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Current National Threat Level is elevated

The threat level in the airline sector is High or Orange. Read more.

Homeland Security Advisory Council Members

William "Bill" Webster (Chair), Retired Partner, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, LLP

William “Bill” Webster (Chair) served as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1987 to 1991. Prior to his service as CIA Director, he served as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and as a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Judge Webster has been awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the National Security Medal. Following his tenure as CIA Director, Judge Webster worked with the law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley, & McCloy.

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Gary Hart, (Vice Chair), Chairman, American Security Project

Gary Hart (Vice Chair) is the Chairman for the Council for a Livable World and Chairman of the American Security Project. The former Senator from Colorado served on the Hart-Rudman Commission and is an Advisory Board member for the Partnership for a Secure America. He is currently a Scholar in Residence at the University of Colorado.

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Norman "Norm" Augustine, Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Lockheed Martin Corp.

Norman “Norm” Augustine is the retired President and CEO of Lockheed Martin. He served as assistant director of defense research and engineering to the Secretary of Defense and both assistant secretary and under secretary of the Army, consecutively. He was a member of the Hart-Rudman Commission and was awarded the National Medal of Technology by the President, as well as being five times honored with the Distinguished Service Medal.

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Leroy "Lee" Baca, Sheriff, Los Angeles County

Leroy “Lee” Baca is Sheriff of Los Angeles County. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Optimist Youth Homes and Ranch, Puente Learning Center, Buena Nueva Foundation, EMEK Hebrew Academy, Harriett Buhai Center for Family Law, and serves on the Board of Governors of the USC Alumni Association. Sheriff Baca commands the largest Sheriff's Department in the world and supervises more than 13,000 sworn and civilian personnel.

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Richard "Dick" Cañas, Director, New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness

Richard "Dick" Cañas is the Director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. Cañas has served as Director of the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC); Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA’s) Phoenix, Arizona Divisional Office; Special Assistant to the Latin American section of the Central Intelligence Agency; and on the White House’s National Security Council (NSC). He has received eight Excellence in Management Awards from the DEA, and three Presidential Letters of Commendation.

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Kenneth "Chuck" Canterbury, President, Fraternal Order of Police

Kenneth “Chuck” Canterbury is the National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, the largest police labor organization in the country. Prior to his Service as President, Mr. Canterbury spent 25 years with the Horry County Police Department of Conway, South Carolina. Mr. Canterbury worked in the Patrol Division, Criminal Investigations Division, and served as the Training Division Supervisor. Most recently, he served as Chief of the Operations Bureau. Mr. Canterbury has testified before Congress on a number of law enforcement issues and is a member of the National Medal of Valor Board.

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Jared "Jerry" Cohon, President, Carnegie Mellon University

Jared “Jerry” Cohon is the President of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In addition to his academic experience, Dr. Cohon served as a Legislative Assistant for energy and the environment for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. President Bill Clinton appointed him to the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board in 1995 and appointed him to serve as Chair in 1997. Dr. Cohon has taught at Johns Hopkins University and was the Dean of the School of Forestry and Environmental Science at Yale University prior to being appointed President of Carnegie Mellon in 1997.

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Ruth David, President and Chief Executive Officer, ANSER (Analytic Services, Inc.)

Ruth David is President and CEO of ANSER. Dr. David served as Deputy Director for Science and Technology at the Central Intelligence Agency. She represented the CIA on numerous national committees and advisory bodies, including the National Science and Technology Council and the Committee on National Security.

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Manny Diaz, Mayor, City of Miami, Florida

Manny Diaz is the Mayor of Miami, Florida. Mayor Diaz is also president of the United States Conference of Mayors. He serves on the advisory boards for the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Civic Innovation, the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Urban Research, and the Mayors’ Institute on City Design. Mayor Diaz is a partner in the law firm of Diaz & O’Naghten, L.L.P.

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Clark Kent Ervin, Director, Homeland Security Program, The Aspen Institute

Clark Kent Ervin is the Director of the Aspen Institute’s Homeland Security Program. Before joining the Institute in 2005, he served as the first Inspector General for the United States Department of Homeland Security. Prior to his service at DHS, he was the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of State. Mr. Ervin was Associate Director of Policy in the White House Office of National Service in the administration of President George H.W. Bush and has practiced law twice in the private sector.

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Louis Freeh, Senior Managing Partner, Freeh Group International

Louis Freeh served as the Director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1993 through 2001. Before becoming Director, he was an FBI Special Agent, an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and as a Judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Following his service as Director, Judge Freeh was employed as Senior Vice Chairman and General Counsel of MBNA. Judge Freeh currently serves as Senior Managing Partner of the Freeh Group International.

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Ellen Gordon, Associate Director, Naval Postgraduate School, CHDS

Ellen Gordon is an Associate Director and Faculty for the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security. Ms. Gordon previously served as the Governor’s Homeland Security Advisor and the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Administrator for the state of Iowa. She is the former President of the National Emergency Management Association. Ms. Gordon is the 2004 recipient of the Curtis H. “Butch” Straub Award, for exemplary academic achievement and leadership from the Naval Postgraduate School.

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Lee H. Hamilton, President and Director, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Lee Hamilton is President and Director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and director of The Center on Congress at Indiana University. Hamilton served for 34 years in Congress, representing Indiana's Ninth District. Since leaving the House, Hamilton has served as a commissioner on the Hart-Rudman Commission, the Commission to Investigate Certain Security Issues at Los Alamos, and the 9/11 Commission.

