Zorka Martinovich

Zorka Martinovich serves as a Senior Hostage Negotiation Advisor with The Soufan Group. She served the U.S. government for 30 years, retiring from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after 22 years.

During her tenure, Zorka displayed her capabilities managing and resolving over 100 hostage, kidnap and crisis negotiation cases globally, earning recognition as a subject matter expert. She played a pivotal role on the White House National Security Council’s Hostage Working Group, influencing U.S. policy on hostage response. Her final 13 years were spent as a Supervisory Special Agent in the Crisis Negotiation Unit (CNU) of the Critical Incident Response Group in Quantico, Virginia.

As a member of the FBI Academy adjunct faculty staff, Zorka taught and developed courses on kidnap and hostage negotiations, suicide prevention, and leadership, utilizing her deep operational experience and research. She collaborated with domestic and foreign partners, including the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to establish and enhance their crisis response capabilities.

Zorka was also responsible for designing and delivering a detailed course on Hostage Survival which was taught to all FBI personnel deploying overseas.

Zorka’s career began at the U.S. Department of Labor as a Compliance Officer, where she also served as a union steward and labor negotiator for the American Federation of Government Employees. Her contributions in negotiation and crisis response led to her selection for the FBI’s elite Critical Incident Negotiation Team, deploying on major domestic and overseas operations, kidnappings, and National Security Special Events.

Zorka holds a B.A. in Psychology from Eastern Illinois University and a Master of Industrial Relations/Dispute Resolution from Loyola University, Chicago.