As ROC continues to scale its American-made Vision AI platform across national security and public safety, mission-side leadership has never been more important. Dr. Kathleen Kiernan’s background aligns directly with ROC’s mandate: building trusted, sovereign Vision AI for the agencies and operators responsible for some of the world’s most demanding environments.

A Strategic Addition to ROC’s Board

ROC has appointed Dr. Kathleen Kiernan, a nationally recognized leader in federal law enforcement, homeland security, intelligence, and biometric identity technology, to its Board of Directors. Her appointment strengthens ROC’s Board with the mission-side perspective needed to guide trusted, American-made Vision AI into high-consequence environments and support ROC’s efforts to close gaps in sovereign AI and national security infrastructure.

“Kathleen understands critical mission environments where national security, law enforcement, and public safety converge. Her experience will help guide ROC as we scale our technologies across agencies operating in some of the world’s most demanding environments. At a time when American-made identity intelligence is increasingly critical to national security, Kathleen’s guidance will ensure ROC continues to build technology worthy of the missions it supports.”

B. Scott Swann
Board Member & CEO of ROC

Read the official press release

Leadership in National Security Decision-Making

Dr. Kiernan’s career spans nearly three decades of federal law enforcement and national security leadership. She previously served as Assistant Director for the Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information at the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, where she led intelligence-driven strategies across explosives, firearms, illegal tobacco diversion, and terrorism. She was also deeply involved with the Intelligence Community and served as ATF’s representative to the Counterterrorism Center at the Central Intelligence Agency.

Dr. Kiernan is also a recognized expert in strategic thinking, strategy development, and critical incident management exercises across government and private sector organizations. She has pioneered several approaches to complex national-level issues, bringing a practical understanding of how organizations prepare for, respond to, and make decisions during high-stakes events.

Her work has consistently focused on the environments where intelligence, preparedness, and operational decision-making matter most. That experience extends into the private sector as well. As former President of NEC National Security Systems, Dr. Kiernan helped federal government customers address mission-critical challenges through biometric identity, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computer vision solutions. For ROC, that combination of operational experience and technology leadership is especially relevant.

“ROC has established its position as the leading American-built Vision AI technology and is poised to make a crucial contribution to the U.S. national security framework. I am eager to contribute insights from my tenure in the government and the biometrics space to support the Company’s growth objectives, broaden awareness of its differentiated biometrics-driven identity and intelligence capabilities, and help create long-term value for shareholders.”

Dr. Kathleen Kiernan
Board Member, ROC

Advancing Identity Intelligence for America

ROC believes identity intelligence is too important to outsource. This belief shapes how we build, test, and deploy our technology, from the missions we take on, to our Code of Ethics and Standards and Testing. ROC’s platform is designed to support the agencies, operators, and partners responsible for protecting people, infrastructure, borders, and criminal investigations. Dr. Kiernan’s appointment reinforces that mission at a time when sovereign technology has become a core requirement for national security readiness.

Her background sits at the intersection of the same priorities shaping ROC’s growth: national security, biometric identity, intelligence operations, public safety, and trusted AI adoption. She understands both the operational stakes and the strategic importance of deploying technology that can be trusted in high-consequence operations.

With clear demand for interoperable biometric and Vision AI capabilities, ROC is focused on helping customers move from fragmented systems to unified intelligence workflows that support faster, more informed decisions.

What This Means for ROC

Dr. Kiernan joins ROC at a pivotal stage of growth, as we continue expanding our American-made Vision AI platform across national security, public safety, national identity, and digital evidence programs. Her appointment strengthens ROC’s Board with leadership grounded in:

  • Federal law enforcement and homeland security operations
  • Intelligence-driven strategy and critical incident preparedness
  • Strategic planning and critical incident management across government agencies 
  • Public- and private-sector national security technology adoption
  • Trusted technology deployment in high-consequence environments
  • Sovereign AI and national security infrastructure modernization 

Together, these experiences align closely with ROC’s long-term strategy: advancing sovereign Vision AI that unifies biometrics, video analytics, and decision intelligence for the missions where accuracy, trust, and speed matter most.

As agencies look to modernize critical systems without increasing dependency on foreign or fragmented technology, ROC is building the identity intelligence infrastructure needed to support the next generation of national security operations.

About Dr. Kathleen Kiernan

Dr. Kathleen Kiernan is a nationally recognized expert in federal law enforcement, homeland security, intelligence, biometric identity technology, and critical incident management. Career highlights include:

  • Former President and Executive Advisor of NEC National Security Systems
  • Founder and CEO of Kiernan Group Holdings, a women-owned global consulting firm specializing in intelligence, law enforcement, and national security
  • 29-year veteran of federal law enforcement
  • Former Assistant Director for the Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information at the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
  • ATF representative to the Counterterrorism Center at the Central Intelligence Agency
  • Active member of Business Executives for National Security
  • Member of the Verizon First Responder Advisory Committee and the Center for Advanced Red Teaming at SUNY Albany
  • Adjunct faculty member at the Johns Hopkins School of Education and the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School
  • Developer of several trademarked approaches to complex national-level issues, including Fuciferi Versuiti®, PWP®, and G.O.T. Preparedness®

Dr. Kiernan holds a Doctorate in Education from Northern Illinois University, a Master of Science in Strategic Intelligence from the Joint Military Intelligence College, and a Master of Arts in International Transactions from George Mason University.