Agenda for COE Summit 2021

John S. Verrico Chief of Media & Community Relations, Science & Technology Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

John Verrico has more than 40 years of experience as a public affairs professional in federal and state government agencies, working extensively in media, community and employee relations. Currently serving as the Chief of Media Relations for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science & Technology Directorate, John is the former President of the National Association of Government Communicators, and retired from the Navy Reserve as a Master Chief Journalist. He earned a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Norwich University and a Bachelor’s in communication from the University of the State of New York.

Dr. Dan McCarville Professor of Practice, CAOE

Professor of Practice Daniel McCarville is the Associate Director of Education for the DHS Center for Accelerating Operational Efficiency. He received his master’s and doctorate degrees in Industrial Engineering from Arizona State University. His research interests are quality engineering, industrial statistics, and engineering management with a focus on continuous improvement methodologies. Prior to joining the ASU faculty, Dr. McCarville worked 27 years in the semiconductor industry where he led teams through the development and implementation of large scale quality systems and complex manufacturing processes.

Stu Mackenzie Science Manager, Criminal Investigations and Network Analysis Center (CINA), George Mason University

Dr. Gregory Washington President, George Mason University

Washington, the former dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), and former interim dean of the College of Engineering at Ohio State University, is regarded nationally as a strategic and collaborative solutions-oriented leader who is committed to providing opportunities for students of all backgrounds.

In his seven years at UCI, Washington expanded undergraduate enrollment in the engineering school by 1,100 students and graduate enrollment by more than 200. He led a freshman experiential learning initiative that resulted in more than 60 percent of undergraduate engineering students conducting research. He established the University of California’s first student makerspace and helped establish the OC STEM Initiative, one of the nation’s first STEM ecosystems, which impacts more than 100,000 students each year in Orange County, California. He also launched a regional effort to help community college students transfer to four-year institutions.

Committed to multidisciplinary scholarship and research, Washington created new graduate and undergraduate programs with the UCI business and humanities schools and led the development of the Horiba Institute for Mobility and Connectivity to advance next-generation advanced mobility systems. He played an integral role in the development of the planned Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building, a facility that will expand UCI’s research capacity.

Washington recruited and hired one of the most diverse engineering faculty cohorts in the country, with more than 40 percent of his 60 hires being women or from underrepresented groups. He’s raised more than $100 million in public and private philanthropy for the engineering school, including more than $15.5 million in gifts targeted to reach more diverse student populations.

The first African American dean of engineering at any University of California campus, and the first African American president at Mason, Washington established an Office of Access and Inclusion at UCI to enhance campus life for all students and chaired the Task Force on Ensuring a Positive Climate for the Campus’ Black Community.

Washington launched his academic career in 1995 as an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the College of Engineering at Ohio State University. He became an associate professor in 2000 and a professor in 2004. He began serving as the college’s associate dean for research in 2005 and also led the university’s Institute for Energy and the Environment. From 2008 to 2011, Washington served as interim dean of the Ohio State engineering school, one of the largest in the country.

Washington is an accomplished researcher and educator who specializes in dynamic systems, with an emphasis in the modeling and control of smart material structures and systems. He is the author of more than 160 technical publications in journals, edited volumes, and conference proceedings. At Ohio State, Washington received the Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching, the Harrison Faculty Award for Excellence in Engineering Education and the Lumley Research Award. He also received the National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award.

Washington has conducted research for NSF, NASA, General Motors, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the U.S. Army Research Office, among others. He has served as a member of the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, NSF Engineering Advisory Committee, Institute for Defense Analyses, the Octane Board of Directors and other boards. Washington also is past chair of the Engineering Deans Council of the American Society for Engineering Education and a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

A first-generation college graduate, Washington is a New York City native who attended high school in North Carolina. He earned bachelor’s (1989) and master’s degrees (1991) and his PhD (1994), all in mechanical engineering, at North Carolina State University. He is a member of the NC State Engineering Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Rebecca Medina Director, Office of University Programs at DHS Science and Technology Directorate

Rebecca Medina is the newly named Director of the Office of University Programs (OUP) at the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate. Prior to joining OUP, she served as the Directorate’s Attaché at the U.S. Embassy London and as the European Branch Chief, managing all research and development partnerships in Europe, including with the North Atlantic Treat Organization. Within the Directorate Ms. Medina also served as the Senior Policy Advisor for the Explosives Division, coordinating their interactions with Congress, the media and international partners. She came to DHS S&T in 2005 with Booz Allen Hamilton and worked in Office of Systems Engineering and Design.

Prior to joining the Department of Homeland Security, Ms. Medina spent three years as a Senior Defense Analyst at the Government Accountability Office where her major efforts focused on reviews of force structure realignment at the Department of Defense and international public health initiatives being led by the Department of State. She also worked for the United States Senate and The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Ms. Medina holds a Master of Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Miami University.

André Hentz Chief Operating Officer, NuWave Solutions

Dr. Robert W. Whalin Professor of Civil Engineering, College of Science, Engineering, and Technology, Jackson State University, Education Director, Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence

Robert W. Whalin, Ph.D., P.E., D.CE is Professor of Civil Engineering; College of Science, Engineering and Technology, Jackson State University (JSU) and Director Emeritus, Engineer Research and Development Center. He serves as Director for Education, Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence, University of North Carolina sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Dr. Whalin completed 36 years of exemplary civilian service in the Department of Army including 20 years in the Senior Executive Service as Director, Army Research Laboratory (ARL); Director, United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Waterways Experiment Station; and Technical Director, USACE Coastal Engineering Research Center. The ARL program exceeded $1.1 billion and had a 2,200-person workforce at six primary locations throughout the United States plus small groups in Japan and the United Kingdom. Dr. Whalin was a recipient of the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award, two Meritorious Presidential Rank Awards, Exceptional Civilian Service Award, three Meritorious Civilian Service Awards, two Department of Army Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Equal Employment Opportunity, the Silver Order of the DeFleury Medal and the President’s 2015 High Grant Award.

A registered professional engineer, Dr. Whalin holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Kentucky, a master’s degree in physics from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in oceanography from Texas A&M University. Prior to his service with the USACE, he worked six years in southern California for Tetra Tech Inc., National Engineering Science Co., Interstate Electronics Corporation and Hughes Aircraft Co. Dr. Whalin is a renowned coastal engineer, widely recognized for pioneering experimental research of wave transformations in convergence zones and for innovative coastal models of long waves and non-linear wave transformations in harbors, bays, lagoons and estuaries. His JSU research since 2003 has focused on coastal natural hazards and engineering education. He has authored/co-authored more than 100 journal, conference or symposia publications and technical reports.

Rich Takacs Analytics Manager, Accenture Federal Services

Dr. Carlotta Dominiconi Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, George Mason University

Carlotta Domeniconi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at George Mason University. Her research interests include machine learning, pattern recognition, educational data mining, and feature relevance estimation, with applications in network analysis, text mining, anomaly detection, bioinformatics, and finance. She has published extensively in premier journals and conferences in machine learning and data mining. She was the program co-Chair of SIAM SDM in 2012 and the co-Chair of a number of workshops. She served as the General Chair for SIAM SDM 2016-17, and she is serving under the same role for SDM 2021. Dr. Domeniconi has served as PC member and area chair for a variety of top-tier conferences; she was an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions of Neural Networks and Learning Systems Journal, and is currently serving on the editorial board of TKDE, DAMI, KAIS, and Computational Intelligence journals. Dr. Domeniconi is a recipient of an ORAU Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award. She has worked as PI or co-PI on projects supported by the NSF, the US Army, the Air Force, the DoD, FINRA, and she is a recipient of an NSF CAREER Award.

Leann Pask Assistant Director, Human Performance Branch, Field Operations Academy, Office of Training and Development, U.S. Customs & Border Protection

Leann Pask currently is the Assistant Director of the Human Performance Branch at the Field Operations Academy in the Office of Training and Development. In this role, she oversees curriculum and instructor development for Field Operations Academy (FOA).

Prior to FOA, Ms. Pask was the Assistant Director of Manager Development for CBP’s Leadership Development Center. She was responsible for Second Level Command Preparation course (SLCP). Additionally, she oversaw the Leadership Development Center’s budget, procurement, and asset management.

Since 2007 when Ms. Pask joined CBP, she has held leadership roles in technology training, technology support, and in the Office of Trade. It is noteworthy that Ms. Pask worked with the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). She was responsible for all aspects of budget formulation, budget execution, budget accountability, audit, and asset management for the ACE program’s $180 million per annum budget from 2011-2015. She worked on the ACE and post- ACE strategic planning for automating and consolidating trade systems as well as the proposal for Sharpening Trade Expertise.

Prior to joining CBP, Ms. Pask held various leadership positions in financial services industry in Charlotte, North Carolina. While Ms. Pask was in financial services industry, she created training for thousands of financial consultants across hundreds of community banks and credit unions on how to manage clients’ assets in retirement to provide a steady stream of income without outliving their retirement savings. This seems like normal operating procedures today for financial consultants, but in 2005, this was not industry wide knowledge.