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Raymond Kelly, Police Commissioner, City of New York

Raymond Kelly is the Police Commissioner of the City of New York. Commissioner Kelly formerly served as Senior Managing Director, Global Corporate Security, at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. Before that, he served as Commissioner of the U.S. Customs Service and as Under Secretary for Enforcement at the U.S. Treasury Department. He also served on the executive committee and was elected Vice President for the Americas of Interpol.

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John Magaw, Self-employed, Domestic and International Security Consultant

John Magaw is a self-employed domestic and international security consultant who most recently served as the Under Secretary for Security at the Department of Transportation. Magaw has served as the Acting Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and led the Office of National Preparedness with FEMA. Mr. Magaw has also served as the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and Director of the Secret Service.

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Jeff Moss, Founder and Director, Black Hat and DEFCON

Jeff Moss is the Founder and Director of Black Hat and DEFCON Computer Hacker Conferences. Prior to Black Hat, Mr. Moss was a director at Secure Computing Corporation where he helped establish the Professional Services Department in the United States, Asia, and Australia. He has also worked for Ernst & Young, LLP in their Information System Security division.

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Martin O’Malley, Governor, State of Maryland

Martin O’Malley is the Governor of Maryland. He started his career as the Assistant State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, as a member of the Baltimore City Council, and eventually as Mayor of Baltimore City.

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Sonny Perdue, Governor, State of Georgia

Sonny Perdue was sworn in as Georgia’s 81st Governor in 2003. Governor Perdue immediately began to work on reforming the state budget and cutting wasteful spending. During his first term, Georgia created 200,000 new jobs and posted the highest graduation rates and SAT scores in state history. He easily won re-election to a second term in 2006. Prior to his service as Governor, he was a Captain in the United States Air Force, a member of the Houston County Planning and Zoning Board and a member of the Georgia State Senate.

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Harold Schaitberger, General President, International Association of Firefighters

Harold Schaitberger is the General President of the International Association of Firefighters. He also serves as a vice president of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and on the AFLCIO Executive Committee, where he is a vice president of the AFL-CIO’s Executive Council.

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Joe Shirley Jr., President, The Navajo Nation

Joe Shirley Jr. is the President of the Navajo Nation. He served as Executive Director of the Navajo Division of Social Services and on various committees of the Navajo Nation Council. He was appointed to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Counties (NACo). He also served as a member of the Advisory Committee to the President's Commission of Sustainable Communities in Washington, D.C.

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Lydia W. Thomas, Trustee, Noblis, Inc.

Lydia Thomas is a trustee and former President and CEO of Noblis, Inc. Prior to Noblis, Dr. Thomas was with the MITRE Corporation where she held a series of technical and management positions spanning the areas of energy, environment, health, and communication systems. She is a member of the Virginia Governor’s Commission on Climate Change and serves on the Board of Directors of the Cabot Corporation, the United States Energy Association, and the Northern Virginia Technology Council. Dr. Thomas also serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of The George Washington University.

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Frances Fragos Townsend, Former United States Homeland Security Advisory

Frances Fragos Townsend is a partner at Baker Botts, L.L.P. She is the former Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and Assistant District Attorney. She previously served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism. She came to the White House from the United States Coast Guard, where she had served as Assistant Commandant for Intelligence.

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Chuck Wexler, Executive Director, Police Executive Research Forum

Chuck Wexler is Executive Director of the Police Executive Research Forum. Mr. Wexler worked as an assistant to the nation’s first Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and Operations Assistant to the Police Commissioner. He was instrumental in the development and management of the Community Disorders Unit, which earned a national reputation for successfully prosecuting and preventing racially motivated crime. In February 2006, he was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for his extensive work with British and American police agencies.

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John "Skip" Williams, Provost and Vice President for Health, The George Washington University

John “Skip” Williams is the Provost of The George Washington University (GWU) and serves as the Vice President for Health Affairs at the GWU Medical Center. In 2002, The Republic of Panama bestowed the Order of Vasco Nunez de Balboa on Dr. Williams for his efforts to create the International Center for Tropical Diseases and Genomic Studies. He has also received a commendation from the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Officers Foundation for “Lifelong commitment to Health in the United States.”

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Ex Officio Member Edward Mueller, President and CEO, Qwest

Edward Mueller is the Chairman and CEO of Qwest. Prior to joining Williams-Sonoma as CEO, Mr. Mueller held a variety of executive level positions with several telecommunications companies, including Ameritech, SBC International Operations, Pacific Bell and Southwestern Bell Telephone. Mr. Mueller was named by President George W. Bush in April 2008, to chair the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. Mr. Mueller currently serves as a director of The Clorox Company and McKesson Corporation.

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Ex Officio Member Erle Nye, Chairman Emeritus, TXU Corp.

Erle Nye is the Chairman Emeritus of TXU Corp. Nye serves on the board of directors of the Edison Electric Institute and is past chairman of the board of directors of the Electric Power Research Institute, North American Electric Reliability Council, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, and the Nuclear Energy Institute. Nye served on the advisory committee to the President’s Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection and on the U. S. Department of Energy’s Electric System Reliability Task Force. He is also a member of The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents.

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This page was last reviewed / modified on November 12, 2009.