Acting Secretary Wolf Announces New Homeland Security Advisory Council Members

On a call today with the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC), Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf introduced seven new members to the group of top industry leaders, James Carafano, James Fuller, Hans C. Miller, Chris Nocco, Cynthia Renaud, Mark Weatherford, and Brian White. In one of the largest HSAC member attended meetings in recent years, the group discussed a range of homeland security issues and received progress reports from the Economic Security, Information and Communications Technology Risk Reduction, Youth Engagement, and Biometric subcommittees. 

“My vision for the HSAC, consistent with its charter, is to seek its organizationally independent, strategic, timely, specific and actionable advice on a range of homeland security issues,” said Acting Secretary Wolf. “I am pleased to appoint these leaders in their respective fields to the council and I thank all the HSAC members for their continued service to the country and to the Department.”

“The Department relies on the unique perspectives and strategic advice provided by HSAC members to help address emerging threats in a rapidly changing world. I’m confident that the new members announced today will contribute to this important mission.”

The HSAC is a Department of Homeland Security federal advisory committee that provides the secretary with independent, informed recommendations, and advice on a variety of homeland security issues. The HSAC is comprised of national policy makers, representatives from state, local, and tribal governments, emergency, and first responder communities, academia, and the private sector. Former CIA and FBI Director Judge William Webster is chair of the HSAC.

For more information about the HSAC, visit www.dhs.gov/hsac.

The seven new HSAC members are:

James Carafano is the vice president of The Heritage Foundation’s Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, and the E.W. Richardson Fellow. Mr. Carafano’s most recent publication is an e-book, “Surviving the End”, which addresses emergency preparedness. He also authored “Wiki at War: Conflict in a Socially Networked World”, a survey of the revolutionary impact of the Internet age on national security. He was selected from thousands to speak on cyber warfare at the 2014 South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Conference in Austin, Texas, the nation’s premier tech and social media conference. Mr. Carafano, a 25-year Army veteran, joined Heritage in 2003 as a senior research fellow in homeland security and missile defense.

James Fuller is executive vice president of Hill + Knowlton Strategies, a global public relations consulting company with headquarters in New York. He has executed communications and brand management strategies in numerous sectors including healthcare, IT, real estate, insurance, government services, and energy. Over the past two decades, he has either participated in or led the communications strategy surrounding some of the nation’s most high-profile corporate crises including proxy battles, civil litigation cases, investigations, product recalls, and cyber security breaches.

Hans C. Miller is the CEO and co-founder of Airside, a pioneer in the field of digital identity, privacy, and seamless travel. His work in aviation security has focused on security design, process flow, data analytics, and identity verification. With an emphasis on public-private partnerships, he has worked within or alongside the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Interior and Transportation to drive innovation. Mr. Miller led the authorization and introduction of mobile boarding passes in the U.S. and helped co-write the global mobile boarding pass standard.

Chris Nocco has been the sheriff of Pasco County, Florida since May 2011. During this time, he implemented numerous innovative programs such as Intelligence Led Policing, approaches to addressing mental health and substance abuse within Pasco County, and the creation of a first of its kind training facility, Florida's Forensic Institute for Research, Security, and Tactics (FIRST).  Prior to becoming Sheriff, he served with the Philadelphia Public School Police, the Fairfax County (VA) Police Department, and the Broward County (FL) Sheriff’s Office. Additionally, he was a first responder to the attacks of 9/11 and the Washington, D.C. sniper incident.

Cynthia Renaud currently serves as the chief of police for the city of Santa Monica, California. Prior to leading Santa Monica, she served for seven years as the chief of police for the city of Folsom, California and prior to that she spent 20 years with the Long Beach Police Department in Los Angeles County. Chief Renaud is a member of the California Police Chiefs Association, where she serves on the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) Advisory Committee and the Cybersecurity Task Force. She is currently the 1st Vice President of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and in this role, maintains Policy Council oversight of both the Committee on Terrorism and the Committee on Homeland Security.

Mark Weatherford is the Founding Partner at Aspen Chartered. He was appointed as the first deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security from 2011 to 2013. Mr. Weatherford is a former Navy cryptologic officer and led the Navy’s Computer Network Defense operations and the Naval Computer Incident Response Team. He was also appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as California's first chief information security officer in the Office of Information Security and was the first chief information security officer for Colorado, where he was appointed by both Governor Bill Owens and Governor Bill Ritter.

Brian White, based in San Francisco, leads the global security practice for DBO Partners, a boutique investment bank. Prior to DBO, Brian served as the COO and a member of the Board of Directors at RedOwl, a cybersecurity company that was acquired by Raytheon/Forcepoint in 2017, where he managed day-to-day operations, led all go-to-market activities including sales, marketing, customer success and finance, and drove the strategic direction of the business. Brian also served as a Principal at the Chertoff Group, where he established their West Coast practice and led their global advisory business; led a $100M+ business at Lockheed Martin; and served as a senior official at the Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Michael Chertoff. Brian currently serves on the Board of Advisors at the Center for New America Security (CNAS); and the Board of Advisors at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.