Ms. Pask holds a master’s degree in Instructional Systems Technology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She has over 25 years of experience in training and development.

Rear Admiral George Naccara USCG (Ret.)

Rear Admiral George N. Naccara assumed the duties of the Commander, First Coast Guard District in February, 2000. Admiral Naccara is a native of West Milford, New Jersey, and graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1969. He led First District forces in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as New York was within his area of responsibility.

Prior to his assignment as District Commander, Admiral Naccara served as the Director of Information and Technology, and the Chief Information Officer in Coast Guard Headquarters from 1997 to 2000. He led the Coast Guard’s initiatives, segments of the Department of Transportation’s and the efforts of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) toward mitigating the potential effects of the Year 2000 computer problem. In that capacity, Admiral Naccara addressed the United Nations and the Group of Eight nations on the potential disruption to maritime operations and proposed solutions for all vessels which eventually became an international standard.

During his career, he served aboard three cutters, commanding a buoy tender in Chesapeake Bay during the devastating winters of 1976-78. He also spent many years in the marine safety and environmental protection programs, leading U.S. delegations at IMO in London, England, and completely redesigning the merchant marine licensing and manning regulations.

Admiral Naccara holds a Master of Arts degree in Business Management from Central Michigan University and was a National Security Fellow at Harvard University from 1990-91. His awards include three Distinguished Service Medals, the Legion of Merit, three Meritorious Service Medals and many other personal and unit awards. He is also authorized to wear the Cutterman’s Device and the Marine Safety Insignia. He is marred to the former Linda Sowa of Seabrook, Maryland. They have two daughters and two grandchildren.

Admiral Naccara retired from the Coast Guard in 2002 and became one of the first Federal Security Directors for the new Transportation Security Administration in Massachusetts until his retirement in 2014. He then became the Chief Security Officer for the Massachusetts Port Authority until 2019.

Andrew Morrow Technology Licensing Officer, University of Minnesota

Andrew collaborates with faculty and staff to commercialize software and digital innovations developed at the University. His portfolio includes intellectual property license negotiations covering patents, trademarks, copyrights, and technical expertise. Some of those licenses are to University-based start-up companies. Andrew’s favorite work aligns with the AUTM Better World Project: licensing innovations that will improve our everyday lives, with the hope for long-lasting impact.

Prior to Tech Comm, Andrew spent time in sales, marketing, and business development roles at several Twin Cities start-ups. Two years performing bench science in cardiology at UCLA preceded Andrew’s business development interest, and he competed internationally on the United States National Rowing Team and coached collegiate rowing at UCLA and Columbia University.

Outside the U, Andrew enjoys rowing on Lake Nokomis and the Mississippi River. He lives in Excelsior with his wife and three daughters.

Andrew holds a B.A. from Princeton University.

Joseph Downing Senior Advisor, John Adams Innovation Institute, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative

Mr. Joseph D. Downing is Senior Advisor at the John Adams Innovation Institute, a division of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ MassTech Collaborative. He manages investments in university research designed to produce and disseminate outcomes that increase the competitiveness of key industry clusters.

Mr. Downing has worked directly in the intersections of businesses, government and universities, identifying and managing risks for senior decision makers in both investment and operating settings. Prior to his current position, he invested and raised capital with two investment companies to meet the needs of growth companies and the development of new technologies.

From 1994-1996, Mr. Downing held an Administrative Appointment at the Harvard Kennedy School where he was a member of the University Partners Program and a Special Projects Officer at Harvard’s Center for Business and Government.

In the late 1990’s, Mr. Downing was an Adjunct Faculty in the Graduate Finance Department at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management. He also served as Conference Director for Boston College’s conference on the IPO market, “Does the U.S. IPO Market Suffer from Discriminatory and Anti-Competitive Behavior?” and its Symposium on “New Technologies, Financial Innovation, and Intermediation”.

Mr. Downing is the co-author, with William J. Wilhelm, Jr., of Information Markets: What Businesses Can Learn from Financial Innovation (Harvard Business School Press.) which explains the effects of technology on the creation and deployment of intellectual capital in business strategy. He holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard College, an MBA from New York University and an M.S. from Boston College.

Sally Yoomin Kim Management and Program Analyst (MPA) in Strategic Engagement, Office for Targeted Violence & Terrorism Prevention (OTVTP), Department of Homeland Security

Ms. Kim started her career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kazakhstan working in organizational and community development and then from there, worked in the nonprofit sector, as a case worker and liaison on refugee, asylum, and human trafficking cases in Southeast Asia for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and as a case supervisor for foster care cases in Northern California. After receiving her second master’s degree, Ms. Kim entered the federal government in Washington, DC, first at the US Peace Corps agency and then to the Customs and Border Protection, Office of Trade, working in a variety of roles overseeing essential programs and policy. She holds a BA in Critical Studies and a BFA in Fine Arts from the Art Institute of Chicago, a Master’s in Clinical Psychology from Wheaton College (Illinois), a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, and a grad certificate in Human Resources from the University of Maryland Global Campus. She has learned a few languages including Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Japanese.

Salina Greene Regional Prevention Coordinator, Office for Targeted Violence & Terrorism Prevention (OTVTP), Department of Homeland Security

Salina Greene is a Regional Coordinator for the Central Region at the US Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention. She works to form partnerships between Federal, state, and local government and the whole-of-society to build local prevention frameworks that prevent targeted violence and terrorism.

She was formally the USCIS-HQ Policy Lead, in Washington, D.C., for the transnational organized crime (TOC) portfolio, where she represented the USCIS on the inter-agency TOC Working Group and provided expert guidance and policy recommendations to various federal stakeholders, the intelligence community, and the National Security Council, on immigration and national security issues related to TOC. Prior to her position at USCIS-HQ, Salina spent several years’ as a senior immigration and asylum officer in various field offices’ within USCIS. She began her federal career in 2011 as a Federal Investigator at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s District Office in Chicago, IL. In the summer of 2017, she was selected to study, and participated in, the University of Oxford’s Forced Migration Program in Oxford England. Salina holds an M.A. in International Relations from Webster University and a B.A. in Drama from Washington University in St. Louis. She will continue her studies in the Executive M.P.A program at the University of Pennsylvania in Fall 2021.

Paige Schilling Intelligence Operations Specialist, Office of Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security

Dr. Erin Miller Assistant Research Scientist, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START)

Erin Miller is an Assistant Research Scientist at the University of Maryland, and Principal Investigator for the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) and related research projects. Miller earned a BA in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MA and PhD in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland. She has been part of the GTD team since 2004, and her roles have included improving the consistency of the data and adding key variables to the database, developing efficient and effective data collection strategies, workflows, and training, and producing accessible analysis that provides context for current events in terrorism and counter-terrorism. She frequently consults with users of the database, including researchers, policy makers, analysts, journalists, and students. Her research investigates patterns of decline among terrorist organizations and movements worldwide, using innovative statistical analysis of data from the GTD. She has taught statistics courses at the University of Maryland and delivered invited lectures on the GTD and the implications of research methodology for terrorism research.

Dr. Erin Pleggenkuhle-Miles Associate Professor, University of Nebraska at Omaha

Dr. Erin Pleggenkuhle-Miles research lies in the large and diverse field of organization strategy with specific interest garnered toward how institutional or environmental factors influence firm strategy. Her research focuses on how economic environment conditions as well as external partnerships influence firm decisions and strategies, with particular interest in entrepreneurial firms. Her and her colleagues also apply strategic competition models to terrorists competing for resources, demonstrating the broad applicability of strategic models and frameworks. Erin’s work has appeared in journal such as Journal of Management, Research Policy, Journal of International Management Reviews, Asia Pacific Management Journal and The Case Research Journal. She oversees the MBA Applications to Homeland Security Grant in NCITE, where they challenge MBA students in their final capstone to apply their academic training to DHS problems. We have worked with the Regional and National Offices for Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention as well as with the Homeland Security Investigations Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Unit to provide unique perspectives to challenges they face.

Dr. John Tamerius Senior Vice President, Strategic & External Affairs, Quidel Corporation

John Tamerius graduated from the Univ. of Washington with a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology. He performed graduate and postdoctoral research in tumor immunology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center before joining the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation (San Diego) as a Research Associate in the Dept. of Molecular Immunology; here he studied inflammation, the complement system, and was a National Arthritis Fellow. He co-founded Cytotech where he led the development of 9 FDA-cleared products, approx. 100 research products and five research-use-only kits for studies of immune complexes, inflammation, and the complement system.

That company was acquired by Quidel Corporation in 1989, where during his on-going tenure there, he has held several important leadership roles, including VP of R&D, General Manager of Quidel’s northern California division, and SrVP of Clinical & Regulatory Affairs. He now serves as SrVP of Strategic & External Affairs. While head of R&D he was in charge of the development of the first CLIA-waived, lateral flow test for influenza (QuickVue).

More recently, he has worked closely with the teams that have developed several rapid antigen detection tests for the SARS-CoV-2 virus–the most recent of which is the QuickVue At-home OTC COVID-19 Assay.

