Special Agent Isaac Nichols

SSA Nichols entered the FBI in 2011 and was assigned to the Los Angeles Division where he initially worked counterterrorism (CT) matters. In 2011, he also became an Auxiliary member of their Crisis Negotiation Team. In 2014, he received the Mansfield Fellowship and spent a year in Japan working with various police agencies there. SSA Nichols is a proficient Japanese speaker.

Upon returning to Los Angeles, SSA Nichols again worked CT matters for a short-time before becoming the first full-time Crisis Negotiation Coordinator (CNC) for the division. As the full-time CNC, he cultivated relationships with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles Police Department and numerous other local agencies to expand and enhance the negotiation program. SSA Nichols responded to numerous barricades and suicidal subjects; and coordinated the local FBI response to multiple international kidnappings. He coordinated numerous 40-hour basic negotiation courses for local officers and developed opportunities to work with local Mental Health Evaluation units. Additionally, SSA Nichols spent many hours on the national suicide prevention hotline and crisis text line.

In June 2018, SSA Nichols was assigned to the FBI Critical Incident Response Group’s Crisis Negotiation Unit. He is responsible for responding operationally, both nationally and internationally, to ongoing hostage and kidnapping events. SSA Nichols is also responsible for training federal, state and local law enforcement officials in crisis negotiation, suicide intervention and crisis management. SSA Nichols received a B.A. in Communications/Intercultural studies with a minor in Japanese from Brigham Young University-Hawaii, and a Master’s Degree in Conflict Resolution from the University of Denver. Prior to joining the FBI, he was employed as a Conflict Resolution Specialist on a college campus.