Discovery Channel Star and Predator Psychologist Dr. Michelle Ward Joins the Innocent Lives Foundation

ORLANDO, Fla., July 7, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- She's been called the "real-life Clarice Starling" from Silence of the Lambs, and has starred in several crime documentaries, including Investigation Discovery's "Mind of a Murderer" and "Stalked: Someone's Watching." Now Dr. Michelle Ward, a leading US criminal psychologist who's spent the last 10 years studying psychopaths and other violent criminals, is joining the board of the anti-predator nonprofit, Innocent Lives Foundation (ILF).

"Dr. Ward brings a new level of expertise to our organization, and her unique insights into predatory behavior will be very helpful to our team of online investigators," said Chris Hadnagy, founder of ILF. "Online predator activity is steadily increasing across social media, gaming and messaging platforms, and many of these predators are extremely adept at grooming children. With the help of Dr. Ward and our other great board members and volunteers, we are hoping to turn the tide against these criminals by making it harder for them to remain anonymous online. We've already identified 115 child predators this year, and we have many more cases under active investigation."

Dr. Ward holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Southern California (USC) with a dual emphasis in clinical neuroscience and behavioral genetics. She has devoted her research and professional consulting to the study of predatory criminals and psychopathic behavior. Early in her career, Dr. Ward was involved in one of the first studies to use Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) on murderers and non-murderers to identify structural differences in the brains of these groups of people. She also assisted her colleagues at USC in launching The Southern California Twin Project, which set out to identify biological characteristics and environmental underpinnings of psychopathic behavior in people before adulthood. Dr. Ward has published numerous articles related to psychology and complex human behavior and has used her extensive background in psychology, genetics, and biology to become one of the first scientists to identify potential future predatory behaviors in a population of children. Today, she is widely sought after to assist in the criminal trials of some of the nation's most notorious offenders.

ILF is an international organization that includes dozens of accomplished 'ethical hackers,' cyber investigators and other technology experts who volunteer their time and skills to protect kids on the Internet by unmasking the most dangerous online predators who target them for sexual abuse, sextortion and other crimes. ILF's mission is to work closely with law enforcement agencies to make sure these cases result in arrests and prosecutions. ILF undertakes the difficult and time-consuming task of discovering the true identities and physical locations of online predators who target children and teenagers, and they turn over all of this carefully preserved digital evidence to the appropriate law enforcement agency. So far this year, ILF's Predator Identification Team (PIT) has turned over more than 115 predator cases to local law enforcement. Unlike other anti-predator groups, ILF does not condone the use of vigilante-style tactics when it comes to unmasking online predators. Those tactics usually backfire, by compromising the integrity of the evidence and digital investigation, and allow predators to go free.

ILF's board of directors also includes Neil Fallon, the lead singer of Clutch, A.J. Cook, actress and star of CBS's Criminal Minds, and Robin Dreeke, former head of the FBI's Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program.

About Innocent Lives Foundation:

Innocent Lives Foundation is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit led by cybersecurity professionals, with the sole purpose of protecting children online. Using innovative online investigative techniques, ILF's team helps law enforcement by providing them with critical evidence to identify, arrest and prosecute online predators who target children. ILF was founded by Chris Hadnagy, a nationally prominent security consultant and published author who advises numerous Fortune 500s and government agencies on the threats posed by social engineering attacks. Hadnagy has also advised White House aides, the Pentagon and four-star generals, and has lectured at the FBI. For more information, visit http://www.innocentlivesfoundation.org.

Media Contact for ILF:
Janet Shoup
Firm Nineteen, LLC
828-424-0983
[email protected]

SOURCE Innocent Lives Foundation