Washington, DC (October, 2014) – Dr. Reginald Brothers, Department of Homeland Security Under Secretary for Science and Technology, today announced the appointment of Dr. Robert Griffin as the Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) Deputy Under Secretary.
“Bob Griffin brings a unique mix of more than two decades of experience in emergency response and emergency management leadership, and academic grounding” Under Secretary Brothers said. “It is that experience and insight that I rely on, and why I chose him as my Deputy.”
With more than 20 years of experience in local government and first responder communities, Griffin has been serving as acting Deputy Under Secretary since May 2014, and was officially appointed as Deputy Under Secretary on Oct. 5, 2014. Prior to this appointment, Griffin served as the Director of S&T’s First Responders Group and led efforts to strengthen the first response community’s ability to protect the homeland and respond to disasters.
Prior to his federal service, Griffin served as the first director of the Arlington County (Virginia.) Office of Emergency Management, where he developed a cross-functional department consisting of emergency management, law enforcement, fire/rescue, public health, and emergency communications personnel. He managed the integration of the county’s emergency management and emergency communications functions into a single department. Griffin was responsible for the construction of a state of the art emergency communications center and data analysis center; an integrated public notification system, including outdoor warning systems, enhanced sheltering capabilities for people and pets; and a nationally recognized citizen outreach effort. While in Arlington, Griffin also organized and led relief efforts to Florida (2004), New Orleans (2005), and numerous regional and intra-state deployments. In 2006, he was recognized by the Arlington Civic Federation with the President’s Award.
Griffin previously served as the Director of Environmental Services for Arlington County, Virginia, where he managed a diverse portfolio of core governmental functions, including roads and engineering, transportation, facilities construction and maintenance, fleet management, capital planning and construction, and a nationally recognized energy and environmental sustainability program.
Prior to his time in Arlington, Griffin served as the Assistant County Administrator and Chief of Fire and Rescue in Loudoun County (Virginia), where he led the county’s fire, rescue, bomb squad, emergency communications, and emergency management functions. He ran the Loudoun emergency operations center during the response to the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, and the anthrax attack on the Dulles Postal Facility. Previously, he was Executive Administrator of the Town of Tyngsborough and Town Administrator of Townsend, Massachusetts. He is a certified fire fighter and fire officer.
Griffin earned a Doctor of Philosophy in public administration/public affairs from Virginia Tech, as well as a Master’s degree in public administration and a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Griffin’s dissertation was a study of the characteristics of coordination in the homeland security network.
He is a member of the Federal Senior Executive Service, and is currently on the faculty of Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute where he teaches graduate-level courses in state and local governance.