indications and Warnings Cell for the White House Military Office. His previous military roles include Flag Aide to the DIA’s Director of Military and Mobilization Affairs, Executive Officer of NR DIA HQ 0501, and several leadership positions at NR Cryptologic Warfare Group Six and other units. His military decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, and multiple other personal and unit awards.
Publications and Editorial Work: Dr. Gruber is an accomplished author and editor, contributing extensively to the fields of psychology, intelligence, and national security. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of Theoretical Psychology and has edited and co-edited several influential books, including Fostering Innovation in the Intelligence Community and The Theory of Statistics in Psychology. His articles have been published in various esteemed journals, addressing topics from surveillance in the intelligence community to leadership and innovation in national security organizations.
Honors and Awards: Dr. Gruber's work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Cal Catterall Award from the International School Psychology Association and the Eastern Region Research Teacher Award from Psi Beta National Honor Society. He has been nominated for several teaching awards and has received multiple commendations for his contributions to education and psychology.
IAFIE Vice President
Ms. Katherine Hibbs Pherson
CEO, Globalytica
CEO, VEXAS Global Foundation
Co-Founder and Consultant, Pherson Associates
Kathy Pherson teaches advanced analytic techniques and critical thinking skills to analysts in government, academia, and the private sector and consults to the government on planning, security, and analysis projects. She and Randy Pherson are co-authors of Critical Thinking for Strategic Intelligence, 3rd ed. (2021). She serves as vice chair of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance’s (INSA) Security Policy Reform Council and supports the US Government’s Trusted Workforce 2.0 (TW 2.0) transformation initiative.
Ms. Pherson in 2000 completed a 27-year career with CIA in intelligence and security analysis and resource management. Her leadership in security led to the adoption of a risk management methodology, strengthening and implementation of overseas security countermeasures, and improvements in dealing with unsolicited contacts. Ms. Pherson holds MA degrees in Spanish Linguistics and Latin American Studies and in Communications and is a recipient of CIA's Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal and the Intelligence Community’s National Distinguished Service Medal.
IAFIE Vice President, Membership
Mr. Robin Lobb
Georgian College, Canada
Robin Lobb is president of Zeroes & Ones Inc (Zoinc). He has served on numerous boards of directors and lectured at several universities and colleges over 30 years, including teaching in the research analyst and big data graduate programs at Georgian College. He currently serves as chair of the program advisory committees for the graduate programs in big data, AI and mobile app development. Work includes consulting on the Urban Flashpoints project at the CIA and lectures on the future of intelligence as it relates to big data, AI and quantum computing. He has been working on membership development at IAFIE since 2023.
IAFIE Treasurer
Dr. Charles Gallagher
Boston College
Charles R. Gallagher, S.J., is Professor of History at Boston College. His book Vatican Secret Diplomacy: Joseph P. Hurley and Pope Pius XII (New Haven: Yale UP, 2008) won the American Catholic Historical Association’s John Gilmary Shea Prize. Nazis of Copley Square: The Forgotten Story of the Christian Front was published by Harvard University Press and won a 2022 Catholic Media Association Book Award in History. He studies and writes on the intersection of intelligence and religion, religion and right-wing movements, the Holocaust, and Vatican diplomacy. Gallagher will hold the Francis C. Wade Chair at Marquette University in 2024-2025.
IAFIE Secretary
Dr. Sabrina Magris
École Universitaire Internationale, Italy
President of École Universitaire Internationale, Research and Higher Education Institute in Peace and Security studies based in Rome, Italy. She is recognized international lecturer in Operational Intelligence, Counterterrorism, Hostage Negotiation, Psychological Operations, Strategic Communication. She is NATO Subject Matter Expert. She is Military Intelligence trainer and She developed and authored classified
She is European Security and Defence College (European Union Institutional body) Subject Matter Expert and serves as Course Director. She is CEPOL (The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training) Subject Matter Expert and serves as Course Director. She has been in charge for international training implementation for EUROPOL. She has been appointed as Conference Chair for the 2022 IAFIE Joint-Conference organized in Treviso, Italy brining together the most important Intelligence Authorities from Europe and US.She is Editorial Advisor of International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence (USA) and Member of the Scientific Committee of the Romanian Intelligence Studies Review (Romania).