Praising their fellow participants as impressive and inspirational, the Center for Homeland Defense and Security Executive Leaders Program cohort 2202 graduated 32 participants during a ceremony at Herrmann Hall at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, on Thursday, Aug. 10.
On the occasion of his final graduation ceremony, retiring CHDS Director Glen Woodbury recounted how he had been asked what his most iconic moment was at the Center. Woodbury said he responded, “That’s easy, it’s every one of these [graduation ceremonies]. This is how we move the ball forward on making this nation safer.”
ELP Director Sara Kay thanked Woodbury for his many years of service and his leadership at CHDS and welcomed newly appointed Interim CHDS Director Jodi Stiles.
During the ceremony, one of the cohort’s standouts, Cook County, IL, Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security Deputy Director Lydia Watts, was named the recipient of the cohort’s Ellen Gordon Award, which goes to the participant chosen by their classmates for exhibiting the capacity to “seek knowledge beyond what is commonly known, to challenge the status quo.”
Watts described her CHDS and ELP experience as a “very rich environment” and an “incubator,” praising her fellow participants for their acumen and contributions to the cohort and commitment to each other.
“There [was] not anybody in that room who I can’t call,” she said, adding, “My expectations were filled being here, and it reinvigorated the aspect of learning in my career.”
DSS/DOS Special Agent in Charge, San Francisco, CA, Office, William Chang said the opportunity to interact with homeland security officials at the local level was an “interaction I don’t usually get” and was illuminating, noting the “diversity of the makeup” of the cohort.
San Francisco Department of Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Director Andrea Tenner said she joined the ELP in an effort to bridge the gap between public health and public safety, and the experience of learning from fellow participants and instructors “really opened my mind” to different perspectives.
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, VA, Chief of Police Leonard Johns said his top highlight from the ELP experience was the “networking” with his fellow participants and suggested that the cohort’s camaraderie occurred quicker than any other educational program in which he had participated.
“This is DHS at its best,” Johns said.
CHDS Executive Leaders Program Cohort 2202 Graduates:
- Kamran Afzal – Director and Chief of Police, Dayton Police Department – Dayton, OH
- Margaret Arechiga – Senior Field Representative, United States Senate – FRESNO, CA
- Jeff Boyles – Fire Chief, Newport Beach Fire Department – Newport Beach, CA
- Jesi Carlson – Senior Litigation Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice – Washington, DC
- William Chang – Special Agent in Charge, DSS/DOS – San Francisco, CA
- Brett Compston – Director of Operations, Nevada National Guard – Reno, NV
- Lanita Cullinane – Superintendent, Boston Police Department – Boston, MA
- Dianna Davis-Small – Transportation Security Specialist/Strategic Planner, DHS/Transportation Security Administration – Fort Washington, MD
- Darnelly De Jesus – Chief Integrity Officer/ Deputy Assistant Director, USSS – Washington, DC
- Bruce Evans – Fire Chief, Upper Pine River Fire Protection District – Durango, CO
- Herbert Griffin – Fire Chief, City of Raleigh – Raleigh, NC
- Lushan Hannah – Chief, Preparedness Division, U.S. Coast Guard – Pacific Area – Alameda, CA
- Daryle Hernandez – Chief, CISA/DHS – Bluemont, VA
- Erin Hoffman – Director, Office of National Exercises and Technological Hazards (ONETH), FEMA – Washington, DC
- Leonard Johns – Chief of Police, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond – Richmond, VA
- Dean Koester – Deputy Assistant Chief assigned to Fire Operations, FDNY – Massapequa, NY
- Devin Kowalski – Assistant Special Agent in Charge, FBI – Detroit, MI
- Bryan Krane – Deputy Director, Response Division, FEMA – NEW YORK, NY
- Taylor Lam – Captain of the Port / Sector Commander, United States Coast Guard Sector San Francisco – San Francisco, CA
- Kevin McElyea – Director, Colorado Information Analysis Center, DHSEM – Denver, CO
- Tracy Mulet – Captain, New York Police Department – Bklyn , NY
- Anders Noyes – Head of Security and Safety, Honolulu Musem of Art – Honolulu, HI
- Sonja Orgias – Chief Counsel, NYC Emergency Management – Brooklyn, NY 11201, NY
- Paul Petersen – Director, Emergency Preparedness Program, Tennessee Department of Health – Nashville, TN
- Andrew Phelps – Vice President of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, AC Disaster Consulting – Lake Oswego, OR
- Jorge Rodriguez – Emergency Management Coordinator, El Paso City-County Office of Emergency Management – El Paso, TX
- Nat Rojanasathira – Assistant City Manager, City of Monterey – Monterey, CA
- Molly Schaeffer – Deputy Chief of Staff to the Mayor and Senior Emergency Advisor, Office of the Mayor – Brooklyn, NY
- Joshua Shorr – Watch Commander, US Customs and Border Protection – Jamaica, NY
- Andrea Tenner – Director, Emergency Preparedness and Response, San Francisco Department of Public Health – San Francisco, CA
- Lydia L. Watts – Deputy Director-Training, Cook County Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security – Chicago, IL
- Rachael Weatherly – Senior Policy Advisor, FEMA – Silver Spring, MD