Dr. Florian Krammer Professor, Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai (MSSM)

Florian Krammer, PhD, graduated from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (Austria) in 2010. He received his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Peter Palese at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York working on hemagglutinin stalk-based immunity and universal influenza virus vaccines. In 2014 he became an independent principal investigator and is currently Mount Sinai Professor of Vaccinology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Dr. Krammer’s work focuses on understanding the mechanisms of interactions between antibodies and viral surface glycoproteins and on translating this work into novel, broadly protective vaccines and therapeutics. The main target is influenza virus but he is also working on coronaviruses, flaviviruses, hantaviruses, filoviruses and arenaviruses.

Dr. Leslie M. Kantor Professor and Chair Department of Urban-Global Public Health, Rutgers University School of Public Health

Leslie M. Kantor, PhD, MPH is a widely recognized public health leader, researcher, educator and advocate. She currently serves as the inaugural Chair of the Department of Urban-Global Public Health at the Rutgers School of Public Health. Her current projects include efforts to create health literate messaging related to COVID 19, reduce severe maternal morbidity and mortality in Newark, evaluate new approaches to preventing adverse childhood experiences (ACES) and increase health equity.

Dr. Kantor was formerly the Vice President of Education at Planned Parenthood Federation of America and a member of the faculty at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. She has served on the boards of a number of national organizations including ETR Associates, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Power to Decide (formerly the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy), and Answer.

Dr. Kantor is the 2020 recipient of the Allan Rosenfield Alumni Award for Excellence from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, the 2019 recipient of the LLoyd M. Felmly award from the New Jersey Public Health Association for advancing public health through media, the 2018 recipient of the Carl S. Shultz Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sexual and Reproductive Health section of APHA, the recipient of APHA’s Jay S. Drotman award for challenging public health practice in a creative and positive manner, and a recipient of the Millicent Carey McIntosh award for feminism from Barnard College.

Dr. Sumit Chanda Director and Professor, Immunity and Pathogenesis Program, Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute

Dr. Chanda is a Professor at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, where he runs a lab focused on elucidating host-pathogen interactions using a series of systems-level approaches. With demonstrated history of working in research and drug development within industry, the lab is poised to bridge the gap between fundamental discovery-based science and therapeutic development. We bring our expertise in high-throughput assay development, host-pathogen interactions, and innate immunity to the development of ‘next generation’ host factor and immune-mediated antivirals.

Nancy Nykamp Intelligence and Analysis Assistant Administrator, Transportation Security Administration

Ms. Nancy Nykamp was selected as the Assistant Administrator for TSA’s office of Intelligence & Analysis (I&A) in June 2020.

Prior to this appointment, Ms. Nykamp served three years as Deputy Assistant Administrator (DAA) of I&A. She previously was the Executive Director of Mission Essential Services (EDM), overseeing I&A’s Program Management, Security Threat Assessment Operations, Risk Analysis, and Mission Architecture and Process Innovation Divisions. Before her selection as EDM, Ms. Nykamp served as Senior Liaison for DHS.

Policy in the TSA Office of Security Policy and Industry Engagement. In this position, she facilitated support across multiple TSA offices for the Secretary’s top initiative, Unity of Effort. This initiative focused on gaining efficiencies and effectiveness through joint strategies, requirements, plans, operations, and training across the Homeland Security Enterprise.

Earlier in her tenure at TSA and DHS, Ms. Nykamp served as the TSA Representative and Attaché in Berlin, Germany; a Senior Advisor to the TSA Deputy Administrator; a Senior Counselor to the Assistant Secretary; Chief Diplomat for International Affairs, DHS; and the Deputy Federal Security Director at Washington Dulles International Airport.

Prior to joining TSA, Ms. Nykamp served as a Department of Defense Senior Civilian in the Joint Special Operations Command, US Special Operations Command, and the US Forces Command. In these positions she served as the Senior Civilian advisor for joint interagency planning and operations; directed strategic plans and worldwide operations in support of the National Priority Intelligence Requirements; and led all-source intelligence analysts and classified communications specialists supporting a geographically dispersed workforce of over 750,000 employees.

Ms. Nykamp also completed a career in the US Army as a Military Intelligence Officer, where she commanded several operational intelligence organizations and served as a Senior Intelligence Officer during multiple combat and multinational missions, including service in Iraq (Desert Shield/Storm and Iraqi Freedom), Haiti (Uphold Democracy), and Panama (Just Cause and Promote Liberty). Ms. Nykamp’s military career also included service in the Executive Office of the President under both William J. Clinton and George W. Bush.

Ms. Nykamp is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Senior Executive Fellows program. She also earned a Master of Science Degree in Strategic Intelligence from the National Intelligence University and a Bachelor of Science Degree from Bucknell University. Additional honors and awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Presidential Service Badge, CIA Director’s Medallion, US Army Master Parachutist Badge, US Marine Corps Parachutist Insignia, and the German Armed Forces Parachutist Badge.

Ms. Nykamp resides in Virginia with her husband Ken, a commercial airline pilot, and their three children, Olivia, James, and Hugh.

Xavier Higgs Publisher and Editor at First Source Magazine and Documentary Producer "Louder Than Rock"

Xavier Higgs is a Los Angeles based writer, producer and award-winning photojournalist. His more than 30 years and undeniable passion as a storyteller has afforded him the opportunity to cover news events throughout the nation.

His published articles, video and still photographs have appeared in various publications. Among them the Pasadena Star News, Our Weekly, Los Angeles Sentinel, Christian Recorder, the National Association of Black Journalist Journal as well as Miami television stations WTVJ and WPLG. He is the producer of the bio documentary ‘Louder Than Rock’ the story of legendary guitarist Caleb Quaye, Elton John’s first producer and guitarist. Xavier also photographed the book cover ‘Lessons From Little Rock’ by Dr. Terrence Roberts, one of the Little Rock Nine.

Xavier was born and raised in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and a graduate of the Florida A&M University’s School of Journalism. He is a longtime active member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), former President of the National Association of Black Journalists – Los Angeles (NABJ-LA) and Society of Professional Journalism – Los Angeles.

Dr. Pritesh Gandhi Chief Medical Officer, Department of Homeland Security

Dr. Pritesh Gandhi currently serves as the Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Homeland Security, as appointed by President Biden in January 2021. In this role, he serves as the principle advisor to the DHS Secretary, Assistant Secretary for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD), the FEMA Administrator, and DHS senior leadership on medical and public health issues related to natural disasters, border health, pandemic response, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters.

Dr. Gandhi is a public health trained and board-certified internal medicine specialist. He most recently served as the Associate Chief Medical Officer and Director of Adult Medicine at People’s Community Clinic, an Austin-based federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) which provides care to over 20,000 uninsured and medically underserved Central Texans, 70% of whom live under the federal poverty line. He co-led the COVID-19 response team and under his clinical leadership People’s Community Clinic was recognized by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services as a Gold Tier Health Center Quality Leader— ranking it among the top 10% of public health providers in the Nation. Dr. Gandhi recently served as an affiliate faculty at the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Gandhi has worked with working-class and marginalized communities to address social determinants of health and poverty. He is a Fulbright Scholar, Schweitzer Fellow, National Health Service Corps Scholar, and was named a Presidential Leadership Scholar in 2018. Dr. Gandhi completed a dual internal medicine and pediatrics residency at Tulane University in New Orleans and holds a degree in International Relations & Economics from Tufts University where he also completed his MD and MPH.

William Burket Jr. Director, MIRT & Emergency Operations, Port of Virginia

Bill Burket, the Director of the Maritime Incident Response Team and Emergency Operations for the Port of Virginia is responsible for the management of resources, training, and personnel from local fire and law enforcement agencies who participate on the MIRT team. Bill is available to respond and provide assistance to any maritime incident upon request by a local Incident Commander or the USCG upon the waterways and tributaries of the Port of Virginia. Bill is tasked with ensuring partnerships within the port emergency response community are maintained to provide for an effective and safe response to all hazards incidents within the port. Bill serves as the Chairman of Virginia Maritime’s Fire Protection sub-committee and serves on numerous USCG and Regional committees including the Law Enforcement, RAD/NUC, and Cyber sub-committee, and serves as Chair of the Port Readiness Committee for the USCG Area Maritime Security Committee. He continues to serve as the coordinator of the Annual Robert E. Rumens Hampton Roads Marine Firefighting School and coordinator of the Annual Steven Todd Dooley Search and Rescue Forum. Additionally, Bill is responsible for Emergency Operations, Grant Management, and Continuity of Operations for the Port of Virginia. Bill Burket is a retired Virginia Beach Fire Department Captain having served over 31 years. During his career, Bill assisted in establishing the Virginia Beach Fire Department’s Marine Team and has been involved in many maritime responses within the Port of Hampton Roads.

Rhyner Washburn Cyber Intelligence Researcher, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), University of Maryland

Mr. Rhyner Washburn is the Cyber Intelligence Researcher of the Unconventional Weapons and Technology Division (UWT) of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), headquartered at the University of Maryland, where he manages and conducts research projects spanning across a broad range of international security, terrorism, and cybersecurity topics. His expertise includes election security; terrorist use of cyber domain; multi-domain operations; cyber-physical nexus; insider threat investigations; mass surveillance; cybercrime; emerging technologies; influence operations; and Northeast Asia regional security.

