Our Team

Dr. Herring is a former government program manager with over a dozen years of experience in scientific research within a variety of federal agencies. Throughout her career, Dr. Herring’s work has included developing countermeasures for weapons of mass destruction (WMD), protecting the White House from hazardous threats, and managing federal research initiatives for innovative medical therapies.

Dr. Herring began her career in the federal government at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) as part of the prestigious Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) program. During her five plus years at the agency, Dr. Herring oversaw programs that developed early-stage medical countermeasures and diagnostics to protect the warfighter from chemical and radiological weapons. While at DTRA she served as Lead Science and Technology Manager of the Chemical Medical Countermeasures group where she was responsible for developing strategy and forecasting the science and technology roadmap for the future.

Following her time at DTRA, Dr. Herring joined the Secret Service as a chemist in 2014 at the White House Mail Screening Facility, a facility responsible for screening items for chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive threats.

After a year and a half with the Secret Service, Dr. Herring became a program manager at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). Though Kristen’s primary role was in developing treatments against chemical threats such as chlorine and opioids, over the last two years Kristen has assisted in the federal COVID Therapeutics response negotiating and managing monoclonal antibody and oral antiviral development and procurement contracts. .

While at BARDA she also launched the ReDIRECT Program, a new initiative to repurpose FDA approved and late-stage development drugs to treat chemical injuries.

Dr. Herring has a BS from Spelman College and a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University, both in biochemistry. As one of the inaugural National Defense University Weapons of Mass Destruction Fellows, she obtained a Masters in Defense Strategic Studies with a concentration in Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Studies from Missouri State University. Kristen had the honor of being named a 2020 Presidential Leadership Scholar.

Kristen, a Lumberton, NC native, enjoys being active in a number of community organizations and spending time with her husband Bryan and bulldog Marley.