Thad Allen

Chairman

Thad AllenAdmiral Thad Allen retired from the Coast Guard in 2010 as the 23rd Commandant. He currently serves as the James Tyler Chair at the Loy Institute for Leadership at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He is also a Senior Executive Advisor at HudsonAnalytix where he supports government and commercial clients in cyber security, maritime security, navigation systems, emergency response, and crisis leadership. He is a nationally recognized expert in disaster response and an advisor to government leaders on creating unity of effort and governing structures to address complex problems.

Admiral Allen was the lead federal official for the responses to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and served as National Incident Commander for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He also directed Coast Guard operations in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and the Haitian Earthquake. He serves in an advisory role with the Department of Homeland Security, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, National Intelligence University, and the Comptroller General's Advisory Board. He co-chaired a study at the National Academy of Sciences' Gulf Research Program addressing measures of community resilience in the Gulf Coast following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

A 1971 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy, Admiral Allen also holds Master Degrees from The George Washington University and MIT Sloan School. He has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from The George Washington University, George Mason University, Georgetown University, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, the National Defense University, and the National Graduate School.