Daniel Gerstein

Dr. Daniel M. Gerstein joined the RAND Corporation in December 2014. Previously, he served in the Department of Homeland Security from August 2011 to December 2014 as Under Secretary (Acting) and Deputy Under Secretary in the Science and Technology Directorate. He also has been an Adjunct Professor at American University in Washington, D.C. since 2009 where he teaches courses on technology policy and national security, military strategy and policy, countering biological warfare, and global health security. Dr. Gerstein has extensive experience in the security and defense sectors in a variety of positions while serving as a Senior Executive Service (SES) government civilian, in uniform, in think tanks, and in industry. In DHS, he was responsible for developing the vision for and executing the Science and Technology directorate’s over $1 billion annual budget. He was also responsible for managing the directorate’s 1,100-person research staff, five laboratories (including two high containment biological labs), academic centers of excellence, and international collaborative research and development programs with foreign partner nations. He began his professional career in the U.S. Army, serving on four continents while participating in combat, peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, counterterrorism and homeland security. Dr. Gerstein also served for more than a decade in the Pentagon in various high-level staff assignments. Following retirement from active duty, Dr. Gerstein joined L-3 Communications as Vice President for Homeland Security Services, where he led an organization providing WMD preparedness and response, critical infrastructure security, emergency response and exercise support to U.S. and international customers. Before joining DHS, Dr. Gerstein served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Policy) as Principal Director for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).