Meet The Advisors
Kenneth Rooks
Mr. Rooks is a 25 1/2-year veteran of the U.S. Secret Service. Aside from serving on the President's Protective Detail and his expertise in security risk management, he also was a manager in training and recruitment. He has mentored numerous agents, helping and supporting young agents navigating their careers.
​
Mr. Rooks retired from the Secret Service in 2021, and is now an Assistant Vice President in a private healthcare company.
Aurelia Fedenisn
Aurelia served as a special agent with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security for 26 years. She was assigned to the Ivory Coast, Germany, Singapore and Pakistan as a security attaché, responsible for all aspects of the embassy and personnel security.
Since January 2013, Aurelia has served with RTI International, a Non-Government Organization (NGO) that has operations in more than 50 countries.
Richard Figueroa
Richard is a trailblazer and has over 30 years in several capacities including as a Foreign Service Officer and an Advisor after retiring from the State Department. He has a wealth of knowledge in political policies and foreign policies, and EEO law.
​
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Richard received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and a Juris Doctor from Columbia University School of Law.
Kenneth Rooks
Throughout his 25 1/2-year career, Kenneth Rooks has excelled as an expert in security risk management, emergency preparedness and investigations. Today, Kenneth is an Assistant Vice President for Atrium Health’s Executive Protection Program. Kenneth will successfully lead this program through his wealth of domestic and international experience in security best practices, threat assessments, emergency preparedness and crisis management.
Through careful evaluation of risk drivers, Kenneth has been able to thoughtfully develop strategies, organizational structures, policies, technology integration and training requirements that have helped enhance Atrium Health’s security and safety program and build an Executive Protection Program from the ground up.
Kenneth’s record is one of consistent accomplishments in leadership and management while safeguarding national security interests. Prior to joining Atrium Health, he served as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Protective Intelligence Division. From 1995 to 2021, Kenneth served in a variety of leadership and management roles at the U.S. Secret Service. As an Assistant Special Agent in Charge his duties included recommending security action plans to improve efficiency and effectiveness; evaluating protective operations and behavioral threat assessment investigations; directing highly sensitive and confidential domestic and internal investigations; and overseeing the wide-ranging investigative responsibilities of one of the country’s premier law enforcement agencies.
As a manager in the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, Kenneth oversaw and coordinated logistics for a wide array of criminal and behavioral threat investigation cases and protective functions ranging from the 2016 dedication of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, 2015 visit of Pope Francis to Washington, D.C. and in 2014 the field office Crisis Management supervisor during the security breach of the White House by a fence jumper.
Kenneth served on the Presidential Protective Division from 2000 to 2005, in positions in which he conducted numerous domestic and international facility and residence surveys and protective advances for the President. He also handled security arrangements for the 2003 eleventh APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.
Kenneth received his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
Aurelia Fedenisn
Since January 2013, Aurelia has served with RTI International, a Non-Government Organization (NGO) that has operations in more than 50 countries. She is responsible for the safety and security of all staff, including employees traveling internationally. Aurelia’s primary focus is on duty of care, domestic security operations, crisis management, and overall security support to all international projects and regional offices.
Prior to joining RTI International, Aurelia served as a special agent with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security for 26 years. She was assigned to Ivory Coast, Germany, Singapore and Pakistan as a security attaché, responsible for all aspects of embassy and personnel security. She also supported embassy operations through numerous short-term assignments in many other locations. Her domestic assignments included service in the anti-terrorism assistance office, the Washington and Houston field offices, counterintelligence division and as the executive assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security. In addition to the State Department, Aurelia also spent 20 years in the U.S. Army Reserve as a counterintelligence agent and tactical intelligence officer within the Military Intelligence branch.
Aurelia holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in History from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), and she is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University’s Army ROTC program. She also completed the OSAC/ISMA strategic planning for security managers course through Georgetown University and the Next Generation Security Leader course through the Security Executive Council and the University of South Carolina’s Graduate Business School. She is a member of the International Security Management Association (ISMA).
Richard Figueroa
Richard A. Figueroa has been with the Foreign Service for over 30 years in several capacities: as a Foreign Service Officer and an Advisor after retiring from the State Department. He had served overseas in Moscow, USEU Brussels, Madrid, Managua, and Dili, to name a few, and several tours in Washington, D.C. He is the recipient of multiple Superior Honor and monetary awards for performance.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Richard received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and a Juris Doctor from Columbia University School of Law. He represented himself in a ten-year legal battle against the State Department over discrimination in promotions, winning a landmark employment law decision, Figueroa v. Pompeo, issued by the U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2019.