Thirty-two students complete CHDS Emergence Program

Paul Vega, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Refugee Officer, receives his certificate from David O’Keeffe, Ellen Gordon, and Glen Woodbury.

On January 17, thirty-two students completed the Emergence Program at Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS). They are the fourth cohort of students to complete the program since inception in 2017, increasing the number of Emergence alumni to a total of 128 students. Emergence Program alumni represent future leadership of the homeland security enterprise, and include professionals from the fields of emergency management, education, law enforcement, fire service, homeland security, public health, and city/county government. The goal of the Emergence Program is to develop a homeland security workforce with advanced critical thinking and policy development skills.

The women of Emergence 1902 get together for a group photo.

The burgeoning Emergence Program targets homeland security practitioners in the early stages of their careers to address emerging issues and trends while honing their innovative thinking and policy development skills. Topics included traditional homeland security matters along with new components such as an Innovation Lab, individual action plans and presentations, and a group policy exercise.

During the 8-month online and in-residence program, students collaborated with emerging homeland security officials from across the nation on current policy, strategy, and organizational design challenges. The diverse cohort reflects the multi-jurisdictional cooperation that is required for a cohesive homeland security partnership:

• Local: Elkhart Police Department (IN), New York City Police Department, Boston EMS, Novi Police Department, Lancaster City Bureau of Fire (PA), Billings Fire Department, Placer County Sheriff’s Office (CA), Teton County Emergency Management (WY), Fire Department City of New York, Monongalia County Health Department (WV), Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (DC)
• State: California Highway Patrol, Maryland Emergency Response System, Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, Ohio Homeland Security, New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, Minneapolis Community and Technical College
• Federal: United States Park Police, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. Secret Service, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Department of the Interior/Office of Emergency Management, U.S. Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
• Private sector: The Walt Disney Company, The Cleveland Clinic

A few of the emergency responders from Emergence 1902.

Located at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), CHDS is the nation’s homeland security educator. Established in 2002 by the U.S. government, CHDS is a one-of-a-kind educational forum that brings together local, tribal, territorial, state, federal, and private sector leaders to learn, debate, and solve homeland security challenges while bridging gaps in interagency and intergovernmental cooperation. The Emergence Program is open to full-time government employees of a local, state, tribal, territorial, or federal homeland security/public safety agency or a private sector employee with security or safety responsibilities. CHDS is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), National Preparedness Directorate, within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security

Emergence Program, cohort 1902

Photo courtesy of Javier Chagoya, NPS-PAO.

*Title and agency represented. Names have been omitted for privacy.

GIS Application Developer, Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs

Manager of Resilience and Sustainability Affairs, Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies

Firefighter/Paramedic, Billings Fire Department

EMT, Boston EMS

Investigator, California Highway Patrol

Emergency Management Program Manager, Cleveland Clinic

Detection Enforcement Officer/ Aviation Specialist, Customs and Border Protection/ Air and Marine Operations

Deportation Officer, Department of Homeland Security / U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Officer/Customs and Border Protection Officer, Department of Homeland Security/Customs and Border Protection-Office of Field Operations

Cyber and Infrastructure Risk Analyst, DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

Refugee Officer, DHS-USCIS

1st Class Patrolman, Elkhart Police Department

Firefighter, Fire Department City of New York

Firefighter, Lancaster City Bureau of Fire

Training & Exercise Coordinator, Maryland Emergency Response System

Associate Director of Public Safety, Minneapolis Community and Technical College

Threat Preparedness Specialist, Monongalia County Health Department

Aeronautical Intelligence Analyst, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Police Officer, New York City Police Department

Homeland Security Program Analyst II, New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services

Patrol Officer, Novi Police Department

Program Administrator, Ohio Homeland Security

Deputy Sheriff, Placer County Sheriff’s Office

Program Assistant, Teton County Emergency Management

Manager, Strategic Security Communications, The Walt Disney Company – Global Security

Master Security Training Instructor, Transportation Secuirty Administration

Immigration Services Officer II – Violence Against Women Act Unit, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security

Emergency Management Specialist, U.S. Department of the Interior/ Office of Emergency Management

PACAREA-37 Cutter Forces – Platform Manager, United States Coast Guard

Horse Mounted Patrol Officer, United States Park Police

Police Officer, United States Secret Service

Special Agent, USSS