Francis X. Taylor is former Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). From 2014-2017, Taylor oversaw and carried out the mission of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, equipping the Homeland Security Enterprise with the timely intelligence and information required to keep the homeland safe, secure, and resilient. Before his DHS appointment, Taylor served as Vice President and Chief Security Officer for the General Electric Company (GE) and was responsible for GE's security operations and emergency management processes. Taylor also had a distinguished career in public and military service, including serving as Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security and as the US Ambassador at-Large and Coordinator for Counterterrorism for the Department of State from 2001-2002. During his 31-year military career, Taylor achieved the rank of Brigadier General and oversaw counterintelligence and security operations for the US Air Force.
Brad M. Allen is a young journalist from Janesville, Wisconsin. He is currently studying Political Journalism and Economics at George Mason University, and he has recently completed his eighth semester of college at UW-Whitewater, where he studies Journalism. He is slated to graduate from UW-Whitewater in December 2018. Brad has worked with two newspaper publications in the southern Wisconsin area, those being The Royal Purple student-run newspaper at UW-Whitewater and the Janesville Gazette daily newspaper.
Thus far in his time at the Royal Purple, Brad has been a prominent member of the editorial team in several roles ranging from the Business section editor to Managing Editor. A fair portion of his reporting experience there has involved investigating federal policy and national issues and interviewing officials and economists in southern Wisconsin to boil those issues down to a local level.
At the Janesville Gazette, Brad designs newspaper pages containing stories on various state, national and international issues. His job there involves reading and dissecting content written by organizations such as the Associated Press and Tribune News Services to choose which stories will be most relevant to readers in Janesville.
Hira Qureshi is a summer intern at Homeland Security Today. She attends the University of Memphis. She is majoring in journalism and minoring in political science and French. She has lived in Memphis, Tennessee for 19 years. She has previously interned at Congressman Steve Cohen's office, a Muslim non-profit, Teen Appeal, Islamwich and Islamic Horizon Newspaper. She currently works for the Daily Helmsman and Pleasant View School.
Adam Rayes is a 19-year-old journalism student at Western Michigan University who is completing his Junior credits at George Mason University this summer while interning here at HSToday. He's worked a crime beat for Western's newspaper and freelances for several organizations in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He enjoys hiking trails, Star Wars and being really, really bad at guitar. You can find Adam on Twitter @arayes17 and can reach him by email or phone at [email protected] or 248-595-1032.
Steve Karoly is a Strategic Advisor at GTSC. Steve Karoly as the company’s Executive Vice President. The former TSA executive is responsible for achieving the company’s overall strategic goals and collaborating with industry leaders committed to cutting-edge passenger and baggage screening. Most recently, Karoly was the transportation security expert for Vantage Airport Group, which invests in, develops and manages airports around the world. Prior to that, he was the Acting Assistant Administrator for the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Office of Requirements and Capabilities Analysis.
Mr. Karoly served as TSA’s Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Requirements and Capabilities Analysis from December 2016 to March 2018. As the Acting Assistant Administrator, Karoly was a key management official responsible for assessing, analyzing, and identifying capabilities needed to meet TSA mission requirements. Karoly oversaw the Agency’s system risk analysis and modeling capabilities whose goal was to analyze and define operational baseline performance and determine capability gaps for TSA mission areas. Karoly was also responsible for identifying emerging technologies and capabilities to address the entire aviation security eco-system.
Mr. Karoly also served as the TSA’s Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Security Capabilities where he oversaw the implementation and development, test and evaluation, acquisition, deployment and maintenance of all TSA security technologies and systems across multiple modes of transportation. Mr. Karoly directly supported TSA's mission by providing security capabilities to the field and enhanced the effectiveness and efficiency of our nation's transportation systems through the qualification and deployment of security capabilities that drive the global standard for security.
Prior to joining TSA, Mr. Karoly gained extensive experience in leading defense and security enterprises and delivering robust solutions and critical systems to other DHS components including the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). As DNDO’s Acting Component Acquisition Executive (CAE) and Assistant Director for Product Acquisition and Deployment, Mr. Karoly was responsible to improve the Nation’s capability to detect and report unauthorized attempts to import, possess, store, develop, or transport nuclear or radiological material for use against the Nation, and to further enhance this capability over time. He directed DNDO’s annual capital investments that included various radiological and nuclear (Rad/Nuc) detection programs and operation support programs and provided direction, guidance and supervision of all matters pertaining to the formulation, review, approval and execution of acquisition plans, policies and programs. As CBP’s Chief Engineer and Director of Systems Engineering for the Office of Technology Innovation and Acquisition (OTIA), Mr. Karoly was responsible for identifying, developing and applying systems engineering principles and processes across CBP’s portfolio consisting of fifteen Level 1 thru 3 border security and trade facilitation programs and projects. Mr. Karoly directed all systems engineering activities including requirements analysis, design and development efforts which include modeling and simulation, verification and validation efforts which include developmental/operational test and evaluation, and transition/deployment activities.
Prior to joining DHS, Mr. Karoly served in numerous capacities, to include Program Manager, Systems Engineer, and Systems Architect, within various DoD components to include the Joint Services, the US Navy, and the US Air Force.
Mr. Karoly has over 30 years of experience as a technology integration leader and systems engineer with over twenty years in a leadership capacity. He is a skillful and talented senior executive with a demonstrated record of leading change, leading people, cultivating strategic partnerships, accomplishing results, and solving complex issues at the agency level. He is an innovative thinker and leader with achievement in strategic and operational change management, cutting-edge program development, strategic human capital and finance management, and executive level customer service. He is a certified DoD and DHS Level 3 Program Manager and DoD and DHS Level 3 Systems Engineer. He is an honor graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy and received his Master’s degree in Systems Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Karoly is also a graduate from the Harvard College National Preparedness Leadership Initiative.
Thomas Kastner is the Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer at Virtual Forge GmbH, which focuses on solutions for SAP® systems and applications. He is responsible for the product management and development, consulting services and IT Infrastructure.