Homeland Security

Governors play a critical role in homeland security and are responsible for protecting people, property, and businesses within their respective states and territories. Governors are confronted with a range of events—from natural and man-made disasters, disease outbreaks, acts of terrorism, and other major emergencies— such as catastrophes on the scale of COVID-19, Hurricane Maria, or the September 11 terrorist attacks. The Homeland Security Program provides technical assistance to Governors and their staffs on a range of national security policy issues, including violence prevention, energy assurance, public health emergency preparedness, and emergency management, including disaster response, recovery and resilience.

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The Governor’s Guide To Public Health Preparedness

This guide serves as a primer on public health preparedness, detailing current strategies, available resources and existing partnerships that may help policymakers bridge the gap between the disciplines of public safety and public health. By doing so, governors can develop a stronger cooperative network for emergency response and provide their states with a safe and healthy future.

Governor’s Roadmap to Preventing Targeted Violence

This roadmap distills the latest research and draws from elements of public-health interventions to provide guidance to governors, state and local leaders, and other stakeholders on how to prevent ideologically inspired violence—whether political, gender-based, or religious. By taking a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to preventing such violence, states can build safer and more resilient communities.

Governor’s Guide To Homeland Security

This guide covers fundamentals in homeland security best practices ranging from emergency management, fusion centers, grant management, the national guard, emergency declarations, critical infrastructure and other areas of homeland security that a governor and their policy staff would need awareness on.

Governors Homeland Security Advisors Council

The Homeland Security Program manages the independently charted Governors Homeland Security Advisors Council, a forum that brings together governors’ principal homeland security advisors from each state, commonwealth, territory, and the District of Columbia to share best practices and establish policy priorities. The Council is compromised of individuals with a variety of professional backgrounds as their homeland security advisors – from military officers to law enforcement professionals, and emergency manager.

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Virtual Resource Center for Public Health Emergency Preparedness

This virtual resource center is a repository for state-focused resources pertaining to public health emergency preparedness policy. The resources are targeted at state leaders in the fields of public health, emergency management, and administration, although due to the cross-disciplinary nature of public health emergency preparedness, a broader audience may find these tools useful.

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Meet Our Team

Michelle Woods, Program Director

Carl Amritt, Senior Policy Analyst

Public Safety & Legal Counsels Program
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Cybersecurity Program
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Technical Assistance

We provide complimentary consultation to states as they design and implement new programs and policies.
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Equity And Policy Preparedness During Public Health Emergencies
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Defense/National Guard Resources
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Resilience Resources
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Homeland Security Resources

Fortifying Our Future: States Becoming More Resilient

Maine Governor Janet Mills, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and California Governor Gavin Newsom share their experiences and discuss how they are working to strengthen their states’ resiliency in the ...
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State Strategies to Improve Energy Resilience through Distributed Technologies

Energy systems face increasing pressure from natural hazards, physical threats, and cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Implementing distributed energy solutions such as efficiency, distributed generation with storage, and microgrids, in addition to robust ...
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