Prior to his current position within START, Mr. Washburn served as an Experienced Associate with PricewaterhouseCoopers Cyber Threat Operations, based out of Arlington, Virginia, and continues his work as an independent security researcher.

Marcus Woodring Chief Public Safety and Emergency Operations Officer, Port of Houston

Capt. Marcus Woodring retired from the U.S. Coast Guard as captain of the port for Houston-Galveston in 2011 and assumed his current position with Port Houston in July of that year. He is responsible for the facility security and emergency response operations of eight port terminals.

Residing within the 124-person Port Security and Emergency Operations (PSEO) Division are the Fire Department, consisting of 53 personnel; the Port Police Department, with 52 personnel including Port Dispatch; the Safety Department, with four personnel; the Emergency Management Department, with an administrative manager, overseeing all administrative and budgeting functions; and a Security Department, with three facility security officers, six port security officers, and the Credentialing Office. He also chairs the Port of Houston Authority Pilot Board Application Review Committee (ARC) and the Pilot Board Investigation Recommendation Committee (PBIRC).

A 1983 graduate of Brown University in Providence, R.I., he earned a bachelor’s degree in geologic sciences. He later attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, earning a master’s degree in public administration in 1995. Capt. Woodring currently serves in various capacities on many local, state, and national maritime-related committees. He is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM), as well as a certified Type 2 Incident Commander.

Mike Edgerton Port Security Manager, NY/NJ Port Authority

Mr. Mike Edgerton is the Manager of Port Security for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Mike is responsible for the Port Authority’s seaport security program, including information and cyber security as well as compliance with the Maritime Transportation Security Act and the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program. Prior to joining the Port Authority, Mike worked in the private sector and has extensive experience with physical and cyber security in international port, maritime, and supply chain security, working on over 50 countries, including support to a number of commercial and governmental clients in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Mike spent 9 years based in the Middle East as a Principal for a UAE-based security consultancy. A retired military officer with service in both the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy, Mike has specialized in maritime and port security and intelligence for over 35 years. While assigned to U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, he served as a Coast Guard representative on the Interagency Commission on Crime and Security in U.S. Seaports. Mike is a Chartered Security Professional (CSyP), a board-certified security manager (CPP) through ASIS International, a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) through ISACA, and a Fellow of the UK’s Security Institute. He is the author of the book, “A Practitioner’s Guide to Effective Maritime and Port Security”, published by Wiley and Sons and has two maritime security-related book chapters being published this year. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Bucknell University, a Master of Science of Strategic Intelligence from the Defense Intelligence Agency’s National Intelligence University and is a graduate of the U.S. Naval War College.

Michael Emerson (CAPT, USCG Ret) Director, USCG Maritime Transportation Systems

Mike Emerson is the Director for Marine Transportation Systems and Senior Arctic Policy Advisor at Coast Guard Headquarters. He manages a broad portfolio of marine navigation, waterway, and bridge programs, and is also responsible for a wide variety of Polar and Arctic safety and security initiatives. Emerson returned to Coast Guard Headquarters in August 2015, following a three year assignment in the Office of Operations at the Department of Homeland Security Headquarters.

Emerson retired from the Coast Guard in 2014, after 30 years of service. His tours of duty included Senior Fellow for the CNO Strategic Studies Group in Newport, Rhode Island; Chief of Aviation Forces at Coast Guard Headquarters; Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Florida; Chief of Drug Interdiction at Coast Guard Headquarters; four tours in aviation as a C-130 pilot, and two tours at sea.

Emerson graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science in Government Degree and has since received a Masters Degree in Military Studies from the Marine Corps University, and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from American Military University.

Kimberly Hutchinson Chief Learning Officer, Office of Training and Development, Transportation Security Administration

Kimberly Hutchinson is the Assistant Administrator and Chief Learning Officer for the Office of Training and Development, where she oversees TSA’s technical and leadership training and development programs for more than 50,000 employees at 450 airports nationwide. Before her formal appointment to the role in November 2017, Hutchinson served as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for both the Office of Training and Development and its predecessor, the Office of Training and Workforce Engagement.

Hutchinson joined the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer in 2004, where she oversaw resource and policy issues for TSA. She subsequently joined TSA’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer, with responsibility for TSA’s technology portfolio. During her tenure at TSA, Hutchinson has held a number of leadership positions. As Director for the Office of Security Operations Mission Support, she oversaw the budget and administrative support for 450 airports. She also managed the budget for the Office of Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service. Most recently, Hutchinson served as the Executive Advisor to former TSA Administrator John Pistole.

Hutchinson has extensive knowledge of leadership development. She completed new-hire training as a member of the Office of Security Operations leadership team and graduated from the inaugural TSA Senior Leadership Development Program in 2010. She is a strong supporter of employee engagement and front-line workforce issues, with executive experience in employee communications and collective bargaining activities. In addition, Hutchinson has been a long-time advocate for diversity, as she established the Office of Security Operations Women’s Network to promote diversity and increase opportunities in the workplace. She currently serves as the Secretary for Women Executives at TSA.

Hutchinson is a graduate of the University of Virginia.

Dr. Gladys Brignoni Chief Learning Officer, United States Coast Guard

Dr. Gladys Brignoni assumed the duties of the U.S. Coast Guard Chief Learning Officer and the Deputy Commander, Force Readiness Command in November 2011. In this capacity, Dr. Brignoni leads the U.S. Coast Guard efforts to ensure the delivery of mission-ready forces through superior performance-based training, career development, education, doctrine, leader development, readiness assessments and major exercise contingency support. Since 2011, Dr. Brignoni has had an opportunity to fulfill other USCG assignments to include being the Senior Executive Advisor on Diversity and Inclusion for the agency and the Special Advisor to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Prior to her assignment as the Deputy Commander at Force Readiness Command, Dr. Brignoni was the Executive Director at the Navy Warfare Development Command where she oversaw all contracts, requirements and programs to include doctrine development, Fleet Synthetic Training, and Modeling and Simulation. Other career highlights include being the Facility Support Services and Contract Manager for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic, the Executive Director at the Center for Naval Intelligence (CNI), the Director of Training and Learning Standards at CNI, the Education Specialist at the Joint Forces Staff College, the Language and Cross-Cultural Communication Specialist at the Peace Corps and an Assistant Professor of Education at Old Dominion University.

A native of Puerto Rico, Dr. Brignoni has over 20 years of experience in talent management, diversity and inclusion, training, performance improvement and change management. She holds a B.A. from Purdue University, a M.A.T. and a Ph.D. in Education from Indiana University. She is a member of the Defense Acquisition Workforce as a certified Facilities Engineer and a certified Lean Six-Sigma Black Belt.

Wendy Walsh Chief Learning Officer, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Wendy Walsh is currently serving as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Higher Education Program Manager at the Emergency Management Institute (EMI). This program has been supporting academia for over 20 years, serving as the focal point for emergency management higher education, fostering the professionalization of this field via educational efforts and contributing to the resilience of the Nation by creating a strong cadre of emergency management and homeland security professionals. Ms. Walsh has managed and redesigned the National Emergency Management Executive Program 2016-2017. This program is the top tier of the Emergency Management Professional Program and is serving to enhance the knowledge of the top Emergency Management leaders as well as to leverage collective intelligence and expertise to address critical challenges in the discipline.

Prior to this assignment she of served as the Homeland Defense and Security Coordinator at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey. In this position, she facilitated opportunities for homeland security research and technology collaboration within NPS, serving as a catalyst for establishing and managing viable intellectual and financial partnerships with other federal agencies, state and local governments, academia and the private sector that are addressing issues of Homeland Defense and Security.

Ms. Walsh is a founding member of the NPS Maritime Defense & Security Research Program. She contributed and coordinated curricula development and instructed for the International Maritime Security Education program deliveries at NPS and the NATO School in Oberammergau, Germany. Ms. Walsh served as the Maritime Security Educational Director for the Littoral Operations Center (LOC).

She has also been an active participant in projects that leverage military modeling, simulation and virtual environments to augment homeland security training, exercises and research. She has supported the development and implementation of the Massive Multi-player Online War-game Leveraging the Internet (MMOWGLI) game as well as managed the NPS Healthcare Modeling & Simulation Certificate Program. She has supported the development of the NPS Center for Infrastructure Defense (CID) and has developed and sustained information sharing research to improve the security of the global maritime supply chain since 2007.

In 2013, she was appointed to the California Cybersecurity Task force co-chairing the Workforce Development & Education Subcommittee for the task force and supported the development of the state’s cybersecurity strategy. She received the State’s award for Leadership in Cybersecurity Education in 2014.

Prior to working for NPS she served the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a President’s Management Fellow filling the position of Citizen Corps Program Specialist within the Preparedness Directorate. In this position, she worked closely with the states of California, Nevada, Hawaii, Arizona and the Pacific Territories to better prepare citizens and align private sector activities with governmental homeland security efforts.

