Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee Members

The Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee (HSINAC) is composed of not more than 20 members who are well known within their field of specialty and may serve for terms of up to three years.  Members are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Secretary.  Members may represent federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement; emergency services; emergency management; public health; and the private sector.  The intent is for the committee members to provide a balanced perspective of the federal, state, local, tribal and private sector communities whom they represent.    

Homeland Security

Jeanette Phillips
Jeanette is currently a grant coordinator for the State of Texas Department of Public Safety Governor’s Division of Emergency Management. She is responsible for the administration of the state’s Web-based Homeland Security Grant Management System and interfaces with the contractor who maintains the system to identify and incorporate needed improvements. Additionally, she conducts surveys, inspections, and reviews to determine compliance with grant requirements, laws, regulations, policies, and procedures. Jeanette has a B.A. in Sociology/History from Louisiana College.

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State, Local, or Tribal Law Enforcement

Daniel Cooney
Dan has been a member of the New York State Police (NYSP) for more than 19 years. He has had extensive training as well as leadership roles in the area of criminal intelligence operations, intelligence and information sharing, intelligence-led policing, counter-terrorism, and homeland security. In the past 10 years, his primary duties and responsibilities have focused on law enforcement intelligence and the overall prevention and deterrence aspects of the counter-terrorism and homeland security mission.

Ronald Leavell
Ron has spent over 25 years in law enforcement and is currently a commander with the Seattle Police Department, overseeing the Criminal Intelligence Section within the Homeland Security Bureau. He has served in this capacity for over six years in addition to serving on the Governor’s Committee on Homeland Security-Intelligence and Prevention Subcommittees and the Law Enforcement Intelligence Units’ (LEIU) National Board of Directors. He is a member of the Major City Chief’s Intelligence Commander’s Group. He oversees the Department members assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force as well as the Washington State Fusion Center. He has been involved with a myriad of information systems. His education includes a Juris Doctorate from Seattle University and a M.S. in Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security where he completed his master’s research and thesis on creating a national counter-terrorism network.

Barry Lindquist
Barry’s law enforcement career exceeds 37 years, including 28 years with the Pompano Beach Police Department. He has been with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement since 1998 and currently serves as an inspector. Barry has a M.S. in Management from St. Thomas University, specializing in Public Administration and Human Resource Management. Barry has been assigned to the Florida Domestic Security Task Force since its creation shortly after 911. He is presently assigned to the Florida Fusion Center in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Office of Statewide Intelligence in Tallahassee and has been the Department's primary point of contact for the Homeland Security Information Network.

Michael Milstead, Chair
Mike has over 34 years of public safety service: 24 years with the Sioux Falls Police Department and 10 years as Minnehaha County Sheriff. He has been unopposed in the last three elections. He has extensive training from Northwestern University in Crisis Intervention/Hostage Negotiation. He has also attended the National Fire Academy as a fire/arson investigator. Currently, he is a member of the Sioux Falls/Minnehaha County Unified Command and sits on the Governor’s Senior Advisory Council on Homeland Security. He also serves on the Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Board, which operates an Intelligence Support Center. This support center interacts with multiple intelligence systems throughout the United States.

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Federal Law Enforcement

Jason Henry
Jason started as an Immigration Special Agent with the San Francisco District Office; eight years later he transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) HQ where he oversaw the creation of ICE Pattern Analysis Information Collection Tool (ICEPIC). Jason received his B.A. in International Relations from the University of California at Davis. He is currently the Section Chief of the Enterprise Services Group within the Executive Information/Modernization Unit of the Office of Investigations (OI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In this position, he oversees the government and contract staff responsible for the development of all OI IT systems.

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Fire Service

Kevin McGee
Chief McGee has been in the fire service for 27 years. He is currently Chief of the Prince William County, Virginia, Department of Fire and Rescue. He is responsible for fire and rescue services and emergency management. Kevin holds a Master’s of Public Administration from George Mason University. He completed the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy and Program for Senior Executives in State & Local Government from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and received the Chief Fire Officer Designation. Kevin also serves as a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs Terrorism and Homeland Security Committee.

Michael Puzziferri
Chief Puzziferri is a 30-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). He is currently assigned as Deputy Chief of Counterterrorism and Emergency Preparedness. In addition to his work with the HSINAC, Michael is a member of the National Fusion Center Coordination Group (NFCCG) and the Fire Service Intelligence Enterprise (FSIE). In his spare time, he completes his studies at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security's Master of Arts Degree Program, Naval Postgraduate School, in Monterey, California.

