Todd A. Thies, PhD, is a clinical and forensic psychologist. He received his B. in psychology from UCLA and his PhD in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in Fresno, California. He conducted research on psychoactive substance use at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Fresno. He has published research on the psychological factors determining psychoactive substance use and preference. He has worked in several prisons and state hospitals. He has been in private practice in California since 1998, specializing in sexually violent predators and the assessment of dangerousness. He has spent over a dozen years training current and future psychologists, and provides regular workshops for the public on protecting children from sexual predators. He is frequently interviewed on radio and television, and in newspapers, regarding his work with sex offenders and other violent criminals. He has consulted on the movies Red Dragon and Instinct, and interviewed such notable serial killers as Charles Manson and Juan Carona. He lives in Southern California.