She has also worked for the State of California as a licensed psychiatric technician, served on the facility disaster committee planning preparedness activities and exercises as well as served as the public information officer (PIO) for a large state developmental center for people with access and functional needs. She holds a BA in Political Science, Masters of Public Administration from Sonoma State University, and certificates in Systems Engineering from NPS and Design, Partnering, Management & Innovation from Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. She is a DHS Master Exercise Practitioner and has held a TS/SCI clearance.

Dr. Beth White Education Program Manager, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education

Dr. Beth White, is an Education Program Manager with the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) STEM Workforce Development unit. Prior to joining ORISE, Beth was an educational development professional and professor. She has a strong background in higher education with 26 years of experience in: teaching, faculty development, grant writing and administration, personnel management, and professional editing. She has authored numerous op-ed and peer reviewed articles as well as various supplemental instructional materials, textbook additions, and federal reports.

As an ORISE project manager, Beth administers appointments for the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, inclusive of the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Summer Research Team Program for Minority Serving Institutions, and the Homeland Security Professional Opportunities for the Student Workforce to Experience Research Program. Her duties include: training mentors and faculty to work with students and new faculty; management and development of recruitment programs; recruitment and selection of research participants; recruitment and selection of peer reviewers; application administration and processing; expedition of merit and eligibility reviews; oversight of participant activities; delivery of orientation materials to participants and mentors/faculty; provision of project deliverables; and, short term program evaluation reports to customers.

Karthik Balasubramanian PMP, CISSP President

Mr. Karthik Balasubramanian has 30 years of experience as a Technology Consultant and Architect for various private sector companies and government agencies. As the President/CEO of Karthik Consulting, for the last 13 years Karthik has brought the innovation and best practices of the commercial IT industry to the federal government including DoD, DHS, and intelligence community. Karthik has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science and also holds the following certifications: PMP, CISSP, Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Microsoft (MCSD for .NET, MCSD, MCDBA), Oracle (OCP DBA), and CompTIA (Security+).

Karthik has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science and also holds the following certifications: PMP, CISSP, Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Microsoft (MCSD for .NET, MCSD, MCDBA), Oracle (OCP DBA), and CompTIA (Security+).

Russell Hodge USCG Sector Corpus Christi

George Thompson Analytic Services, Inc.

Joseph DeAngelis, AICP Senior Research Associate, American Planning Association

Joseph DeAngelis is a planner and Senior Research Associate with the American Planning Association in Chicago. Joseph’s primary area of research is in the realm of climate adaptation and community resilience. He is currently working on two NOAA-funded projects related to local climate science integration and community adaptation to climate change impacts. Previously, he was a resiliency planner for the New York City Department of City Planning, where he worked on long-term planning and zoning solutions for communities impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Joseph is also the co-editor of APA’s Zoning Practice

Dr. Yada Zhu Research Staff Member, Thomas J. Watson Research Center, IBM

Dr. Yada Zhu is a research staff member from IBM T. J. Watson Research Center. She is part of the Future of Computing – Finance Research team. Dr. Zhu leads a group of researchers with machine learning and statistics background from international labs to develop foundational AI and ML capabilities to support intelligent investment decision and risk management in dynamic market environment. She is the PI of a MIT-IBM AI Lab project funded by Refinitiv and Wells Fargo bank.

Dr. Zhu has been conducting research on high-dimensional time series analysis, machine learning with data from heterogeneous sources and forms, large-scale graph learning, and statistical modeling with applications motivated in finance, e-commerce, smart energy and advanced manufacturing process. She has been a technical lead in a number of analytics projects and contributed to several commercialized IBM products. Her work on Smarter City, Smarter Energy and manufacturing has won IBM Research Division Outstanding Technology Achievement awards and high valuable innovation awards.

Dr. Zhu has published over 40 articles on top venues and served on the editorial board for multiple international journals in the area of statistics and data science, Senior Program Committee (PC) of AAAI, the most influential conference in AI and ML, PC of KDD, IJCAI, etc. She is a senior member of IEEE and professional interest community chair of Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining at IBM Research.

Dr. Adan Vela Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems, University of Central Florida

Dr. Adan Vela serves as an Assistant Professor Dept. of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems. He teaches courses in probability, simulation, and optimization. Dr. Vela received his B.S. from UC Berkeley, M.S. from Stanford University, and Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology, all in Mechanical Engineering. While a mechanical engineer by degree, his education and research training are in the areas of aerospace engineering and industrial engineering. Prior to joining UCF Dr. Vela served as Technical Staff at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, a Federal Funding Research and Development Center. Dr. Vela’s primary research domain is in air transportation systems, however his work more broadly focuses on the application of machine learning, modeling, simulation, and optimization to understand and improve decision-making in human-in-the-loop systems.

Thomas Richardson Executive Director Coastal Resilience Center, Jackson State University

Tom Richardson is Executive Director of the Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence.

He is an engineering graduate of The Citadel, the University of Miami, and the International Institute for Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering in Delft, The Netherlands. In 2009, Mr. Richardson retired as Director of the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory and began work at Jackson State University as Deputy Director of the Coastal Hazards Center of Excellence.

His career has focused on developing, performing and managing applied research in coastal and hydraulic engineering. Among other achievements, he designed and built the world’s first portable hydraulic land-based system for bypassing sand at coastal inlets. He led applied research teams that: a) developed the CORE-LOC® concrete armor unit for breakwaters and jetties and formed the international consortium that currently markets and manages it, b) developed the Scanning Hydrographic Operational Airborne Lidar Survey system for coastal mapping and charting and created the Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise at Stennis Space Center, MS, and c) developed the Silent Inspector system for automated dredge contract monitoring and established the nationwide center for its deployment and operation in Mobile, AL. He played a key role in developing the concept of Regional Sediment Management and in transitioning it to practice nationwide.

He served as the Principal Federal Liaison to National Research Council Committees on assessing the return on investment from applied R&D programs and on systems for making measurements in the coastal zone. He was Federal Co-Chair of the Gulf of Mexico Program’s Coastal and Shoreline Erosion Committee and a Charter Organizer of the National Beach Preservation Technology Conference. For the past 10 years, he has been a Director of the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association and currently serves as Chair of its Government Affairs Committee.

Dr. Gina Ligon Director of National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE)

Dr. Gina Ligon is the director of the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center, a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence based at the University of Nebraska Omaha. She received her Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and Minor in Quantitative Psychology from the University of Oklahoma. Prior to joining University of Nebraska Omaha, she was a full time faculty member at Villanova University in the Graduate Programs in Human Resource Development. She also worked as a Director of Performance Consulting at St. Louis-based Psychological Associates. Her research program focuses on the identification and development of high level talent; she has specific expertise in innovation and leadership, and has published over 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on these subjects. Organizational structures and leadership in non-normative organizations (e.g., violent ideological) are also of interest to her.

Beth DeFares Director of Education and Outreach, Maritime Security Center (MSC)

Beth Austin-DeFares is the Director of Education and Outreach for the Maritime Security Center (MSC), a DHS Science and Technology Center of Excellence in Maritime and Port Security led by Stevens Institute of Technology. Ms. Austin-DeFares is responsible for the development and coordination of the Center’s portfolio of undergraduate, graduate, and professional development programs, including the Center’s Summer Research Institute.

She has more than 20 years of experience in academic administration, program development, student recruitment, and career placement. Prior to her position with the MSC, she served as the Director of Communications and Outreach for Stevens’ School of Systems and Enterprises. She holds a master’s degree in Urban Policy Analysis and Management from The New School and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Western New England University.

Congressman Bennie G. Thompson Chair, House Homeland Security Committee

Born in a state with a unique history of racial inequality, Congressman Bennie G. Thompson draws inspiration from the legacies of Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, Aaron Henry and Henry Kirksey. The Bolton, Mississippi native considers it an honor to walk the path Mississippi civil rights icons paved decades ago.

Serving his 13th term in the United States House of Representatives, Thompson represents Mississippi’s Second Congressional District where he has spent his entire life fighting to improve the lives of all people.

Congressman Bennie G. Thompson is the longest-serving African-American elected official in the State of Mississippi and the lone Democrat in the Mississippi Congressional Delegation.

He began his grassroots political activism being a civil rights champion through the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) while a student at Tougaloo College – a private historically black college in Jackson, Mississippi. He organized voter registration drives for African-Americans throughout the Mississippi Delta on behalf of the organization before graduating and following in the footsteps of his mother by becoming a school teacher. During his tenure educating the youth of Mississippi, a fire inside of Thompson was ignited pushing him to be a voice to the voiceless through elected office.

From 1969 to 1972, Thompson served as alderman of his hometown, Bolton, before serving as the city’s mayor from 1973 to 1980. During his time as mayor, Thompson improved the city’s infrastructure by paving roads, fixing the water and sewer systems, repairing and renovating dilapidated houses; all while spearheading the construction of city hall and re-evaluating the town’s real estate.

Thompson was a founding member of the Mississippi Association of Black Mayors where he instituted policies and provided services benefiting Bolton’s underserved. The selfless service Thompson provided his hometown was increased when he was elected as a Hinds Country supervisor, a position he held from 1980 until 1993. The then-supervisor’s record of being a pragmatic local servant was embraced by constituents in Mississippi’s most populous county.

