Secretary Napolitano's Remarks at the National Private Sector Conference
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano joined former DHS Secretary Tom Ridge, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate, DHS Private Sector Office Assistant Secretary Douglas A. Smith and other public and private sector partners to deliver remarks at the 2011 National Private Sector Conference. The ‘Building Resilience through Public-Private Partnerships’ Conference highlighted partnerships with the private sector to build a strong foundation for a more secure and resilient homeland.
During her remarks, Secretary Napolitano underscored DHS’ collaboration with the private sector on a variety of initiatives to develop and strengthen the homeland security enterprise to better defend against evolving threats, increase preparedness for disasters of all kinds, and increase the resilience of the most vulnerable critical infrastructure. Programs such as the “If You See Something, Say Something” public awareness campaign and the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting initiative highlight the importance of public-private partnerships in reporting suspicious activity to local law enforcement and underscore that security is a shared responsibility.
Fulfilling the 9/11 Commission‘s recommendation to create a program to improve private sector preparedness for disasters and emergencies, in June 2010, DHS announced the adoption of the final standards for PS-Prep --a partnership between DHS and the private sector that enables private entities to receive emergency preparedness certification. Since PS-Prep began, DHS and FEMA have adopted three industry standards to assist organizations in assessing their preparedness and resiliency.
DHS also promotes private sector preparedness through FEMA’s Ready Business campaign, a nationwide initiative that provides materials to businesses of all sizes to encourage business continuity planning and crisis management.
For more information visit
www.dhs.gov .