Invited Speakers and Panelists
 

Steven Nixon
Deputy Associate Director, National Intelligence for Science and Technology
Acting Director, Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency 

Since November 2005, Mr. Steven Nixon has served as the Deputy Associate Director of National Intelligence for Science and Technology (DADNI/S&T).  The ADNI/S&T has oversight responsibilities for the Science & Technology activities of the 16 agencies of the US Intelligence Community, including CIA, NSA, NRO, NGA, and DIA.  In addition to his other duties, in January 2007, Mr. Nixon was named Acting Director of the newly established Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA).

Prior to working in the Office of the DNI, Mr. Nixon served ten years with the US Congress as a Professional Staff Member on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.  There he was responsible for review of a wide variety of military and intelligence research, development, and acquisition programs.  In 2005, the National Journal named him to the "Hill 100" list under the category of Defense Transformation.  Also in 2005, he was designated by Space News as one of the top 10 "making a difference" in space.  This list also included the Directors of NASA and the European Space Agency and included commercial, military, and civilian government space sectors.

Prior to his work with the US Congress, Mr. Nixon was a senior civilian analyst working for the Department of Navy at the Pentagon.

He graduated with B.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics (Highest Distinction and Honors) from the University of Kansas.  He later earned a M.A. degree in National Security Studies from Georgetown University.

Mr. Nixon lives with his wife and two children in the Washington, DC area.

Invited Panels
Panel for Track I

 

Port Security and Infrastructure Protection
Moderator: Je
ffrey J. Milstein, Operations Manager, Moran Agency, and Sr. Agent, Port  of  NY/NJ
Panelists:

  • Beth Ann Rooney, Manager, Port Security, Port Authority of NY/NJ
  • Steve Loevsky, General Manager, P&O Ports NA and Manhattan Cruise Terminal
  • Capt. David L. Scott, Commander, USCG Sector Delaware Bay
  • Peter Keyes, General Manager, Moran Towing, Tug and Barge Company NY
  • Brenden T. Fitzpatrick, FBI/CGIS (Coast Guard Investigative Service),  JTTF (Joint Terrorism Task Force)
     

Preparedness for and Response to High-Consequence Events:
Moderator: Paul J. Lioy, Ph.D. Professor and Deputy Director of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI), RWJMS & RU, NJ
Panelists:

  • David Prezant, Chief Medical Officer, FDNY Office of Medical Affairs, NYC, NY
  • Jeffrey Laskin, Ph.D. Professor and Director of the NIH CounterACT Center, RWJMS & EOHSI, NJ
  • Paul Kalb, Ph.D. Head, Environmental Research & Technology Division, Environmental Services Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, NY
  • Panos Georgopoulos, Professor and Director of the Computational Chemodymamics Laboratory, EOHSI & RWJMS, NJ
  • Jonathan G.  Herrmann, P.E., BCEE, Director, National Homeland Security Research

Panel for Track II

 

Panel for Track III

 

 

Future Directions in Terrorism & Counterterrorism Informatics
Panel Chair: Mr. Bob Ross, Chief, Risk Sciences Branch, Office of Special Programs, Science and Technology Directorate, DHS

Panelists:

  • Richard Adler, President, DecisionPath, Inc.
  • Major John Hunt, Commanding Officer, New Jersey State Police Homeland Security Branch - Special Operations Section
  • Leslie W. Kennedy, Dean, Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ
  • Joshua Sinai, Program Manager, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Studies, The Analysis Corporation
  • Captain Cristopher Simmermon, Commanding Officer, Marine Services Bureau, New Jersey State Police Homeland Security Branch - Special Operations Section
  • Michael Smith, Senior Master Sargeant, USAF Reserves (Retired)
  • William Stryker, Chief, Office of Intelligence Analysis, DHS

Keynote Speaker for Track III:

John O. Brennan, President and CEO of The Analysis Corporation (TAC) in McLean, VA
Technology Analysis and Policy in Countering Terrorism"
Keynote Speaker for Track III