His record of effective problem solving and coalition building served as the bedrock for his election to the Congress in 1993, representing Mississippi’s largest Congressional District composed of the state’s capital city, Jackson, and the Mississippi Delta.

Congressman Thompson has channeled his passion for public service into action. In 2000, he authored legislation creating the National Center for Minority Health and Health Care Disparities which subsequently became law. After Hurricane Katrina ravaged the State of Mississippi, he aggressively advocated for disaster relief improvements within government agencies, and provided oversight to ensure that federal funds were properly allocated for Gulf Coast recovery.

The following year, Thompson’s Washington colleagues expressed their overwhelming confidence in his leadership abilities and selected him to serve as the first Democratic chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. As chairman, Thompson introduced and engineered passage of the most comprehensive homeland security package since September 11, 2001 – H.R. 1, the “9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007.”

The Congressman has also served on the Agriculture, Budget, and Small Business Committees while working to level the playing field. Thompson employs a progressive and realistic approach to overcome persistent disparities while being the unabashed champion for civil rights, equal education and healthcare delivery in Mississippi.

Representative Thompson is a lifelong member of the Asbury United Methodist Church in Bolton, Mississippi. He has been married his college sweetheart, London Johnson of Mound Bayou, Mississippi, since 1968. The couple has a daughter, BendaLonne; granddaughter, Jeanna; and grandson, Thomas Gordon. Thompson is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys gardening, reading, and listening to the blues.

Dr. Michelle Black Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science University of Nebraska, Omaha

Dr. Black is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science for the University of Nebraska Omaha. The Director for Workforce Development and Education for the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education (NCITE) which is a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence. A Research Fellow for the National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI) at the University of Nebraska, and Editor for the Space and Defense Journal. In addition to her academic career, Dr. Black has over seventeen years of professional experience with the Department of Defense.

Prior to joining UNO, Dr. Black was a government civilian for the Department of Defense from 2009-2016. She specialized in Deterrence Analysis and Adversary Decision-making for United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) Plans and Policy Directorate at Offutt Air Force Base. During her time at USSTRATCOM, she provided analysis and recommendations to senior leaders on decision-making strategy, deterring state and non-state actors, and regional expertise. Additionally, she initiated and directed the Deterrence and Assurance Academic Alliance, recruiting over 35 academic institutions to the program. This program provides a platform for defense and academic organizations to communicate and collaborate on research issues regarding Deterrence and Assurance.

Prior to her government civilian work, Dr. Black worked in Psychological Operations from 2001-2009 as U.S. Army Special Operations NCO (Airborne) for the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) and later as a Defense contractor. She deployed to Iraq, Kuwait, and Qatar during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Dr. Black earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 2016. She also earned an M.S. in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution from Creighton University (2009), a Graduate Certificate in Intelligence Studies from Mercyhurst College (2007), an M.S. in International Relations from Troy University (2005), and B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Iowa (2001).

Teaching Interests

Dr. Black teaches in the areas of security studies, specifically: U.S. Foreign Policy; Political Violence, Insurgency and Terrorism; Intelligence and National Security; Deterrence Theory; Political Analysis; Middle East Politics; and International Leadership and Strategy. Additionally, Dr. Black provides lectures and coursework to the Department of Defense (DoD) for senior-level officials through NSRI, and is a frequent contributor to community courses and symposiums.

UNO Courses:

PSCI 2000 – Political Analysis
PSCI 3260/8265 – U.S. Foreign Policy
PSCI 4250/8256 – Intelligence and National Security
PSCI 4556/8556 – Political Violence, Insurgency and Terrorism
PSCI 4920 – Special Topics: Middle East Politics
PSCI 8220 – International Leadership and Strategy

DoD Courses:

Nuclear Deterrence 300/400 – Deterrence in the 21^st Century
Nuclear Deterrence 400 – Adversary Decision-making and Deterrence Case Analysis

Community Courses:

International and Cyber Security – Chuck Hagel Symposium in Public Service
U.S. Military Influence in World Politics – Nebraska Civic Leadership Program (NCLP)
Interwoven Security: Complicaitons in the Middle East – UNO’s Dual Enrollment Seminar Series
Impact of Islamic State Ideology – Center of Afghanistan Studies (CAS)
Middle East Security Issues – CAS
Insurgency Progression in the Middle East Region – CAS
Terror Networks and Regional Security in South and Central Asia – CAS

Research Interests:

Dr. Black’s research interests include: Insurgency Progression Theory, Violent Extremist Organization/Terrorism’s use of online social media, Multi-Actor Deterrence, Deterring non-state actors, Deterrence and Assurance Theory and Application, and Adversary Decision-making.

Publications:

Michelle Black (2019) Explaining Insurgency Progression: Iraq 2003-2011. Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict Journal: Pathways towards Terrorism and Genocide, 12:3, 257-281.
Lana Obradovic & Michelle Black (2019) Teaching Deterrence: A 21st-Century Update, Journal of Political Science Education, DOI: 10.1080/15512169.2019.1575228
Michelle Black (2016) Cyber ethnography: A critical tool for the Department of Defense? Comparative Strategy, 35:2, 103-113, DOI: 10.1080/01495933.2016.1176456
Michelle Black & Osamah Alhenaki (2015) Business as Usual: The Egyptian-U.S. Intelligence Relationship, Global Security and Intelligence Studies: Vol. 1: No. 1, Article 4.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.apus.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=gsis

Greg Simmons Program Manager for Minority Serving Institutions and Workforce Development, Office of University Programs, Department of Homeland Security

Gregory Simmons is the Program Manager for Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) and Workforce Development at the DHS Science and Technology Directorate, Office of University Programs, overseeing S&T research and internship opportunities for faculty and students. Previously, Greg was the Deputy Director for the DHS Office of Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) responsible for test and evaluation of DHS Maritime Acquisitions to include Coast Guard Cutters and Aircraft. Prior to federal service, Greg was a career naval officer and was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon for operations in the Arabian Gulf. Greg is a veteran of the Navy staff at the Pentagon supporting weapon systems development and served in the Navy Office of Legislative Affairs. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Greg is a graduate of the US Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and Political Science. He earned a master’s degree in organizational management from The George Washington University and was a 2018 Harvard Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive Fellow.

Dr. Richard G. Donnelly Chair, Department of Information Systems and Technology Management, School of Business, The George Washington University

Professor Richard Donnelly was the founding chair of the Department of Information Systems and Technology Management of the George Washington University School of Business. He was co-director of the GW Institute for Knowledge and Innovation and was also co-founder and co-director of GW’s Master’s Program in Molecular Biotechnology. Earlier, he was founding director and for ten years led the GW Executive Master of Business Administration program. His interests are technology innovation and technology entrepreneurship and he teaches in MBA and other business, engineering and policy programs. His publications span management and technical topics. Dr. Donnelly has represented GW as a Member of the Board of the Washington DC Technology Council, an organization representing Washington-area technology corporations, service providers and non-profits. He has advised the U.S. Dept of Commerce, U.S. Dept of Energy, National ScienceFoundation and The World Bank and has taught R&D management for several federal technology centers. He has also consulted in technology management areas in the private sector. Prior to joining the faculty at GW Dr. Donnelly was for 10 years a corporate technical executive, directing new product development in worldwidebusiness areas. He also was co-founder and Member of the Board of a University of California R&D collaborative. He began his academic career as an engineering professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was associate professor. He received his BSE from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and his PhD from MIT.

Dr. Fred S. Roberts Distinguished Professor Mathematics, Director of CCICADA, Emeritus Director of DIMACS Organization, Rutgers University

Fred S. Roberts is a Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at Rutgers University and Director of the Command, Control, and Interoperability Center for Advanced Data Analysis (CCICADA), a DHS Center of Excellence (COE). For 16 years he directed DIMACS, the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science, which was founded as one of the original NSF Science and Technology Centers. Roberts holds the title Emeritus Director of DIMACS. Roberts is author of four books, editor of 25 other books, and author of 200 scientific articles. His recent edited books include the first book on maritime cyber security in 2017, a 2019 book on “Mathematics of Planet Earth,” and a 2021 book on “Resilience in the Digital Age.”

His work has been translated into Russian and Chinese. Roberts’ contributions include best practices for stadium security widely used by the NFL, NBA, and Major League Baseball; a ground-breaking simulation of the world’s busiest bus terminal in NYC; automated tools to help TSA adjudicate applications from aviation workers with a criminal record. He leads the COE-wide Initiative on supply chains during COVID, including distribution of vaccines, PPE, and food. Roberts has received the Commemorative Medal of the Union of Czech Mathematicians and Physicists and the Distinguished Service Award of the Association of Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory. He is a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society, received the NSF Science and Technology Centers Pioneer Award. In 2013 he was awarded the title Docteur Honoris Causa by the University of Paris-Dauphine.

Dr. Juergen Richt Director, Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases (CEEZAD)

A deep fascination with the ability of an infectious agent to outsmart its host has been the driving force behind Jürgen Richt’s expertise in diagnosing and treating zoonotic diseases — those which can be transmitted from animals to humans or vice versa.

