FEMA PrepTalks: Youth Safety
Leaders and experts in school safety, youth safety and preparedness came together in summer 2018 to talk about Rethinking School Safety, Safety is Personal: Lessons Learned as a Survivor of the Virginia Tech Tragedy,...
Anti-Intellectualism and the Search for Truth
Play the audio: We live in a world where information is abundant. But in our search for truth we must be careful. Without carefully curating the quality and rigor of information we receive, its...
Leading Through Chaos
In this NPS-CHDS Viewpoints, retired National Guard Brigadier General Mike McDaniel, a master’s degree alumnus, discusses his role in addressing the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. A change in the source of the city’s...
Theses from the NPS Center for Homeland Defense and Security
March 2018 theses released and available in the Homeland Security Digital Library. The most recent outstanding thesis winner is Samantha Korta, with her thesis work entitled “Fake News, Conspiracy Theories, and Lies: An Information Laundering...
University Virtual Operations Support Team: engaging student volunteers in social media response
In this NPS-CHDS Viewpoints, Kyle Falkner, City of Fort Worth Fire Department, and Charity Menefee , Knox County TN Health Department, talk about the potential of their UVOST program (University Virtual Operations Support Team). As part...
Fake News: A Challenge for Decision Makers
Video presentation at the 2018 APEX workshop (Alumni Professional Exchange). Mike Ananny, Assistant Professor of Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California, led a session titled “Fake News: A Challenge for...
Artificial Intelligence: A Practitioner’s Perspective
Video presentation at the 2018 APEX workshop (Alumni Professional Exchange). Michael van Lent, CEO with the company SoarTech, discusses advances and limitations in Artificial Intelligence, or AI. Van Lent talks about systems such...
Including the Private Sector in Disaster Response
In this NPS-CHDS Viewpoints, Heather Issvoran talks with CHDS alum Ed Lowery, who served 25 years in government service with the US Secret Service and is now in the private sector. Ed uses the response...
Preventing Violent Extremism with Targeted Intervention
In this Viewpoints, Mourad Mourad, Sergeant of Detective Squad with the NYPD, talks about his Master’s research on countering violent extremism (CVE). He asks what law enforcement can do to get involved earlier and...
A Use-of-Force Doctrine in Policing
Play the audio: Reports of police use of excessive force appear weekly in the media and have generated outrage in many communities. Officers actions are currently judged by the Graham v Connor ‘standard of...
Episode 004: When it Rains, it Pours with Mona Barnes
Listen to Audio: Episode 004: Today’s show brings Mona Barnes to Homeland: The Podcast. Mona is the Director for the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency. We talk about the trials, tribulations, and successes contending...
Homeland Security Affairs
The April 2018 issue features an essay examining cyber vulnerabilities in U.S. nuclear power plants and an essay reviewing an important book in the counterterrorism field. In “SCADA Fusion and Commercial Fission“, Matthew Horner...
Episode 003: Homeland Security Affairs Journal with Stephen Twing
Listen to Audio: Episode 003: Homeland Security Affairs Journal Today we are joined by Stephen Twing, managing editor for Homeland Security Affairs. This peer reviewed journal provides a forum for proposing and debating strategies, policies,...
FEMA Goal of a Culture of Preparedness
In this NPS-CHDS Viewpoints, FEMA Deputy Administrator for National Preparedness Daniel Kaniewski elaborates on three major priorities in the recently released FEMA Strategic Plan 2018-2022. The plan reflects FEMA’s goal of a Culture of Preparedness...
Episode 002: ISIS 2.0 – Finding the Missing Pieces of Mercury
Listen to Audio: Episode 002: Finding the Missing Pieces of Mercury This episode features NPS instructors Anders Strindberg and David Brannan. They walk us through the challenges and changes of the Islamic State to terrorism...
Annotated Worldwide Threat Assessment 2018
The Worldwide Threat Assessment has been presented to Congress annually by the Director of National Intelligence; and before that office was created, it was presented by the CIA Director in his position as...
Episode 001: The Future of FEMA with Brock Long
Listen to Audio: Episode 001: The future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency with Brock Long. With the increase in catastrophic events, is a course correction needed for FEMA response? Please join us...
Delivering on Digital: redesigning coastal and insular emergency management as a digital service
New to the Medium.com/Homeland-Security collection: class posts for the class Internet, Society and Cyberconflict The scenario: After a brutal hurricane season followed by earthquakes in the west coast and wildfires throughout the country, you...
