COLLEGE STATION – Janet Napolitano, head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, will speak Sept. 20 at the Bush School’s Annenberg Presidential Conference Center, addressing issues of homeland security 10 years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Secretary Napolitano’s presentation is part of the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs’ Moss Lecture Series.

The event, which begins at 5:30 p.m., is open to the public, but reservations are required. Guests will be asked to identify themselves when they arrive for the program. Napolitano is the third Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). As Secretary, she provides oversight to 16 different units including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the U.S. Secret Service. DHS also addresses security issues in the areas of science and technology, budgets and appropriations, health affairs and immigration. 

Prior to becoming Secretary in 2009, Napolitano was the 21st Governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009, where she implemented one of the first state homeland security strategies in the nation, opened the first state counterterrorism center and led the efforts to transform immigration enforcement. She was also the first woman to chair the National Governors Association, where she helped create the Public Safety Task Force and the Homeland Security Advisors Council, and in 2005, she was named one of the top five governors in the country by Time magazine.

Secretary Napolitano was born in New York City and grew up in Pittsburgh and Albuquerque. She graduated from Santa Clara University with a B.S. in political science and summa cum laude with Phi Beta Kappa honors and was the university’s first female valedictorian. She then received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and participated in private law practice before entering public service.

To make a reservation online, go to http://napolitano.questionpro.com or email siia@bushschool.tamu.edu. Reservations can also be made by phone by calling (979) 458-8015.