Faculty

Dr. Alexander Siedschlag is professor of homeland security and chair of homeland security programs. His expertise and interests include comparative homeland security, security cultures, disaster and crisis management, scenario foresight, theories of international politics, and NATO and European Union security policies.

Eric Best is an Assistant Professor of Homeland Security and Public Policy at Penn State Harrisburg. He received his Ph.D. in Disaster Science and Management from the University of Delaware. His research interests include using statistics, GIS, and data science tools to create new applications for hazard reduction, evacuation modeling, and public policy analysis.

Dr. Richards was a law enforcement officer and served at the rank of Master Senior Deputy Sheriff at Gwinnett County Government. His assignment involves various criminal justice and law enforcement procedures, cyber-security projects, as well as homeland security and emergency management responsibilities. While working in this capacity, he also volunteered at the local Emergency Operation Center (EOC). During this time, Dr. Richards assisted in research that helped in developing efficient security protocols to protect dams and reservoirs throughout the county from terroristic and natural threats.

Nicholas Eftimiades retired from the U.S. Department of Defense. His 34-year government career includes employment in the CIA as a technical operations officer, a special agent in the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security, and a senior intelligence officer in the Defense Intelligence Agency. He held positions in analysis, human and technical intelligence collection, and management, with numerous overseas assignments.