Richt is a veterinary microbiologist who has worked with multiple agents of zoonotic potential, including bovine spongiform encephalopathy or mad cow disease, chronic wasting disease, animal influenza viruses, Rift Valley Fever virus, Borna virus and other emerging pathogens.

Richt’s career, which includes a seven-year assignment as lead scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Disease Center, has been spent developing novel testing methods and remedies for a number of animal and zoonotic diseases.

Originally from Germany, Richt earned a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Munich, and a doctorate in veterinary virology from the University of Giessen. Richt’s postdoctoral studies were conducted at Johns Hopkins University from 1989 to 1991.

He returned to the University of Giessen in 1991 and established an independent and well-funded research program in molecular virology at the Institute of Virology in the University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Richt moved to the U.S. at the end of 2000 to work as a veterinary medical officer at the National Animal Disease Center, a federally funded laboratory in Ames, Iowa, with broad goals similar to those of Kansas State University’s animal health and food safety programs.

Richt joined Kansas State University in 2008 as Regents distinguished professor and Kansas Bioscience eminent scholar in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s department of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology. Richt became the director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases, or CEEZAD, at Kansas State University in 2010. As director, he leads an international network for scientific research involving 15 US universities, 4 foreign universities, and various industry and foreign partners. In 2013 he was named a university distinguished professor, a lifelong title and the highest honor the university can bestow on its faculty.

While at the National Animal Disease Center, Richt worked primarily in two areas: emerging viral diseases of swine and prion diseases, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy. He has developed innovative vaccination concepts against flu viruses and novel diagnostic tests to detect major swine respiratory pathogens. He also has studied the interspecies transmission of prion agents and the molecular nature of newly emerging bovine spongiform encephalopathy strains.

In addition, Richt and colleagues were the first to generate prion protein-deficient cattle that are healthy and resistant to prion diseases. In his influenza research, Richt’s laboratory was the first to establish a reverse genetics system for studying swine influenza virus pathogenesis in its natural host — the pig. These studies led to the identification of influenza virulence factors and the development of a modified live virus vaccine based on a genetically engineered truncation within the NS1 gene. Recently, Richt and colleagues used the reconstructed 1918 influenza virus for experiments using the biosafety level-4 biocontainment facilities in Winnipeg, Canada.

At Kansas State University, Richt is developing a research program that involves a multidisciplinary approach to solving both existing and emerging animal and zoonotic disease concerns. This includes the development of novel vaccines against threat diseases like Rift Valley Fever or avian flu as well as assays to rapidly detect these agents.

Richt has authored or co-authored more than 170 peer-reviewed articles. His work has been published extensively, including in such prestigious journals as Nature Biotechnology, Science, Journal of Experimental Medicine, PNAS, Cell Host Microbe and Journal of Virology. He also holds a position on the prestigious scientific advisory board of the Scientific and Technical Review of the World Organization for Animal Health in Paris. In 2011, Richt received the Pfizer Animal Health Award for Research Excellence. For some years now, his aim has been to combine significant scientific research with the communication of those research results to both scientists and nonscientists.

Richt can be contacted at 785-532-2793 or jricht@k-state.edu.

Dr. Barnett S. Koven Training Director, Near-peer Competition Lead Researcher, Counterterrorism Lead Researcher, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START)

Dr. Barnett S. Koven is the Training Director, Near-peer Competition Lead Researcher, and Counterterrorism Lead Researcher at the University of Maryland’s (UMD) National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Emeritus Center of Excellence. He is also the Founder and CEO of BSK Consulting, L.L.C., a boutique consultancy specializing in practitioner education and mixed-methods (quantitative and qualitative) research in support of national security practitioners and policy-makers. In addition, Koven is a Professorial Lecturer in Political Science & International Affairs at the George Washington University (GWU), an Associate Member of the Graduate Faculty and a Lecturer in Public Policy at the UMD, a Faculty Affiliate at the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS) at the UMD, an Adjunct Faculty Member at Joint Special Operations University, an Adjunct Presenter at the U.S. Air Force Special Operations School, a Fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point, a Fellow at the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University, a Principal Policy Analyst at Alion Science and Technology Corporation, and a Quantitative Social Scientist at Performance Systems, LLC. He received his Ph.D., M.Phil. and M.A. in Political Science, as well as a B.A. in International Affairs and Latin American and Hemispheric Studies from the GWU. In addition, Koven is currently enrolled in the Executive MBA program at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. He also holds a Certificate in Conflict Analysis from the United States Institute of Peace and a Certificate in Advanced Security in the Field from the United Nations System Staff College.

Koven has conducted extensive overseas research in conflict and post-conflict zones. His work employs cutting-edge quantitative and qualitative methods to answer pressing defense and homeland security questions. Specifically, he focuses on issues pertaining to counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, terrorism prevention and preventing/countering violent extremism, counter-narcotics, near-peer competition, unconventional warfare, resistance, security cooperation, transnational organized crime, operations in the information environment, weapons availability and conflict onset, post-conflict reconstruction, and the material and non-material sources of military power. Koven has received research funding from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the U.S. Department of State, the DHS, the National Nuclear Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as from the Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy, the GWU and the UMD. A complete list of journal articles, book chapters and policy publications can be found on his personal website: barnettkoven.weebly.com.

In addition to his aforementioned academic affiliations, Koven regularly instructs Combating Terrorism Seminars at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Charleston, SC, during the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Advanced Counterterrorism Analyst Course at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, at the National Reconnaissance Office as part of the Executive Master of Public Management Program, and overseas as part of the Diplomatic Security Service’s Global Anti-terrorism Training Assistance/Special Program for Embassy Augmentation and Response Executive Forum on Foreign Terrorist Fighters Consultations. Moreover, Koven is also a frequent presenter during the various lecture series and conferences curated by the Strategic Multi-layer Assessment Branch of the DOD, as well as to myriad other U.S. government and university audiences. Finally, he routinely provides terrorism analysis on national and international media broadcasts.

Beyond academia, Koven is the Vice President and Director of Events at the Godparents of the Children of Instituto Mundo Libre, a non-profit organization providing safe housing, rehabilitation and vocational training to homeless children in Peru. In addition, Koven is a Board Member at Mindot, a non-profit educational platform for developing the next generation of local leaders and agents of social change. Finally, he is an Advisor at Concordia, a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding public-private partnerships.

Dr. Aaron Strong Economist, RAND Corporation

Aaron Strong is an applied economist at the RAND Corporation. He tends to work on environmental, resource, and disaster related topics. His recent work has focused on the impact of recovery efforts on the economies of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, estimating the impact of social distancing policies on health and economics outcomes, and a better understanding of occupational risk and economic recovery in response to COVID-19. Previous work focused on developing a framework for estimating the resilience dividend and how to incorporate this framework into transportation planning and assessment as well as bioeconomic modeling of Western US rangelands and trout habitat.

In addition to these topics, he has also explored land loss in Louisiana, changes to workers’ compensation in California, Medicaid expansion, and changes to regulations for oil and gas refineries in California. He earned his PhD in economics from the University of Colorado – Boulder and has previously held faculty positions at the University of Iowa and University of Wyoming.

Dr. Peter Dixon Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University, Australia

Professor Peter B. Dixon was awarded a PhD by Harvard in 1972. After working at the International Monetary Fund and the Reserve Bank of Australia, Dixon joined the Australian government’s IMPACT Project in 1975 with the mission of building a large scale economy-wide model to assist policy analysis. Subsequently he has become known internationally for his work in computable general equilibrium modelling. Together with colleagues at the IMPACT Project and the Centre of Policy Studies, he created the ORANI model and its dynamic successor, MONASH. These models have been prominent in the Australian economic debate for 45 years and have been used as templates for the development of other models throughout the world. In the last two decades he has led the development of the USAGE model of the U.S. which is being used by the U. S. International Trade Commission and the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Transportation and Homeland Security.

Dixon was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia in 1982; awarded the Distinguished Fellowship of the Economic Society of Australia in 2003; appointed Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor by Monash University in 2006; and elected to the Hall of Fame in the Global Trade Analysis Project in 2015. In the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 2014 he was appointed Officer in the Order of Australia (AO). In 2014 Dixon took up his present position as Professor in the Centre of Policy Studies at Victoria University.

Dr. Patrick Westhoff Director, University of Missouri/Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI)

Dr. Patrick Westhoff is the director of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) and a professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Missouri. He grew up on a small dairy and hog farm in northeast Iowa. After getting his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Iowa, he served as Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala.

He has a master’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas and a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Iowa State University. From 1992-1996, he was an economist with the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, where he worked on farm legislation and trade agreements.

Westhoff came to the University of Missouri in 1996. As FAPRI director, he heads a group that develops projections for agricultural markets and analyzes the impacts of agricultural, biofuel, trade, conservation and nutrition policies. Besides his work for U.S. policy makers, he has worked on projects in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. As an MU professor, he teaches classes in agricultural policy and advises students.

He is married to Elena Vega, has three children and two grandchildren, and lives in Columbia, Missouri.