Biographies

 John O. Brennan    Mr. John O. Brennan (jbrennan@theanalysiscorp.com) was appointed President and CEO of The Analysis Corporation (TAC) in McLean , VA in November 2005. Prior to joining TAC, Mr. Brennan had a distinguished 25-year career with the Central Intelligence Agency, serving in a variety of senior positions throughout the Intelligence Community. His last assignment was (interim) Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). Mr. Brennan was appointed to that position, with the approval of the President, by the Director of Central Intelligence in October 2004. He served as head of the NCTC until August 2005. Mr. Brennan also served as the Director of the Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC) from 12 March 2003 until 6 December 2004. When the NCTC was formally launched in December 2004, all functions and responsibilities of the TTIC were transferred to the NCTC.

Mr. Brennan began his career as an intelligence officer in 1980 with the Central Intelligence Agency's Directorate of Operations as a Career Trainee. After joining the Directorate of Intelligence in 1981, he served with the Department of State as a political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 1982 to 1984. From 1984 to 1989, he served in a variety of analytic assignments in the Office of Near Eastern and South Asian Analysis in the Directorate of Intelligence. Mr. Brennan was in charge of terrorism analysis in the DCI's Counterterrorist Center between 1990 and 1992, including during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. After a management position in the Office of Near Eastern and South Asian Analysis, Mr. Brennan served as the CIA's daily intelligence briefer at the White House in 1994 and 1995. Mr. Brennan was the Executive Assistant to then-DDCI George Tenet from 1995 to 1996, and he served as Chief of Station in a major Middle East capital from 1996 to 1999. Mr. Brennan served as DCI Tenet's Chief of Staff from 1999 to 2001 and as Deputy Executive Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from March 2001 to March 2003.

Mr. Brennan is the recipient of numerous awards and commendations including the National Security Medal, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the Director of Central Intelligence Director's Medal, and the Defense Intelligence Agency's Director's Award.

Mr. Brennan earned a BA in Political Science from Fordham University in 1977, including study at the American University of Cairo in 1975 to 1976. He received an MA in Government with a concentration in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 1980.

Panelists' Brief Bios

Mr. Bob Ross (bob.ross@dhs.gov) is Deputy Director, Office of Comparative Studies, Science & Technology Directorate, Department of Homeland Security. He is a retired Captain in the U.S. Coast Guard.

Dr. Richard Adler (rich@decpath.com) is the founder, President & Chief Architect of DecisionPath, Inc., a company that provides advanced software products for critical decision support. He is the designer of the ForeTell software platform for critical decision support. He also directs development of the company's solutions to homeland security problems, including counter-terrorism and pandemic preparedness, risk management, organizational change management, dynamic social network analysis, and competitive marketing strategy.

Major John Hunt is in his 25th year of service with the New Jersey State Police. He has served as the Commanding Officer in the Field Operations, Intelligence, and the Emergency Management Sections. He currently is the Commanding Officer of the New Jersey State Police Homeland Security Branch - Special Operations Section. The Special Operations Section encompasses the following Bureaus: State Governmental Security, Deployment Services (Infrastructure Security, Incident Command, Meadowlands Sports Complex), Marine Services, Aviation, Hazardous Materials, Arson/Bomb, K-9, and Technical Emergency and Mission Specialist Units. He served 9 years and commanded the Technical Emergency and Mission Specialist Unit which included the Swat, High Angle Rescue, and Scuba response for the New Jersey State Police. Major Hunt was selected by Colonel Rick Fuentes to oversee the inception of the Regional Operations Intelligence Center, also known as the ROCK, New Jersey’s variation of the State Fusion Center. He was Commanding the Field Operations Section during the New Jersey State Police address of the Federal Consent Decree and directed the Management Awareness Personnel Performance System also known as MAPPS. During his Command of the Intelligence Section he led the application of the Statewide Intelligence System - (SIMS). Major Hunt has given presentations across the nation and in Israel and Belgium regarding the New Jersey State Police, ‘Managing the Radius of Risk’. He has a Masters Degree from Seton Hall University and has served as an adjunct professor for Seton Hall during the past 10 years. He currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Office of Emergency Management for the State of New Jersey.

