Americas Homeland Security: 25-years After 9/11

Jeh Johnson served as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017, leading the nation's third-largest federal department with oversight of agencies including TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Secret Service. Previously, he served as General Counsel of the Department of Defense under President Barack Obama, where he helped shape U.S. counterterrorism policy and co-authored the report that led to the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Earlier, he served as General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in New York. A graduate of Morehouse College and Columbia Law School, Johnson is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Frances Fragos Townsend is a nationally recognized expert in homeland security, counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and corporate governance. She served as Assistant to President George W. Bush for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and chaired the Homeland Security Council, helping lead major national security initiatives including intelligence reform, cybersecurity policy, and the post-Hurricane Katrina lessons-learned review. A former federal prosecutor and senior Justice Department official, Townsend later held executive leadership roles at Activision Blizzard and MacAndrews & Forbes, serves as Chairwoman of Leonardo DRS, and sits on the boards of Chubb and Freeport-McMoRan. She is also a frequent national security commentator and advisor to corporate and government leaders on cybersecurity, intelligence, and risk management.

Tom Ridge was born in Munhall, Pennsylvania. Raised in a working class family, he won a scholarship to Harvard University, graduating with honors in 1967. While attending Dickinson School of Law, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He served as an infantry staff sergeant in Vietnam, winning the Bronze Star for valor. After completing his military service he returned to law school, graduating in 1972. He went on to serve as an Assistant District Attorney in Erie before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982. The first enlisted Vietnam veteran to become a member of Congress, he served six terms before winning the governorship. Ridge's gubernatorial administration saved families and employers nearly $8.7 billion through tax cuts, workers compensation reform, a reduction in red tape, and electric and natural gas competition, all of which helped create nearly 300,000 new jobs. Ridge also made Pennsylvania a technology leader, winning the nation's first model e-commerce law. In addition, he focused on education, winning legislation to create charter schools, alternative education for disruptive students, and professional development for teachers. He won reelection, but was chosen before completing his second term to become head of the nation's new Office of Homeland Security, created in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. When the Office achieved Department status, Ridge became Secretary of Homeland Security, a position in which he served until 2005. He went on to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of Home Depot and of Savi Technology.