Gary Shiffman, PhD

Gary M. Shiffman, Ph.D. brings passion, creativity, and scientific rigor to the mission of making the world a safer place. As a behavioral scientist, Dr. Shiffman focuses on the mathematical modeling of human behavior to understand illicit violence and coercive behaviors. In 2012, Dr. Shiffman founded Giant Oak (www.giantoak.com), a software company that brings government-funded research and development to U.S. national security professionals and compliance professionals in the financial services industry. He seeks to democratize advanced analytics so that organizations, regardless of size, can benefit from best practices in countering illicit activities. Dr. Shiffman teaches at Georgetown University and his second book, The Economics of Violence: How Behavioral Science Can Transform our View of Crime, Insurgency, and Terrorism is forthcoming in March 2020 from Cambridge University Press.

Dr. Shiffman’s past professional experiences have qualified him as an expert on the intersection of big data, business, national security, and social science. Prior to his work at Giant Oak, Dr. Shiffman served as Managing Director of the Chertoff Group, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Risk Management Solutions at L-3, and Chief of Staff at U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Additionally, Dr. Shiffman has served as a Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Senate Leadership, advised international law firms on anti-terrorism and homeland defense issues, and served in policy, planning, and operational positions in the U.S. Department of Defense.

Dr. Shiffman proudly served his country and is a decorated U.S. Navy Gulf War veteran. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics from George Mason University, his M.A. in Security Studies from Georgetown University, and his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Colorado.