Timeline of Homeland Security Events and Milestones
The Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL) has resleased a new timeline. This timeline includes a variety of events and milestones related to homeland security and emergency management. New events will be considered and added as...
Effective Short Talks
In this Viewpoints, Hayley Foster, an expert on short talks popularized by TED conferences in recent years, discusses tips to help people deliver their message succinctly. She suggests avoiding message overload for experts who...
Featured Topics in Public Health
The Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL) has added two new Featured Topics: Opioids Pandemics and Epidemics Including resources on Zika Virus, Ebola Virus, Viral Hepatitis, Swine Flu (Influenza), Avian Influenza, SARS (Severe Acute...
The Syrian Refugee Crisis
Dr. Anne Marie Baylouny, Associate Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School and an expert in the Middle East, Refugees, Islam, and Social Welfare, talks about the Syrian refugee crisis in this four part series....
The Evolution of the Intelligence Community
In this Viewpoints, Robert Simeral of the Naval Postgraduate School interviews internationally recognized terrorism expert Mark Lowenthal. Lowenthal, author of five books and more than 90 academic articles on the topic, discusses the...
HSx Collection: Advanced Thinking in Homeland Security
A collection of presentations and resource lists across a broad range of topics and categorized into Homeland Security and Core Competencies. Topics include Machine Learning, Drought, Aging Infrastructure, Terrorism & Transnational Criminal Organizations, Challenges in Infrastructure Funding, Asymmetric...
DHS Partnerships and Engagement
In this Viewpoints video interview, NPS-CHDS Strategic Communications Director Heather Issvoran speaks with master’s alumna Victoria Hill, Acting Deputy Chief of Staff for the DHS Office of Partnerships and Engagement. Established in 2015,...
Mobile Education Seminars
In this Viewpoints, NPS-CHDS Strategic Communications Director Heather Issvoran speaks with Stan McKinney, Director of Mobile Education Programs, about the Executive Education Seminars delivered by the Mobile Education Team (MET). The MET program...
A New Model for Incident Management
Play the audio: David Flamm (CHDS Master’s cohort 1401/2) discusses the inefficiencies, conflicts, and misinterpretations that are created by emergency responders who rely on different approaches to incident management. He draws on practitioner interviews...
Delivering on Digital: redesigning the ambulance as a digital service
New to the Medium.com/Homeland-Security collection: class posts for the class Internet, Society and Cyberconflict Exercise: You’ve been asked by the Federal Interagency Committee on Emergency Medical Services (FICEMS- composed of DHS, HHS, DoD, DOT, FCC,...
CHDS Booklist
Full book list for every course These are some of the text books assigned to Master’s students at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security in 2015-2017 courses. See the list for all current courses:...
Critical Infrastructure Higher Education Initiative
The Critical Infrastructure Higher Education Initiative (CI HEI) was a highly successful five year partnership between the Center for Infrastructure Protection and Homeland Security (CIP/HS) at George Mason University and the U.S. Department of...
Local Politicians and Law Enforcement
CHDS Alumni Kimbley Craig, a Councilwoman for California’s 5th District, and Major Manny Morales of the Miami Police Department discuss how law enforcement and local politicians can work together more effectively. Public safety is...
India’s Border Security Challenges
In this Viewpoints R.K. Arora, Commandant and Secretary for Sardar Patel University of Police Security and Criminal Justice and Diana Wuegar, Faculty Associate for Research at the Center on Contemporary Conflict in the...
Emergency Management for Non-English Speakers
Video interview – Viewpoints. Meghan McPherson Meghan McPherson found some emergency management inspiration in, of all places, a nail salon. The result is a program that dispenses emergency preparedness information to workers in the...
Featured Topics in Terrorism
The Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL) has updated its Featured Topics in Terrorism to include: Domestic (U.S.) Terrorism Global Terrorism Active Shooters Lone Wolf Terrorism Suicide Bombers HSDL Featured Topics are a curated collection of...
Cyber Pearl Harbor
Video Series – James Wirtz The notion that the United States is vulnerable to a strategic surprise cyber attack is often characterized as a “Cyber Pearl Harbor,” and is a mainstay of current strategic...
How Critical is Critical Infrastructure?
Play the audio: In this podcast, David Riedman, Captain of the Montgomery County MD Fire and Rescue Service (cohort 1401/1402), speaks about how the critical infrastructure club in the United States needs to be...
