Hg recently announced the promotion and hiring of three distinguished women to top leadership positions in the New Jersey-based firm: Rachel Kronenfeld, Director of Services; Christina McEvoy, Manager of Investigations; and Megan Munoz, Director of Education and Knowledge Management. With this announcement, Hg has joined hundreds of corporations and organizations in taking the ParityPLEDGE®, a public commitment to interview at least one qualified woman for every open VP, C-Suite, and Board position.

We are excited to share a new 3-part blog series, which introduces our readers to each of these women. Today, we talk with Megan Munoz, Director of Education and Knowledge Management.

Ms. Munoz joined the Hetherington Group in early 2022, serving as the Director of Education and Knowledge Management. She is an all-source intelligence analyst and instructor specializing in homeland security, law enforcement, counterterrorism, radicalization, curriculum development, and intelligence analysis. Ms. Munoz is tasked with the growth and success of Hetherington Group’s educational programs and the Knowledge Management Center, which houses several programs relating to the industry and investigations. She maintains a robust training and instruction curriculum, populated with information related to the industry, cyber investigations, and the intelligence tradecraft, designed to cultivate staff growth in subject specialization and development. She is also solely responsible for business development in the training and education realm, identifying leads, client and vender relations, and proposal writing. Finally, she is a master instructor, leading courses for federal, state, local, and private industries, both in-person and via online platforms.

In your words, what is your role at Hg?

I am primarily responsible for all the training, exercises, and education at Hetherington Group, both internally and externally, as well as developing business relationships in the training realm. This includes finding and working with potential clients and vendors and clients who either have tools that are useful for open source investigations or are in need of training. This means that I am consistently building curriculum, on the road teaching, developing our staff not only to be more efficient analysts and investigators, but also as instructors in this space. I consistently research and test tools and software that can be relevant to the tradecraft of open source investigations. I am also in charge of several special projects. One we are working on involves a tool that will assist greatly in international due diligence investigations. There is nothing like this on the market, so be on the lookout for that in 2023! I lead a team of fifteen individuals that are involved in these special projects and teach in-person and online.

What goals/contributions/projects are you excited for as it relates to your position in 2023?

Looking forward, I’m most excited to train our staff and partners on some of the new tools that have recently been released. This includes more work with international clients and exciting emerging markets like crypto, blockchain, and the metaverse. As technology evolves, at Hg we can be the tip of the spear in learning, using, and teaching about these technologies.

What is your favorite part about your role/ working at Hg?

I love being able to continue my development as an analyst and pass those skills on to our clients. Our investigations are focused on protecting people, property, and reputation; and it feels gratifying to be able to help individuals in their time of need. I also love how many different audiences and industries I get to teach these skills to. This ranges from homeland security and law enforcement all the way to the private industry, and everyone in between! At Hg, we have access to all the best tools the OSINT field has to offer, so I always feel like we are on the cutting edge of technology and can use that to help protect our clients, and larger society.

How has your past experience allowed you to succeed in your role at Hg? What makes you an expert?

My background in intelligence analysis and as an educator has transferred over well to my position as the Director of Education and Knowledge Management. I have been an analyst for 17 years and have been teaching professionally for more than a decade. At my previous employer, I led a training academy that instructed over 2,000 individuals annually in the tradecraft of intelligence. I fill a similar role at Hg; however, our audience is now many more industries and across the globe, instead of just in the Tri-state region. This means the reach I have is much greater.

In your shoes, what do you see as the biggest challenge in 2023 for your position and how do you plan on overcoming that?

As technology continues to advance—and as many of the spaces we investigate shift to more anonymous platforms—this presents special challenges for investigations. However, with the proper training and education, my staff and our clients can stay ahead of these threats.

Since the mid-1990’s, Hetherington Group has been rated in the top 5% of training events nation-wide. Over 180,000 investigators, security professionals, attorneys, accountants, auditors, military intelligence professionals, and federal, state, and local agencies as well as regional and international associations have been trained by Hg experts. Classes are offered on location, at conferences, and as webinars. Instruction is always targeted to the specific audience and need.

Below are a list of suggested classes that stand alone or can be combined and customized into a presentation that best suits your needs. Hg’s Seminars Catalogue is available for download here. Hg offers customized 1- and 2-day seminar packages:

All Hg training classes are approved as continuing professional education credits by ACFE, NASBA, DHS, LPF, SHRM, and ASIS.

Throughout the year, Hetherington Group also offers monthly live webinars on current investigative tactics involving social networks, search engines, due diligence, the dark web, and other related topics. Participants should have some basic experience of the topic, as all programs are offered at an intermediate level, unless otherwise noted.