Steven Westermann
Chief Westermann has been in the fire service for over 35 years. He served as President of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) from 2007-2008. Prior to this, he was on the IAFC’S NFPA 1710 Implementation Guide Task Force. Steven has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Missouri-KC. He is also an EFO graduate, Chief Fire Officer Designate, and a graduate of the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at Harvard University. 

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Public Health

James Paturas
James is the Deputy Director for the Yale New Haven Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response which provides coordination of emergency preparedness for Bridgeport, Greenwich, Yale-New Haven, Yale-New Haven Children’s and Yale-New Haven’s Psychiatric Hospitals. James has over 30 years experience in hospitals and health care. James attended the City College of New York. He is a Fellow and the Past President of the American College of Contingency Planners and Past President of the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians. He has authored and edited several medical texts and publications focusing primarily on pre-hospital care, emergency medicine and disaster preparedness.

Mary “Shelly” Schechter
Shelly is the Director of the Division of Community Health for the Nassau County Department of Health in Long Island, NY. This office is responsible for all emergency response policy development, education and planning in the county Health and Human Services departments and integration of preparedness planning with the Office of Emergency Management. Shelly is on several county, city, and state level healthcare emergency preparedness and response planning organizations. Shelly is a Board Certified Clinical Nurse Specialist in Community Health. She received a B.S from Boston College, an M.S from Adelphi University School of Nursing and an M.A in Security Studies from the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.

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Emergency Management

Edward Anderson
Edward is the Bioterrorism and Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for the City of Pasadena Public Health Department. In this position, Edward is responsible for a wide range of operational issues to include strategic national stockpile force protection, all-hazards emergency preparedness planning, developing policies and procedures for emergency responses to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive events. Edward has a B.A in Microbiology with biomedical research specialties in Retinal Cell Biology, Molecular Biology and Nuclear Medicine at California State University. He has an M.A with honors in Philosophy and Religion, Project Management Certification from Villanova University, an MBA from University of West Florida/Regis University and he is completing his J.D. Degree in Law from Southwestern School of Law.

Rolando Rivero
Rolando is currently an Emergency Management Program Specialist with FEMA Region V. In this position, he is responsible for generating situation reports, regional disaster summaries, and regional analysis & recommendations based upon updates received from state emergency management personnel. He attended DePaul University, Wright College, and Northwestern University.

Albert Vincent
Albert has been with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management for 18 years. He is currently the Special Assistant for Commonwealth Security. The primary responsibilities of this position include directing state-level intelligence and information analysis programs for emergency management and supervising the development of programs and procedures necessary to ensure adequate intelligence capabilities. He led the design of the Virginia State Fusion Center and manages its daily operations. Albert is a graduate of the Virginia Executive Institute.

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Private Sector

Kevin Brown
Kevin is the Vice-President and General Manager of Trigen-Philadelphia Energy Corporation. He is responsible for the planning and execution of business growth strategies as well as providing leadership, motivation, and direction to his employees. Kevin has a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Lehigh University and a B.A from East Stroudsburg University. He has been very active in industry affairs and has served in a number of leadership positions with the International District Energy Association.

Joseph Rozek
Joseph has over 35 years experience combating terrorism and Homeland Security. Retired after 29 years as a colonel in the U.S. Army, he has served in several senior positions within the White House and Department of Defense and played an integral role in the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the development of the nation’s post-9/11 defense strategy. His current position is in the private sector with Microsoft Corporation where he is the Executive Director for Homeland Security Intelligence. In this capacity, he is responsible for developing and implementing a strategic business plan in the area of homeland security intelligence and information sharing. He also continues to be a noted subject matter expert in counter-terrorism, anti-terrorism, consequence management and national special security events.

Jeff Peters
Jeff is currently the Senior Director of Global Federal Business and Washington DC Operations for ESRI. In this position, he built a cooperative working relationship with state and local leadership and Congress which has garnered substantial growth in the Geospatial market and advanced geospatial programs and strategies. His in-depth background includes information technology, business process reengineering, information sharing and geospatial information and Science. Jeff has an MBA in Information Technology from the University of Redlands, and a B.A in Political Science from the University of Montana in Missoula

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