Listening to a webinar on CFATS (chemical facility anti-terrorism standards) today and thinking that convergence best practices as well as the public private partnership promoted by Infragard will be critical. Ask me and I'll tell you more about those convergence best practices - but the nut of it is that traditional security will be insufficient for those 7000 affected organizations to satisfy the regulation. The second part is better described on the Infragard website, where I read today that Kathleen Keirnan has been appointed Chairman of the InfraGard Board of Directors.
Dr. Kiernan is kind of a rock star in the Federal law enforcement world with a long history of building bridges between the private sector and government. She is also taking the helm at a time when InfraGard is poised to break out of its adolescence into a period of greater cooperation with private companies. InfraGard is already doing that, of course, by making the FBI more approachable. However, I expect InfraGard to jump in membership and influence during Dr. Kiernan's tenure as chair.
InfraGard National Members Alliance Announces Dr. Kathleen Kiernan as Chairman of the Board of Directors
(Washington, DC) (July 28) A 29-year Federal Law Enforcement official is the new leader of the InfraGard National Members Alliance. InfraGard was started by the FBI 12 years ago as an alliance between the FBI and the over 26,000 FBI-vetted members to provide two-way rapid interface with the Bureau and the leaders and experts of this countrys critical infrastructure. Dr. Kathleen Kiernan, retired Assistant Director for the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF), has been named as the Chairman of the InfraGard National Board of Directors. Dr. Kiernan has been a member of the Board of Directors for the last two years.
Dr. Kiernan is the ideal leader to shape the future of the InfraGard program and concept, and I am confident in her ability to enable trusted relationships across the public and private sectors and build infrastructure protection, one local community at a time, said Dr. Schneck, who has led the National presence since 2001.
Dr. Kiernan spent a 29-year career in Federal Law Enforcement and is currently the CEO of The Kiernan Group, Inc. She previously served as the Assistant Director for the Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Dr. Kiernan is a Council Vice President for ASIS International, a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Terrorism subcommittee, an Intelligence Fellow (2001), and graduate of the FBIs National Executive Institute, Class 26.
Dr. Kiernan has a Doctorate in Education from Northern Illinois University (with highest honors) and a Master's of Science degree in Strategic Intelligence from the Joint Military Intelligence College in Washington, D.C. She also holds a Master's of Arts degree in International Transactions from George Mason University in Virginia. In 2001, Dr. Kiernan was recognized as an outstanding scholar by Northern Illinois University and as an outstanding alumnus in 2005. Dr. Kiernan is a faculty member of Johns Hopkins University where she teaches in the Masters Program on Intelligence Analysis. She is a Senior Fellow for the George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute and is a member of the Army Science Board.
In taking on this role, Dr. Kiernan praised the efforts of both Dr. Schneck and the Board of Directors for building such a viable and vitally important organization, she commented that as a result of this pioneering work, there are subject matter experts representing all 18 elements of the national critical infrastructure engaged in contributing to a safer America.
Dr. Schneck said, Dr. Kiernan brings the optimal combination of experience, intelligence and personality necessary to engage an entire nation on a focused, local mission.
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