Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson

Tue, Sep 15 2015 - 12:00pm

Hon. Jeh Johnson, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security

Dr. Gloria Duffy, President and CEO, The Commonwealth Club — Moderator

Security Challenges Facing the Homeland

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson will discuss Cybersecurity, Countering Violent Extremism, and other critical national security issues. Johnson was sworn in on December 23, 2013, as the fourth secretary of homeland security. Prior to joining DHS, Secretary Johnson was chief judge of the New York courts. Secretary Johnson also served as general counsel for the Department of Defense, where he led the more than 10,000 military and civilian lawyers across the department. As general counsel of the Defense Department, Johnson oversaw the development of the legal aspects of many of our nation’s counterterrorism policies and spearheaded reforms to the military commissions system at Guantanamo Bay in 2009.

Johnson was general counsel of the Department of the Air Force from 1998 to 2001 and served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York from 1989 to 1991. He graduated from Morehouse College in 1979 and received his law degree from Columbia Law School in 1982. Secretary Johnson was the first African-American to be elected to partnership at the prestigious New York law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison, and has been an advocate for civil rights, including co-authoring the 250-page report that paved the way for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 2010. He was an early political supporter of President Barak Obama.

Secretary Johnson is in the thick of controversial issues ranging from sanctuary cities and immigration to combatting ISIS and homegrown terrorism. He has warned against over-militarizing the U.S. domestic approach to counter-terrorism. Please join us with Secretary Johnson to discuss the latest challenges and strategies for protecting Americans in the context of civil rights and other societal priorities.