Homeland Security Intelligence
Lecture/presentation Homeland security intelligence is not codified in law, nor is their a defined homeland security intelligence community – which encourages inconsistent interpretations of homeland security intelligence. This module examines some of the needs...
Treating the Severely Mentally Ill, a Homeland Security Wicked Problem
In this Viewpoints, CHDS master’s degree alumnus Michael Biasotti interviews Florida 11th Judicial District Judge Steve Leifman on how severe mental illness affects homeland security. The criminal justice system has become the safety...
Homeland Security @ medium.com
Medium.com/Homeland-Security is an App Store of Homeland Security Ideas. CHDS Master’s participants are publishing new stories for 2017. Edited by Rodrigo Nieto Gomez Exercise: homeland security blog-posts to Garcia: A strategic exercise on individual...
The Emerging Threats From Autonomous Systems
Video presentation at the 2017 APEX workshop (Alumni Professional Exchange). Robi Sen Self-described “serial entrepreneur” Robi Sen, Chief Technology Officer with the company Department 13, offered attendees a glimpse into the future and implications...
Climate Security and the Social Infrastructure
Video presentation at the 2016 APEX workshop (Alumni Professional Exchange). Eric Klinenberg Future construction of the nation’s vital networks of roads, grids and bridges should also take into account future global temperature and sea...
The National Education Training Center: Reflections on 2016 and Looking Forward
Video presentation at the 2017 APEX workshop (Alumni Professional Exchange). Scott Kelberg CHDS Executive Leaders Program alumnus Scott Kelberg, Assistant Director of FEMA’s National Education and Training, briefed APEX attendees about the agency and...
Thinking Critically About Infrastructure Protection
Video presentation at the 2017 APEX workshop (Alumni Professional Exchange). David Riedman. The critical infrastructure club in the United States needs to be a little more exclusive, Center for Homeland Defense and Security master’s...
Self-Study Course: Counterterrorism in the United Kingdom
Course — website/web application. Paul Jonathan Smith. Updated May 2017 The following three modules address counterterrorism in the United Kingdom. Tracing the UK response to violent subnational terrorism back to its efforts against the...
Adaptive SOPs
Play the audio: Standard operating procedures (SOPs) guide emergency responders in a crisis, providing predetermined steps to manage anticipated events. However, modern disasters often manifest as complex systems and produce unanticipated outcomes. As a...
Foreign Cyber Threats to the United States (annotated)
On January 5, 2017, The Honorable James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, delivered a Joint Statement for the Record to the Senate Armed Services Committee on foreign cyber threats to the U.S. The Center for Homeland Defense and...
Self-Study Course: Social Network Analysis
Course — website/web application. Developed in conjunction with Sean Everton, Co-Director and Michael Aspland, Faculty Associate for Research at the CORE Lab in the Defense Analysis Department at the Naval Postgraduate School This course is...
Self-Study Course: The Global Jihadi Threat
Course — website/web application. Nadav Morag. [Updated Dec 2016] Islam is a faith of richness and complexity that has manifested itself over time in a broad variety of ways. Unfortunately, it is also used...
FEMA PrepTalks: Rethinking School Safety
Michele Gay’s PrepTalk, “Rethinking School Safety” relays her personal experience as the parent of a child killed in the Sandy Hook tragedy in 2012. She highlights some of the simple solutions that students and...
FEMA PrepTalk: Safety is Personal – Lesson Learned as a Survivor of the Virginia Tech
Kristina Anderson’s PrepTalk, “Safety is Personal: Lessons Learned as a Survivor of the Virginia Tech Tragedy,” begins with her experience of the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007. She translates her experience into a focus...
FEMA PrepTalks: Youth – The Key to Building a Culture of Preparedness
Sarah Thompson’s PrepTalk, “Youth: The Key to Building a Culture of Preparedness,” highlights how children are great mobilizers, actors, and connectors within their communities for building a culture of preparedness. “Kids love to learn;...
FEMA PrepTalks: Children and Disasters – Reducing Vulnerability and Building Capacity
Dr. Lori Peek’s PrepTalk, “Children and Disasters: Reducing Vulnerability and Building Capacity,” brings to life the progress, ongoing challenges, and possibilities in reducing the vulnerability of children to disasters. Through her experience working directly...
CHDS Master’s Theses: March 2018 Graduation
The Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School graduates students with a Masters degree in Security Studies every March, September and December (with occasional June graduates). Find all 800+ theses...