About Kit Perez
I’ve done counterintelligence and HUMINT work for over 15 years, for companies and inside political and resistance groups, and I’ve been an investigative writer since 2005. I hold four degrees: an AAS in Aircraft Maintenance Technology, a BA in Counterintelligence, an MA in Intelligence Studies, and an MA in Community Counseling: Trauma and Crisis Intervention. Before the intelligence work, I was an aircraft mechanic, first on C-130s in the Air Force and later at a large aircraft manufacturer.
I’m certified in Statement Analysis and LSI SCAN.
Two hours on a couch
Several years ago, I was sitting on a couch in a very rural location, trying to explain to a small core of people in a resistance group that their leader was compromised. It took me over two hours to lay it out, including the present and future effects on the individuals in the group if he was allowed to continue. They agreed with everything I said; I was filling in gaps for them and giving context to things that had bothered them, too. Then came the response: “He’s gotten the group a lot of good attention though. We’re gonna stick it out with him.”
It was the moment I realized that in activist circles, the most dangerous person is the one we don’t question or challenge. The conversation ended, and the chapter—a state-level group with a national reputation—went on to implode in fantastic fashion less than six months later.
Those people had the facts and stayed loyal anyway. If you’re building a business, you may face the same choice someday about someone you like. I can help you see the problem early.
Patterns like that one became the Grey Cell Protocols, a doctrine for spotting the conditions that let manipulation and infiltration take hold. I use it with clients through Grey Cell Systems. I also have a small private trauma coaching practice, Acuity Coaching.
I won’t tell you what you want to hear. If I think you’re wrong, I’ll say so, and I expect you to do the same for me.
Work I’ve done
A startup needed help hiring for key positions. I designed a questionnaire that flagged deception, evasion, and markers of manipulation in candidates’ answers. I also gave the owners targeted follow-up questions for their interview, which exposed a fraud and a thief before they made a costly decision. (Pre-Hire Assessment)
Outside of business, I’ve worked on kidnapping, child abuse, murder, and sexual assault cases with attorneys, law enforcement, social workers, and private citizens who needed to know what really happened.
For churches and nonprofits: A church security team needed a way to choose its members and protocols built from scratch. I designed a questionnaire for prospective members, used their answers to sort them into roles, and taught the team de-escalation.
Books
- Mission Command and the Grey Cell Protocols: Creating the Conditions for Decentralized Leadership, with Donald Vandergriff. Hardcover · Paperback · Kindle
- The Mindset of Resistance: Saying No to Tyranny in an Effective Way
- Basics of Resistance, with Claire Wolfe
“The Grey Cell Protocols offer a thoughtful framework for identifying and addressing many of the institutional weaknesses that undermine decentralized leadership. For military professionals, policy makers, and leaders in any complex organization, the lessons here are worth serious attention…I highly recommend this work.”
Lt. Col. Asad “Genghis” Khan, USMC (Ret.)
The full reference for the doctrine is the Grey Cell Protocols Codex.
Podcast
I host Change the Game, where I talk with people from different industries about the human systems behind deception and manipulation.
Writing
I write The Shepard Scale on Substack. Read the free essays.