November 22, 2024

175. A Retired National Security Advisor Speaks

58 minutes

Hedieh Mirahmadi shares her profound journey to understanding her identity, her faith, and her work in global politics. She and Virginia emphasize the importance of understanding the ideological underpinnings of extremism and the need for a moral compass in navigating today's chaotic world. They discuss the importance of reconciliation and unity in a divided world, emphasizing the transformative power of God in their own lives and the lives of others. The dialogue highlights the need for understanding and addressing the underlying spiritual and moral issues that affect individuals and society as a whole.

Hedieh Mirahmadi has had a national security career spanning over two decades, serving as a senior advisor to FBI headquarters, a political officer in the US Embassy in Afghanistan, and a visiting scholar to some of Washington D.C.'s most prominent think tanks. Mirahmadi also serves as general counsel to a healthcare services enterprise generating over $3 million in annual revenue, managing legal and administrative affairs for 26 employees across five service locations. She has held top secret, Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance while working as a contractor for the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 2015 to 2017. During this time, she provided subject matter expertise to develop a national FBI program aimed at preventing terrorism, particularly for individuals with social emotional disturbances, and collaborated with field agents, intelligence analysts and local law enforcement to implement a pilot program across 10 FBI field offices as the founder, president and general counsel of the World Organization for resource development and Education. Mirahmadi transformed the organization from its inception into a trusted federal partner in terrorism and violence prevention. Her leadership resulted in securing millions of dollars in US government grants to create the first evidence based coalition of over 300 public and private partners focused on public safety and terrorism prevention, a model replicated in several US jurisdictions. She developed training content and provided in person instruction to over 1000 law enforcement officers, public health workers and community members across more than a dozen jurisdictions, introducing innovative behavioral threat assessment tools and protocols to assess risks of suicidal or homicidal violence. Additionally, she established the first nationally recognized social services agency dedicated to assisting at risk immigrant families, serving over 100 families. Mirahmadi has briefed senior U.S. officials, including former Vice President Cheney, President Obama, members of Congress and senior leaders of intelligence agencies such as the Director of National Intelligence and the FBI. She has also testified before the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate on issues related to national security. Her experience extends to influential think tanks, where she served as a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Stein program on counter terrorism and intelligence, authoring policy briefs and organizing forums that included White House officials and law enforcement. At the American Enterprise Institute, she managed programs on political Islam and global security, publishing research and hosting policy forums. In 2004, she served as a senior advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, where she provided expertise on creating community based programs to counter Islamist extremist recruitment. Mirahmadi holds a doctorate from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts in History from UCLA. She is a licensed member of the California State Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, and the American Bar Association. As founder and president of Resurrect Ministry, she created a non-denominational digital Christian platform to promote spiritual engagement and healing through an online experience. She also serves on the board of the California Parent Alliance, providing legal counsel to support educational initiatives that protect public school children from harmful ideologies and mandates. Her extensive publication record includes numerous articles and co-authored reports on counter terrorism, community resilience and policy strategies to counter violent extremism featured in prestigious journals and government reports.

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