Adm. Thad Allen, "Border Wars" Producer To Keynote GovSec
U.S. Coast Guard Ret. Admiral Thad Allen, who served as the National Incident Commander during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and Nicholas Stein, the award-winning producer of National Geographic Channel’s “Border Wars,” will be the featured keynote speakers at the free Expo during the 2011 Government Security Expo & Conference (GovSec) featuring the U.S. Law Enforcement Conference & Exposition, produced by the 1105 Event Group.
In addition, a newly added panel discussion will look at the national security implications of the current unrest and regime changes in the Middle East.
The keynote addresses and panel discussion will take place March 30 and March 31, during the Expo at GovSec, which is free to attend.
On Wednesday, March 30, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., Admiral Allen will deliver his keynote address on “Leading Through Crisis and Times of Change” and then take questions from the audience in a 30-minute Q&A session. Admiral Allen spent 40 years with the U.S. Coast Guard, where he was known for his no-nonsense leadership style and ability to bring together diverse groups to achieve a common goal. Most recently, he was appointed by President Obama to lead the efforts to end and clean up the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Later on March 30 – from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. – attendees will have the opportunity to hear from experts who have served in the Foreign Service and Intelligence Service in the Middle East to learn about how the current unrest in that region could impact national security in the United States. The panel discussion, entitled “Regime Change in the Middle East: Implications for our Future,” will also examine how social networking, texting and the Internet has become the control center for revolutionary movements sweeping the Middle East. The panel will be moderated by Paul Joyal, managing director for Public Safety and Homeland Security at National Strategies Inc., and include speakers Mark Danner, consulting manager at National Strategies and William D. Murray, managing member of Alphom Group.
“Our panel brings together individuals who have decades of experience living and working in the Middle East, and are now using that knowledge to generate actionable intelligence for their clients in the public and private sectors,” said Joyal. “These unique insights enables our panel to adeptly explain the impact and security implications for the United States and our allies resulting from current events in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and other countries in the region.”
The keynote address -- “Border Wars: Ground Truth” -- on Thursday, March 31, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., will feature Stein discussing the challenges that U.S. Customers and Border Protection agents and law enforcement face as they try to prevent individuals from illegally entering the U.S. and stem the flow of illegal drugs and other contraband into the country. Stein will show clips from his show “Border Wars,” for which he and his camera crew have gotten unparalleled access to agents and captured telling moments from the battle zone.
“The work I’ve done on ‘Border Wars’ has really opened my eyes to the realities our border patrol agents and law enforcement officers face on a daily basis,” Stein said. “During my GovSec keynote, I look forward to sharing my first-hand experiences on the front lines, and talking more about the emotional toll that dealing daily with illegal drug and human trafficking takes on our troops in the field.”