Darrell M. Blocker

Darrell M. Blocker is the Senior Strategic and Global Intelligence Advisor at Lexpat Global Services.  Among other things, Darrell is a globally-recognized subject matter expert on North Korea, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and counterterrorism, and serves as a strategic advisor to high net worth individuals and businesses operating in the defense, national security and international affairs sectors.  He is active in the entertainment and nonprofit industries and as a creative consultant, keynote speaker, and ABC News contributor.  He is also the founder of DMB Consulting Services, a strategic crisis management and executive advisory firm.

In his 32-year career in public service, Darrell served across six consecutive Presidential Administrations (from Reagan to Trump), including four years in the U.S. Air Force, followed by 28 years as a Central Intelligence Agency operative within their Clandestine Service.  His traditional overseas assignments include the Republic of Korea (with the USAF), and Niger, Senegal, Morocco, Nigeria, Uganda, and Switzerland (with the CIA).  His war zone assignments were to Panama (USAF), and then Somalia in the aftermath of Blackhawk Down, Burundi after the Hutu-Tutsi massacres, and Pakistan after 9/11 (CIA).

During his storied career, Darrell rose to the civilian rank equivalent to a 3-Star general (Lieutenant General/Vice Admiral).  Along the way, his contributions to national security earned him several awards, including the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the George H.W. Bush Award for Excellence in Counterterrorism, the Iraqi Campaign Citation for contributions to Operation Iraqi Freedom, the USAF Commendation Medal for Korea and the Expeditionary Campaign Medal for Panama.  It has been widely reported that he later was on President Biden’s shortlist to become the Director of the CIA.

Darrell is a prolific speaker and contributor to public discourse on international security and effective operations.  His speaking engagements include the Jewish Federation of Toronto, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, the International Spy Museum in Washington DC., the CIA’s CulperCon 2022, and numerous international conferences on intelligence and security matters.  His TEDx talk delivered in April 2022 entitled “LISTEN MORE, SPEAK LESS:  LESSONS IN KINDNESS FROM A CIA OPERATIVE can be found here.  Stories about Darrell have been featured in press and news articles by ABC News, the Wall Street Journal, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Fox News, CNN, the New York Times, the Daily Beast, and the DailyMail.

Darrell volunteers with and serves on the board of Peace4Kids.org, a non-profit advocacy group for youth in foster care, and cofounded SME/Creatives, a creative and collaborative storytelling consulting firm operating in the entertainment space.  He is also the Vice Chairman of the GreenMet Board of Directors, a nonresident fellow at the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs Center for International Trade and Security and a 2024 Council of Advisors Leadership Council member for Black Professionals in International Affairs.

Darrell is an avid crossword puzzle enthusiast and music was his first true love.  He sang in the UGA’s Men’s Glee Club for four years and in bands in Senegal and Uganda.  He spent his formative years in Okinawa, Japan, but his dream of becoming a ninja never materialized.  Even so, being an intelligence officer brought all his passions into a singular and meaningful career that took him to 27 addresses and homes in eleven foreign countries over the past 60 years.