Dr. Leslie W. Kennedy(kennedy@andromeda.rutgers.edu) has been Dean of the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice since the summer of 1998. Dr Kennedy is also currently the Director of the Rutgers Center for the Study of Public Security. RCSPS's primary focus is to conduct original analytical, objective research on the consequences of threats from terrorism or natural disasters. In his own research in this area, Dr Kennedy's current approach in public security draws on a multi-disciplinary background including law, health sciences, risk modeling, and criminal justice drawing on the point of view of event analysis, establishing the social contexts in which risks to society are identified and deterred. A new book on this topic, Risk Balance and Security, co -authored with Erin Van Brunschot, will be published this spring by Sage Publications.

Dr. Joshua Sinai (jsinai@theanalysiscorp.com) is a Program Manager for counter-terrorism studies & education at The Analysis Corporation (TAC) (www.theanalysiscorp.com), in McLean, VA. Projects include a terrorism studies blog on behalf of the U.S. government to create an international partnership on latest trends in terrorism studies and an internal distance learning educational program for TAC employees on terrorism/counterterrorism studies. Prior to joining TAC in June 2006, Dr. Sinai worked at Logos Technologies and ANSER (Analytical Services), from which for 18 months he was seconded to function as a government official in the Science & Technology Directorate, Department of Homeland Security, where he managed a project on the social and behavioral components of terrorism and its impact on society. As part of his duties, he co-chaired an interagency working group, under the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy, on how the social, behavioral and economic sciences can contribute to counterterrorism, which produced a report on this subject in April 2005. He also contributed to the formulation of the announcement for proposals to create the DHS center on terrorism studies and served on the evaluation committee to review all proposals. Dr. Sinai's publications include chapters in edited academic volumes, national security journals, and his column on Terrorism Books appears regularly in the Washington Times' book review section. He is also a frequent presenter at academic conferences on terrorism.

Captain Cristopher Simmermon is in his 23rd year of service with the New Jersey State Police. He has served in many capacities which include Field Operations, Criminal Investigations, Office of the Superintendent, Planning and Organization Unit, and the Camden Anti-Crime Partnership.  He currently is the Commanding Officer of the Marine Services Bureau in the New Jersey State Police Homeland Security Branch - Special Operations Section.  The Marine Services Bureau provides a full-time law enforcement service for all of New Jersey’s waterways and is the primary provider for all police services on the water and contiguous land areas of the State of New Jersey.  The Marine Services Bureau is charged to protect and serve the boating community and to preserve the natural resources of this state by utilizing general law enforcement concepts, training and education.  They also provide a preventive level of homeland security through intelligent, vigilant, and highly visible patrol measures.  The Marine Services Bureau encompasses four main stations and five sub-stations which are strategically located throughout the State of New Jersey.  He is a member of the Area Maritime Security Committee - LNG Sub-Committee and the New Jersey Port Security Committee. Additionally he serves as a liaison to the USCG Captain of the Port NY/NJ and Captain of the Port Philadelphia.  He is the Boating Law Administrator for the State of New Jersey, National Association of State Boating Law Administrators.   He has a Bachelors Degree from New England College in Biology and Secondary Education. 

Mr. Michael Smith (msi@co.clark.nv.us) has retired from the USAF as a Reserves Senior Master Sergeant. Following 9/11, Mr. Smith served as reservist with the Defense Intelligence Agency as Collection Management/Reports Officer, and worked with the Defense Warning Office to co-author the defense intelligence estimates on the potential capability for a radical Islamic terrorist group to attack the continental U.S. electric power grid, potable and wastewater systems, and the oil and gas Infrastructure's. Currently Mr. Smith is a part-time consultant to the Institute for Defense Analysis.

Mr. William Stryker (william.stryker@dhs.gov) Branch Manager for Future Studies, Office of Intelligence Analysis (OIA), at the Department of Homeland Security, is an expert on forecasting terrorism tools.