Hanlon Group LLC is a women-owned small business (WOSB) founded by Dr. Querine Hanlon in 2015 and headquartered in McLean, Virginia. The firm has delivered security sector reform and capacity building programs in more than 85 countries, earning recognition from U.S. government clients and international partners for effective and innovative field-driven programming.
Hanlon Group unlocks human potential, generates institutional innovation, and leverages custom tools and technology to build effective, responsive, and accountable security sectors worldwide.
In support of the United States and its partners, Hanlon Group trains, advises, and mentors security actors to solve complex problems and improve operational readiness. We design and embed systems that strengthen institutional performance and deploy targeted tools and technology to enable threat detection and disruption, enhance efficiency, and streamline operations. Together, these capabilities advance security sector reform, strengthen interoperability, and deliver durable security outcomes.
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Dr. Querine Hanlon founded Hanlon Group to design and implement custom, partner-driven solutions to complex security challenges that limit effective security provision worldwide. Dr. Hanlon brings considerable capacity building experience and expertise in designing strategic solutions for security sector institutions, modernizing and enhancing professional education schools, and developing specialized programs in the U.S. and abroad for military, law enforcement, and civilian security sector professionals. As a professor and dean in the U.S. Professional Military Education system before founding Hanlon Group, she led the redesign and accreditation of strategic-level education programs for the U.S. military. She is an expert on security sector reform (SSR) and has advised governments and international organizations how to design and implement security sector programming to deliver strategic and sustainable results.
Dr. Hanlon has published extensively on security and defense sector reform and capacity building. Publications include a contributing chapter on defense sector reform in Routledge Handbook of Security Sector Reform (Taylor and Francis, 2026) with Alexandra Kerr; A Practitioner’s Guide to Defense Sector Reform with Alexandra Kerr (SCG Press, 2022); Guidelines for Sustainable Capacity Building (USIP Press, 2019); Prioritizing Security Sector Reform: A New U.S. Approach, with Richard Shultz of the Fletcher School (USIP Press 2016); Toward Regional Cooperation: The Internal Security Dimension (Middle East Institute, July 2016); and The Three Images of Ethnic War (Praeger, 2009).
Dr. Hanlon holds a M.A.L.D. and a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School and a B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University.
Dr. Querine Hanlon founded Hanlon Group to design and implement custom, partner-driven solutions to complex security challenges that limit effective security provision worldwide. Dr. Hanlon brings considerable capacity building experience and expertise in designing strategic solutions for security sector institutions, modernizing and enhancing professional education schools, and developing specialized programs in the U.S. and abroad for military, law enforcement, and civilian students. As a professor and dean in the U.S. Professional Military Education system before founding Hanlon Group, she led the redesign and accreditation of strategic-level education programs for the U.S. military. She has also conceptualized and created custom-designed programs for partner institutions at Strategic Capacity Group (SCG) and the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP). Dr. Hanlon has considerable expertise in Security Sector Reform (SSR), advising governments and international organizations how to design and implement security sector programming to deliver strategic and sustainable results.
