Background and Accomplishments
FBI and U.S. Intelligence Community Experience
For 10+ years, Dr. Balenger influenced U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) policy and practices in psychological assessment; deployment support and other resiliency-building initiatives; and assessment and mitigation of insider threat and related risk.
In addition to the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) CTM designation, Dr. Balenger contributed to development of the Department of Defense (DoD) Counter-Insider Threat Professional certification program. She also successfully completed the competitive FBI Leadership Skills Assessment exam and the Partnership for Public Service Emerging Leaders Program.
Dr. Balenger's USIC contributions and accomplishments included:
* Conducting hundreds of behavioral assessments for Department of Defense
(DoD) to gauge violence risk and address mental health/substance-related
impairments that could affect operational security or workplace safety.
* Contributing to recent DoD training, awareness and policy initiatives
concerning violent extremist radicalization in active duty and contract
personnel.
* Providing extensive behavioral analyses for a larger Office of the Deputy
Director study of employee misconduct; results helped justify proposal to
reinstitute pre-employment psychological testing in the FBI.
* Developing and contributing to numerous insider threat training and
awareness products for the FBI and other partners including U.S. Department
of Justice, DoD Center for Development of Security Excellence (CDSE,
INT290.16), and Department of Homeland Security.
* Lead investigator for comprehensive 2018 study of security-related attitudes
and perceptions among FBI Honors Interns and new professional staff.
* Contributing to FBI and USIC working groups on violence indicators, EAP
confidentiality, psychological assessment, background investigations and
clearance adjudication, and development of the DoD Counter Insider Threat
Professional Certification process.
* Co-developing training modules on traumatic media exposure for Bureau-wide
introductory and intermediate courses on Open Source Intelligence (also
presented at the 2020 DoD Counter Insider Threat Social and Behavioral
* Providing individual and team-based critical incident support for FBI personnel
responding to mass shootings and other high-intensity operations.
* Leading FBI Post-Deployment Reintegration Seminars for personnel
returning from high threat OCONUS regions .
* Program managing and providing Safeguard psychological assessments for
hundreds of employees in covert or high traumatic exposure assignments (e.g.,
child pornography investigations, victim services, Indian Country).
Other Professional Experience
COPE EAP Counselor for NASA HQ/Goddard, District of Columbia Government, and Navy Federal Credit Union among other organizations.
> Trained and advised NASA's collateral duty Critical Incident Stress
Management (CISM) team.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission EAP Consultant (2001 - 2008).
> Provided comprehensive counseling, psychoeducational and leadership
training/consultation services for U.S. NRC Headquarters, Rockville MD.
George Mason University Sexual Assault Counselor, Clinical Training Coordinator, and National Coalition Building Institute/GMU Chapter Advisory Board Member (1993-2001).
> Developed award-winning Sexual Assault Support Program providing staff &
student leader response training, education/prevention, and clinical services
for victims and survivors of interpersonal violence.
Affiliations
ASIS International
Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP)
Federally Employed Women (FEW)
Partnership for Animal Welfare (PAW) board member & volunteer (2003 - 2023)
World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine
Education
PhD, Counseling Psychology, University of Maryland College Park
> APA-Accredited Internship, Howard University, Washington, DC
MA, Community Counseling, University of Maryland College Park
BA, Communication Arts, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA