Homeland Security Project

America’s gun massacres are not inevitable. These recurring disasters can potentially be stopped before they happen—and some have been, by trained community teams responding to warning signs. In this seminar, journalist and author Mark Follman will share insights from “Trigger Points,” his acclaimed book chronicling the emerging field of behavioral threat assessment, which seeks to intervene with troubled people who are planning violence. Threat assessment is a growing policy, now required in K-12 schools and universities in many states. Follman will discuss how these multidisciplinary teams work, the role of mental health, and more, with time included for audience questions. 

Please join Belfer's Homeland Security Project for a lunch seminar featuring Alan Bersin, former Assistant Secretary for Policy & International Affairs and Chief Diplomatic Officer in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  

Starting in the 1990’s, globalization and the idea of North America germinated and then grew up together. The pandemic a generation later—coupled with the geopolitical splintering of the post World War II international order now underway— has brought the first phase of each to an end. As Globalization 2.0 and North America 2.0 (with USMCA) take shape – in dim outline as yet – new and important opportunities (e.g. the near shoring of  manufacturing supply chains) as well as challenges (e.g. surging migrant mobility) are emerging at the North American regional level. Whether and how these opportunities are capitalized upon, or not, by the United States  and its neighboring partners in Canada and Mexico, likely will determine the level of prosperity for all of them and the scope of future influence of U.S. leadership in the world. This vision posits a continental North American Region that extends from Colombia to the Arctic and from Bermuda to Hawaii. 

This event is open to all Harvard Faculty, Fellows, Staff, and Students. RSVP is requested.

The Internet equips users (including advertisers) with veritable superpowers—the power to shape shift (change identities), teleport (intercept other users wherever they are), and mind read (exploit data about others’ preferences)—that threaten the civilization of the Web. These powers disrupt our usual human defenses against misinformation, manipulation, unwanted targeting, trespass (hacking), or untrusted speech. Homeland Security Project Fellow Steve Johnson recommends a framework for Internet regulation that bridles these superpowers so that cyber citizens can self-govern on the Internet as effectively as they do in the terrestrial world.

Paper: https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/internet-superpowers

This event is open to all Harvard Faculty, Fellows, Staff, and Students. RSVP requested below.

On Thursday, April 28th, the Belfer Center’s Security and Global Health Project will host Dr. Margaret Bourdeaux, Research Director for the Program in Global Public Policy and Social Change at Harvard Medical School, as part of its spring seminar series.

The event will consist of a seminar involving Dr. Bourdeaux hosted by Juliette Kayyem, Belfer Senior Lecturer in International Security and Faculty Director of the Security and Global Health Project.

Amid the War in Ukraine, the seminar will discuss why health systems are important to protect during periods of civil crisis—and why they are such a tempting target for parties to a conflict. Dr. Bourdeaux will then focus on core strategies for protecting, recovering and reconstructing health systems that arise from the three major global health paradigms: international humanitarian law, the global health development movement, and the newer global health security/biosecurity initiatives.

This event will take place in hybrid format. Harvard students may register to attend in-person using the RSVP link below. To join the livestream, please register here: https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJErduirrzkiG9VkGoSqRwmzJ3JoPsQE4sj5 

On Monday, April 11th, the Belfer Center’s Homeland Security Project will host Nate Bruggeman, former Counselor to the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as part of its spring seminar series.

The event will consist of a seminar involving Bruggeman hosted by Juliette Kayyem, Belfer Senior Lecturer in International Security and Faculty Director of the Homeland Security Project. The seminar will cover the status and conditions of the U.S. – Mexico border. 

On Thursday, April 7th, The Belfer Center’s Homeland Security Project will host Steve Johnson, Senior Fellow at the Homeland Security Project, as part of its spring seminar series. The event will consist of a seminar involving Johnson hosted by Juliette Kayyem, Belfer Senior Lecturer in International Security and Faculty Director of the Homeland Security Project.

On Tuesday, February 8th, The Belfer Center’s Homeland Security Project will host Alan Bersin, former Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as part of its spring seminar series. 

The event will begin with a seminar featuring Bersin that covers the evolution and status of the Homeland Security Enterprise over the past twenty years. The seminar will be moderated by Senior Fellow Steve Johnson. Following the seminar, Bersin will engage a group of students in a discussion of United States - Mexico relations from the Obama/Pena Nieto Administrations through the AMLO/Biden Administrations. 

The gathering will take place on February 8th, from 12 – 1:30 pm in Wexner 434A. The event is open to Harvard students only. 

The Homeland Security Project and Women in Defense, Diplomacy, and Development (W3D) are pleased to welcome Brooke Baldwin to discuss her new book, Huddle: How Women Unlock Their Collective Power. Juliette Kayyem, Belfer Senior Lecturer in International Security at Harvard Kennedy School and Faculty Chair of the Homeland Security Project, will moderate the discussion.

A blend of journalism and personal narrative, Huddle  examines how women have come together in a wide variety of times and places, to provide each other with support, empowerment, inspiration, and the strength to solve problems or enact meaningful change. Baldwin crisscrossed the country to research and write this book, revealing how 'huddling' helps women achieve success in the workplace, effect grassroots change, build confidence during girlhood, maintain better physical and mental health, survive racial and gender-based oppression, and weather the COVID-19 pandemic. By speaking with historians and researchers, Baldwin also learned the ways that huddling has often been key to women's survival over generations. 

Brooke Baldwin is a veteran news anchor and journalist who worked for CNN for over a decade. She is a Peabody Award finalist. A native of Atlanta, she now lives in the New York City area. 

***This event is now being co-hosted as an Institute of Politics Forum event at the same date and time and is retitled to "The Women Who Fought ISIS: Stories of Bravery and Courage from Kobani, Syria"***

Please see the updated event information and *new* registration link here: https://iop.harvard.edu/forum/women-who-fought-isis-stories-bravery-and…

On February 25, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced the funding notices for $1.8 billion in homeland security grants to state and local governments, ports, transit systems, nonprofit organizations, and others involved in the increasingly complex work of preparedness. The terrorism threat landscape has evolved considerably since these programs were created in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, and the DHS Secretary announced new funding priorities with mandatory minimum spending levels, including countering domestic violent extremism and enhancing cybersecurity.

Belfer Homeland Security Project Fellow Brian Kamoie oversaw these programs from 2013-2017 as the Assistant Administrator for Grant Programs at the Department of Homeland Security/FEMA, during which he awarded over $10 billion in new homeland security grant funds. He will talk about these programs, the Biden-Harris Administration priorities, and the evolving threat landscape on Wednesday, March 10, from 1:00-2:00pm.

Belfer Center Homeland Security Project: Fellow Talk with Nate Bruggeman

The Homeland Security Project is hosting a lunch with Mark Harvey – Resident IOP Fellow and Former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Resilience Policy on the National Security Council – for a conversation about election security and resiliency.

The Homeland Security Project is hosting a lunch with Monica Medina – Former Deputy Undersecretary Of Commerce and Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense – for a conversation about whether and when to declare a climate emergency.

Join Belfer's Homeland Security Project for a discussion on "The Internet and AI: Security, Safety, and Governance" with Steve Johnson, Senior Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. 

Note the updated location: Wexner G-02

The Belfer Center’s Homeland Security Project, in collaboration with W3D, is hosting a discussion between Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall and Juliette Kayyem on the challenges at the nexus of energy and homeland security.

The Homeland Security Project welcomes Christine Heenan, former Senior Vice President for Global Policy & Advocacy at the Rockefeller Foundation, for a talk on communications, creative strategy, and social impact.

Lunch will be provided. RSVP required.

The Homeland Security Project is hosting a lunch with Mitch Landrieu, former Mayor of New Orleans, for a talk about homeland security from a Mayor's perspective.

Lunch will be served. RSVP required.