Centralia College Foundation Announces Robert Dowling as 2018 Distinguished Alumnus

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The Centralia College Foundation has announced its 2018 Distinguished Alumnus as Lewis County native Robert Dowling, a 1979 attendee of the college.

Dowling attended Centralia College for one year prior to transferring to Central Washington University and Washington State University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and law and justice along with a master’s degree in criminal justice.

“What a great surprise and honor,” Dowling said. “I have such fond memories of my year at what was then Centralia Community College, as well as the professors and classes that have helped shape my future.”

After graduation, Dowling worked 13 years as a U.S. special agent for the Naval Criminal Investigative Services where he served various roles. He served as the counterintelligence director to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, supported Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, served as a senior special agent worldwide and provided travel security to the United Nations and for NATO missions in Europe.

From 2002 to 2004, he served as a federal air marshal and a senior representative on the FBI National Joint Terrorism Task Force. Then, for two years, he served as a senior special agent assigned to the task force and also served on the president’s National Infrastructure Protection Plan.



According to the release, he co-founded a national, web-based government portal to share real-time tactical information between law enforcement agencies at all levels.

Once he finished his time in government, he provided full time security protection for the Gates family in Seattle. Later in 2006, he became a security consultant and contractor for Tactical, LLC in Virginia where he invented a web-based security portal aimed to predict and prevent school shootings.

In 2015, he founded Tactical Institute — a real-time social media monitoring service that is staffed by veterans wounded in combat. He now serves as president of his company, which is based in Washington, D.C. The company monitors the internet and notifies law enforcement agencies of global threats of terrorism and crime. His work has been featured in The Washington Post and various cyber technology journals, according to the release.

Dowling will be the featured speaker at the college’s commencement ceremony June 15. His sister Laura Dowling was the 2013 Distinguished Alumna.