Cynthia Loertscher

With a research career spanning 20 years, Cynthia Loertscher has dedicated her career to exploring the subjects of hostage-taking, wrongful detentions, third-party interventions, terrorism, radiological warfare, sanctions, designations, and the development of technologies and technological applications using hyper and multispectral imaging combined with remote sensing.

In response to the tragic killings of several Americans held hostage by non-state actors in the 2010, Cynthia shifted her focus to a comprehensive examination of U.S. hostage and wrongful detainee policy, landscape, and enterprise. Her results and recommendations have been codified into the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, the National Defense Authorization Act, and implemented across the U.S. hostage enterprise. She has published numerous articles and patents, and her research has been featured in media outlets and publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, 60 Minutes, Time, Forbes, CNN, PBS Newshour, and NPR.

Cynthia has collaborated closely with the families of hostages and wrongful detainees, enhancing their endeavors to bring their loved one’s home from captivity. She has engaged with U.S. government officials, including those at the Department of State, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Security Council, Intelligence Community, and Congress, advocating for support in various hostage and detainee cases.

Before joining Global Reach, Cynthia worked at the Combating Terrorism Center at the United States Military Academy. As the Co-Founder and Vice President of Research for Mineral Sciences, LLC, she played a pivotal role in developing intellectual property and creating technological applications aimed at countering radiological warfare and terrorist attacks. In her most recent role, she served as the Director of Research, Hostage Advocacy, and Government Affairs at the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation.

Cynthia is a member of the Commission on Hostage Taking and Wrongful Detentions, an initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.