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Lecture Series

The Homeland Security Institute's lecture series presents on various Homeland Security topics such as cyber, innovation, emerging technologies, homeland protection, natural and manmade threats, and border and maritime security. PowerPoints are available next to the title of each lecture. The videos can be viewed on civilian networks only.

Contested Deployment with
Professor Bert B. Tussing

Bert Tussing is the Director of the Homeland Defense and Security Issues Group of the U.S. Army War College’s Center for Strategic Leadership.  He joined the Center in October 1999 following nearly 25 years in the United States Marine Corps.  He is a senior fellow on George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute; a member of the Board of Experts for the University of California-Irvines’ Center for Unconventional Security Affairs; a member of the Pennsylvania State University’s Homeland Defense and Security Council; and on the Homeland Security Board of Advisors for Kansas State University and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He is a reviewing editor for both the Homeland Security Affairs Journal and the Joint Force Quarterly. In May of 2014 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters by Northwestern State University, in recognition of his work in homeland security, homeland defense, and educational initiatives surrounding those regimes.  He has been married for 43 years to the former Dianne Day; has two daughters, Amber and Crystal; and two grandchildren, Parker Lee and Summer Dianne Deitch.

Technology and The Future Fight
with Dr. Jonathan Pitts

Jonathan D. Pitts is the leader of the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA/DR) Systems Group.  In this role, he contributes to the development and integration of novel Laboratory technologies that affect response, recovery and resiliency in domestic and international HA/DR missions.  Prior to this, Jonathan was the leader of the Chemical and Biological Defense Systems Group. His responsibilities included the management and strategic adaptation of Lincoln Laboratory’s programs in chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives defense. Specifically, this group focused on defense architecture development, threat exploitation, gap-filling technology development, and test and evaluation of systems for countering weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Jonathan joined the Laboratory in 2003, to pursue the development of environmental monitoring technologies for chemical and biological threats. A major portion of this work concentrated on developing systems that improve U.S. defenses against emerging WMD and transitioning those systems to the field for overseas and homeland use. Prior to joining the Laboratory, he held positions in industry and academia. During that time, he developed optical methods of noninvasive disease diagnosis and tissue engineering. He received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Rhode Island and a doctoral degree in chemistry from Wesleyan University.

The Geo-Political Landscape and Intel Trends with RADM Paul Becker (USN Retired)

Paul Becker is a Naval Rear Admiral (2 star) has an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School and retired after 33 years of service in 2016. Becker has been the Director for Intelligence (J2) on the Joint Chiefs of Staff since September 2013. Previous flag assignments include director for Intelligence with United States Pacific Command in Hawaii, vice director of Intelligence for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C., and director of Intelligence for the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command in Afghanistan. In 2016, the Naval Intelligence Community established the "Rear Admiral Paul Becker 'Teamwork, Tone, Tenacity' Leadership Award" in his honor.

Asymmetric Warfare Group with
MAJ Higgins and CPT Moncrieffe

MAJ Brian J. Higgins is currently the OIC for Dense Urban Terrain Detachment for the Asymmetric Warfare Group since June 2018. His MDAY service is as a Infantry Officer working as the S3 Operations Officer for the NY Army National Guard where he has been serving since Dec 1998. On the civilian side he serves as a detective with NYPD Emergency Service Unit (ESU) for 16 years, a tactical unit that provides backup of equipment, skills and crime analytics.

Prior to the Asymmetric Warfare Group, CPT Jheaniell D. Moncrieffe served as the Company Commander of HHC in United States Army Garrison Daegu in Camp Henry, South Korea.  She received her commission after attending the University of Hawaii as an ROTC cadet and originally hails from the Bronx, NY.

Innovation with COL Ron Corsetti
& Army Futures Command

COL Ron Corsetti is currently an Army Reserve Officer with 75th Innovation Command.  In the civilian world, Mr. Corsetti works in Venture Capital and Private Equity, serving as Principal at White Birch Analytics.  He received his MBA from the Sloan School of Management at MIT, a Master of Engineering Management on Full Fellowship from Tufts University, and a  Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Boston University.  COL Corsetti is also a proud Airborne Ranger, completing both schools while still an ROTC cadet at BU.

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