Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, Chad F. Wolf, introduced three new members to the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC): John Clark, Dr. Sharon Cooper, and Dr. Daniel Kaniewski. Created by President George W. Bush in 2002, the HSAC is a Department of Homeland Security federal advisory committee that provides the secretary with independent, informed recommendations, and advice on a variety of homeland security issues.

“My vision for the HSAC, consistent with its charter, is to seek its organizationally independent, strategic, timely, specific and actionable advice on a range of homeland security issues,” said Acting Secretary Wolf. “I’m pleased to appoint these leaders in their respective fields to the council, and I thank all the HSAC members for their continued service to the country, and to the Department. The unique perspectives provided by HSAC members to address emerging threats is of the utmost importance to the Department. I’m confident that the new members announced today will contribute to this important mission.”

The three new HSAC members are:

1. Mr. John F. Clark, former director of the United States Marshals Service and longtime child advocate, is the president and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. After an extensive nationwide search, NCMEC’s Board of Directors unanimously chose Mr. Clark to lead the nonprofit organization, which was designated by Congress in 1984 to work in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice on issues related to missing and exploited children. He took the helm of the Alexandria, Virginia-based organization on Dec, 7, 2015. Mr. Clark, whose career with the USMS spanned 28 years, was appointed in 2006 as its ninth director by then-President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate. In 2011, Mr. Clark joined Lockheed Martin Corp. as its director of security.
2. Dr. Sharon Cooper is a developmental and forensic pediatrician who evaluates and treats children who have been victims of all forms of abuse, though her primary area of expertise is that of sexual exploitation. Dr. Cooper holds faculty positions at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Department of Pediatrics and the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. She is a consultant and Board member of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and a member of the Expert Working Group on Children who Experience Violence in Cyberspace, of the Baltic Seas. She is also the lead author of one of the most comprehensive texts on child sexual exploitation. Dr. Cooper provides training to numerous national and international investigative agencies in the area of Internet and Communication Technology crimes against children.
3. Dr. Daniel Kaniewski is the Managing Director, Public Sector at Marsh & McLennan Companies. Prior to joining the firm, Dr. Kaniewski was Deputy Administrator for Resilience at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) where he was FEMA’s second ranking official and led the agency’s pre disaster programs. He was also Chair of the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) High Level Risk Forum, comprised of risk managers from 36 OECD member nations. Dr. Kaniewski is a senior fellow at the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security and previously co-founded a homeland security think tank at George Washington University. He was Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Senior Director for Response Policy in the George W. Bush Administration.

On Tuesday, the HSAC gathered to welcome the new members, discuss multiple homeland security issues, and receive briefings from the council's Economic Security, Information and Communications Technology Risk Reduction, Youth Engagement, and Biometrics subcommittees.

Acting Secretary Wolf also announced the formation of HSAC’s new Academic Subcommittee, which will address matters at the intersection of homeland security and the academic community. The Subcommittee will address:

1. The threat of malign foreign influence in our academic institutions.
2. The openness of research and exchange of ideas between academia and DHS, to include DHS research programs.
3. Promoting campus resilience resources to address threats affecting K-12 and higher education institutions.
4. International student engagement as it relates to immigration.
5. Monitoring student visa recipients who violate their status.

Additionally, Acting Secretary Wolf awarded outgoing HSAC Chair Judge William Webster, with the Department’s highest honor, the DHS Distinguished Service Medal, for his exceptional leadership and service as Chair of the HSAC for the past 14 years. Under Judge Webster's guidance and leadership, the Council has provided Acting Secretary Wolf and his predecessors with strategic recommendations and advice on a variety of issues critical to America’s national security in an ever-changing threat environment.

Acting Secretary Wolf was also announced the appointment of William Bratton, former Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department and the Police Commissioner of the City of New York, as the new HSAC Chair, and Karen Tandy, Former Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, as the new Vice Chair.

For more information about the HSAC, visit www.dhs.gov/hsac.