Vivian Kristofferson
Founder
M.S. Cybersecurity Strategy, George Washington University
Bridging scholarship
and systems practice
Vivian Kristofferson founded Consilience Strategic to close the gap between academic research and the practical challenge of understanding how complex systems change. Born in Taiwan, she lived there until age twelve before her family moved to Argentina and then to the United States – a winding path that gave her fluency in Mandarin Chinese, a deep understanding of cross-cultural dynamics, and a keen eye for how risk moves through complex systems.
She is currently a PhD candidate at Helmut Schmidt University, where her research focuses on applying serious gaming methodologies to strengthen democratic institutions. This academic pursuit builds on years of applied experience designing and executing strategic and operational wargames for U.S. government sponsors.
I see a lot of commonalities in law, wargaming, and cybersecurity. It's just a continuation of the work in risk management.
Prior to founding Consilience Strategic, Ms. Kristofferson served as Wargaming Capability Lead at The MITRE Corporation, a not-for-profit company that operates six federally funded research and development centers in the public interest. At MITRE, she developed strategic and operational wargaming solutions for U.S. government sponsors and served as an adjudicator during Department of Defense wargaming sessions. Read her MITRE profile →
Beyond her technical work, Kristofferson is a recognized leader in community building. At MITRE, she helped grow the Asian and Pacific Islander Network from a nascent group into an award-winning organization, and was recognized with the 2024 Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers Achievement Award for ERG Leadership. Her professional background spans cybersecurity engineering, corporate technology licensing, and acquisition strategy – an unusual breadth of expertise she now brings to every engagement at Consilience Strategic.