Profiles

Shawn Harwood is the newest member of the LRQA Advisory Team, joining us directly from his previous role as the Country Attaché in mainland China for the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Mr. Harwood served in China for more than six years, fostering productive relationships with China’s Ministry of Public Security and General Administration of China Customs. The professional highlights of his time there include directing the implementation and intra-agency coordination of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, as well as groundbreaking fentanyl and counterfeit pharmaceutical trafficking investigations worked in partnership with host-country agencies.

Prior to his arrival in China, Mr. Harwood was posted to HSI Headquarters where he managed HSI overseas offices in Europe, developing policies on international engagement and asset forfeiture. From 2008 to 2013, Mr. Harwood served in HSI Regional Attaché office at U.S. Embassy London, England, where he directed significant investigations and liaison activities with British and Irish police and customs partners. Mr. Harwood began his career as a special agent with the HSI field office in Atlanta, Georgia, conducting casework across a broad range of investigative disciplines and serving as a tactical medic and disaster response team member.

Prior to his law enforcement career, Mr. Harwood worked as an Economist in the Statistics of Income Division of the Internal Revenue Service. In 1994, Mr. Harwood obtained undergraduate degrees in Economics and English Literature at the University of Virginia. He graduated in March 2017 from the Naval Postgraduate School, earning a master’s degree in Security Studies with a focus on adaptive crisis response in complex environments.