Adam Rose Director, Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE), University of Southern California

Adam Rose is a Research Professor in the University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy, and Director of USC’s Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE). Professor Rose’s primary research interest is the economics of disasters. He has spearheaded the development of CREATE’s comprehensive economic consequence analysis framework and has done pioneering research on resilience at the level of the individual business/household, market/industry and regional/national economy. He has also completed dozens of case studies of disaster consequences, resilience and recovery, including the September 11 terrorist attacks. He is currently the PI on an NSF grant on advanced computational methods to improve reliability and resilience of interdependent systems and a contract with the Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute to measure static economic the cost-effectiveness of individual resilience tactics.

Professor Rose has served as the American Economic Association Representative to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences Multi-Hazard Mitigation Council and of the Advisory Board of the Center for National Policy Resilience Forum. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Research from the International Society for Integrated Risk Management (IDRiM), a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, East-West Center Fellowship, American Planning Association Outstanding Program Planning Honor Award, Applied Technology Council Outstanding Achievement Award, Regional Economic Models Outstanding Economic Analysis Award, DHS/CREATE Transition Product of the Year Award. He is also an elected Fellow of the Regional Science Association International.

Rear Admiral Christopher J. Tomney (ret.) Director, Office of Operations Coordination

Rear Admiral Christopher Tomney, USCG (ret.) assumed the duties as Director, Office of Operations Coordination for the Department of Homeland Security in August 2019. As the OPS Director, Rear Admiral Tomney leads DHS efforts to provide operations coordination, information sharing, situational awareness, and a common operating picture. He also leads the DHS continuity program, enabling execution of the Secretary’s responsibilities across the homeland security enterprise and ensuring resiliency of the Department during continuity of operations. Prior to this assignment, he served as a Special Advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security since October 2018 where he led a Unified Coordination Group in support of Southwest Border humanitarian and security crisis operations as well as completed an executive-level assignment assessing the future state of DHS Headquarters situational awareness and operations coordination activities.

Rear Admiral Tomney retired from the U.S. Coast Guard in July 2018 after serving as the Director, Joint Interagency Task Force South; a position which he held since April 2015. Previous flag assignments included Assistant Commandant, Intelligence and Criminal Investigations and Director, Joint Interagency Task Force West.

Rear Admiral Tomney graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Science. He earned a Master of Science degree in Strategic Intelligence from the Defense Intelligence College and completed a federal executive fellowship at the Brookings Institution, earning the Brookings Certificate in Public Leadership.

Rear Admiral Tomney served in a variety of intelligence assignments involving training, operations, planning, and management. He served as the School Chief for the Coast Guard’s Operational Intelligence School, Deputy Director of the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area Intelligence Division, and Deputy Director of the Coast Guard’s Counterintelligence Service. Upon establishment, he served as the first Director of Intelligence Operations for the Maritime Intelligence Fusion Center, Pacific. His national-level intelligence experience includes Chief of the Coast Guard’s Intelligence Plans and Policy Office, Executive Assistant to the Assistant Commandant for Intelligence and Criminal Investigations, and Commanding Officer, Coast Guard Intelligence Coordination Center.

Rear Admiral Tomney is a permanent cutterman and is qualified in tactical law enforcement. He commanded USCGC POINT MONROE out of Freeport, Texas and USCGC OCRACOKE out of Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. He served as a Deck Watch Officer in USCGC DILIGENCE and as Executive Officer in USCGC CONFIDENCE both homeported in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Additionally, he commanded Law Enforcement Detachment Two out of Key West, Florida.

Rear Admiral Tomney’s military decorations include the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal (2), Legion of Merit (2), Meritorious Service Medal, and the Coast Guard Commendation Medal (4). He also was awarded the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal by the Director of National Intelligence.

Alejandro Mayorkas Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security

Alejandro Mayorkas was sworn in as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security by President Biden on February 2, 2021.

Mayorkas is the first Latino and immigrant confirmed to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security. He has led a distinguished 30-year career as a law enforcement official and a nationally-recognized lawyer in the private sector. Mayorkas served as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2016, and as the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from 2009 to 2013. During his tenure at DHS, he led the development and implementation of DACA, negotiated cybersecurity and homeland security agreements with foreign governments, led the Department’s response to Ebola and Zika, helped build and administer the Blue Campaign to combat human trafficking, and developed an emergency relief program for orphaned youth following the tragic January 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Mayorkas also created the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate to better ensure the integrity of the legal immigration system.

Mayorkas began his government service in the Department of Justice, where he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California, specializing in the prosecution of white collar crime. After nearly nine years as a federal prosecutor, he became the youngest United States Attorney in the nation, overseeing prosecutions of national significance, including the investigation and prosecution of financial fraud, violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, public corruption, violent crime, cybercrime, environmental crime, international money laundering, and securities fraud.

Mayorkas received his bachelor’s degree with distinction from the University of California at Berkeley and a law degree from Loyola Law School.

Dr. Erroll G. Southers Professor of the Practice in National and Homeland Security Director, Safe Communities Institute Director of Homegrown Violent Extremism Studies

Dr. Erroll G. Southers is a former FBI Special Agent, Professor of the Practice in National and Homeland Security, Director of the Safe Communities Institute and Director of Homegrown Violent Extremism Studies at the University of Southern California (USC) Sol Price School of Public Policy. He is also an adjunct subject matter expert for the RAND Corporation. Dr. Southers was President Barack Obama’s first nominee for Transportation Security Administration Assistant Secretary and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Deputy Director for Critical Infrastructure of the California Office of Homeland Security. He served as Assistant Chief of Homeland Security and Intelligence at the Los Angeles World Airports Police Department, police officer and gang expert with the Santa Monica Police Department and enjoyed the distinction of being a member of FBI SWAT. Dr. Southers has testified on several occasions before the full Congressional Committee on Homeland Security as a subject matter expert. As the author of Homegrown Violent Extremism, he is a noted counterterrorism expert and security analyst to a variety of media networks, lectures and consults around the world. Dr. Southers earned his undergraduate degree from Brown University, and he holds masters and doctoral degrees in public policy from USC.

Kimberly Hutchinson Chief Learning Officer, Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

Kimberly Hutchinson is the Assistant Administrator and Chief Learning Officer for the Office of Training and Development, where she oversees TSA’s technical and leadership training and development programs for more than 50,000 employees at 450 airports nationwide. Before her formal appointment to the role in November 2017, Hutchinson served as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for both the Office of Training and Development and its predecessor, the Office of Training and Workforce Engagement.

Hutchinson joined the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer in 2004, where she oversaw resource and policy issues for TSA. She subsequently joined TSA’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer, with responsibility for TSA’s technology portfolio. During her tenure at TSA, Hutchinson has held a number of leadership positions. As Director for the Office of Security Operations Mission Support, she oversaw the budget and administrative support for 450 airports. She also managed the budget for the Office of Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service. Most recently, Hutchinson served as the Executive Advisor to former TSA Administrator John Pistole.

Hutchinson has extensive knowledge of leadership development. She completed new-hire training as a member of the Office of Security Operations leadership team and graduated from the inaugural TSA Senior Leadership Development Program in 2010. She is a strong supporter of employee engagement and front-line workforce issues, with executive experience in employee communications and collective bargaining activities. In addition, Hutchinson has been a long-time advocate for diversity, as she established the Office of Security Operations Women’s Network to promote diversity and increase opportunities in the workplace. She currently serves as the Secretary for Women Executives at TSA.

Hutchinson is a graduate of the University of Virginia.

Gladys Brignoni Chief Learning Officer, United States Coast Guard

Dr. Gladys Brignoni assumed the duties of the U.S. Coast Guard Chief Learning Officer and the Deputy Commander, Force Readiness Command in November 2011. In this capacity, Dr. Brignoni leads the U.S. Coast Guard efforts to ensure the delivery of mission-ready forces through superior performance-based training, career development, education, doctrine, leader development, readiness assessments and major exercise contingency support. Since 2011, Dr. Brignoni has had an opportunity to fulfill other USCG assignments to include being the Senior Executive Advisor on Diversity and Inclusion for the agency and the Special Advisor to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Prior to her assignment as the Deputy Commander at Force Readiness Command, Dr. Brignoni was the Executive Director at the Navy Warfare Development Command where she oversaw all contracts, requirements and programs to include doctrine development, Fleet Synthetic Training, and Modeling and Simulation. Other career highlights include being the Facility Support Services and Contract Manager for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic, the Executive Director at the Center for Naval Intelligence (CNI), the Director of Training and Learning Standards at CNI, the Education Specialist at the Joint Forces Staff College, the Language and Cross-Cultural Communication Specialist at the Peace Corps and an Assistant Professor of Education at Old Dominion University.

A native of Puerto Rico, Dr. Brignoni has over 20 years of experience in talent management, diversity and inclusion, training, performance improvement and change management. She holds a B.A. from Purdue University, a M.A.T. and a Ph.D. in Education from Indiana University. She is a member of the Defense Acquisition Workforce as a certified Facilities Engineer and a certified Lean Six-Sigma Black Belt.