Participants Comment on the Executive Leaders Program

I recently had the privilege to attend the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), Executive Leaders Program (ELP) at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) where I was introduced to a broader context regarding Homeland Security not only from a federal perspective, but also from the city and state level. This experience created within me a passion to learn more so I can do more in advancing homeland security and for bringing our city, state and federal partners together as one team working for the greater good of our country.       

The Center for Homeland Defense and the Executive Leadership Program (ELP) is outstanding forum of professionals from the public and private sector. It is an opportunity to hear other professionals speak about the challenges they confront and their formulas for success.

The ELP provides a unique experience for a nationally represented, cross sector, and multi-discipline dialogue that has provided the participants with an increased respect for the national effort of "securing the homeland".        

Over my 25 year career, having been fortunate to attend some of the most quality training that Public Safety has to offer; I have found that the training, resources and collaboration offered by The Center for Homeland Defense and Security far exceed the expectations that professionals in this line of work could ever imagine. The thorough and relative training received through CHDS prepared me for the questions and concerns our state faces on a daily basis; while also allowing me to foster professional relationships with others across our nation that stand ready to share their experience.       

Despite having spent more than 10 years developing and implementing national homeland security preparedness programs, the Executive Leaders Program made me rethink some of my most basic assumptions about how we were approaching the mission and gave me invaluable new insights and perspective for moving forward. To put it simply, the program completely changed the way I think about preparedness.       

The Executive Leaders Program has been the most beneficial professional development course I have ever experienced. The opportunity to learn from the experienced staff at CHDS and NPS combined with the in-depth conversations with my classmates combined to create a super-charged atmosphere highly conducive to innovation and information exchange. I never failed to return to work with pages full of notes and ideas that I could implement at my company to improve our emergency management and homeland security capacity. I felt especially privileged to be able to bring a perspective from the private sector that many of my classmates had not previously considered, and to help shape the role we should play in future disasters.       

CHDS helped provide me with a different outlook on the mission of protecting America. No longer was it "us" the private sector and "them" law enforcement. At the end of the day, we all have the same goals, ideologies, and issues that we deal with. Not only did CHDS allow me to understand the current state of affairs in the homeland security arena, but gave me the opportunity to show other executives how the private sector prepares itself for the same challenges.

Since my time spent at CHDS, I have started to work with my senior management to implement a fusion center operations model at my company to help exchange intelligence as well streamline operations in an effort to protect customers, employees, and infrastructure. Additionally, I was recently asked and currently sit on two different advisory boards of organizations that build partnerships between the private and public sector. I will continue to use the tools and education received from CHDS to strengthen those partnerships and create an awareness that we are all in this together.       

I highly recommend the CHDS Executive Leaders Program for senior officials engaged in homeland security issues at federal, state, tribal and local levels. This program provides a one-of-a-kind educational forum, focusing on terrorism, homeland security issues, and contemporary public policy matters. I recently completed a PhD program, and the subject matter in this program is delivered at a comparable academic level but without the dissertation! The ELP provides an excellent setting to facilitate identification and resolution homeland security challenges, but more importantly, it provides the perfect environment for building the relationships and networks that will promote homeland security information sharing for years to come. This program was well worth the 4 week investment of my time.        

Participating in the Executive Leadership Program was one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional career, and I strongly encourage our next generation of homeland security professionals to take advantage of the CHDS programs.       

I recently completed the nine month CHDS Executive Leader's Program (ELP) on the campus of the NPS. The four one-week sessions over the nine month period, coupled with the suggested readings, provided me a holistic overview of Homeland Security that was not available elsewhere in the same fast paced format. What was most profound for me was the distinction between "Hometown Security" vs. Homeland Security. Until participating in the ELP, my "comfort zone" was within the Federal mindset of Homeland Security as embodied by the DHS. As a result of the ELP, I have a greater appreciation for the "Hometown Security" aspects of the Homeland Security mission. This includes the goals/challenges of our emergency responders from local police/fire and FEMA. One of the most insightful parts of the ELP involved the exchanges between the excellent staff/instructors and the participants as well as between the participants themselves. We were able to dive into areas that could not have been explored without having the diverse group that comprised our ELP. The administrative support staff was top notch and handled the logistical aspects of our attendance extremely well. It was apparent that the entire CHDS staff was looking out for the best interests of the participants. My exposure to the ELP and CHDS/NPS was such a positive and enriching experience that not only do I enthusiastically recommend the ELP for others, but I recommend the M.A. program as well. The M.A. program is something that will bring great value to current/future leaders within the Homeland Security domain and supports establishing a "discipline" in this new field. In fact, my experience with the ELP has made me give serious thought to applying for the M.A. program. In short, the ELP brought together a diverse group of Homeland Security professionals and gave us the opportunity to explore/challenge/learn and then walk away with the desire to pursue additional learning opportunities within this critical domain.