Johnson swears in two new HSAC members

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson swore in John F. Kelly and Karen P. Tandy as the two newest members of the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) on Friday.

“I welcome the new members to the advisory committee and hope they get to see the great work of our employees, and I thank all the HSAC members for their continued service to the country and to the Department,” Johnson said. “As I look around this table I really do have to marvel at the spectacular and diverse group of talent we have at this table of great Americans. We have a range of experience and background from former Members of Congress, former 4-star members of the military, very distinguished prominent members of the private sector and former DHS officials. I look at the people here and have a lot of faith and confidence in the future direction of this committee.”

HSAC is a federal advisory committee to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that provides the secretary with independent recommendations on homeland security-related issues. The group is typically comprised of policy-makers and representatives from emergency and first responder communities, academia, and the private sector.

Prior to his appointment, Kelly served as commander of the U.S. Southern Command from Nov. 2012 to Jan. 2016. He was responsible for all Department of Defense (DoD) security cooperation for 45 Central and South American and Caribbean nations and territories.

Tandy served as the administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration from July 2003 to Nov. 2007. She then became senior vice president of international government affairs for Motorola Solutions, Inc.