Frank J. Cilluffo

An Associate Vice President at The George Washington University, Frank J. Cilluffo leads GW's homeland security efforts on policy, research, education, and training. He directs the multi-disciplinary Homeland Security Policy Institute, a unique, nonpartisan “think and do tank” that builds bridges between theory and practice to advance homeland security through a multi and interdisciplinary approach.

The Institute’s recent policy and research agenda covers a wide range of national and homeland security matters, including the conflict in Afghanistan and crisis in Pakistan, emergency management, de-radicalization and counter-narrative efforts, Congressional oversight of homeland security, bio-terrorism and bio-defense, and intelligence and information sharing. Cilluffo co-chairs HSPI's Ambassadors Roundtable Series on International Collaboration to Combat Terrorism and Insurgencies, moderates the Institute's Policy & Research Forums, which spotlight cutting-edge policy solutions and innovative research, and facilitates a variety of other programmatic events. Through the Ambassadors Roundtable Series, HSPI has engaged over thirty ambassadors and cabinet level officials in an ongoing dialogue on the counterterrorism efforts of multiple nations.

Cilluffo joined GW in April 2003 from the White House where he served as Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security. Shortly following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Cilluffo was appointed by the President to the newly created Office of Homeland Security, and served as a principal advisor to Governor Tom Ridge.

Prior to his White House appointment, Cilluffo spent eight years in senior policy positions with the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank. At CSIS he chaired or directed numerous committees and task forces on homeland defense, counterterrorism, transnational crime, and information warfare and information assurance.

In addition to publishing extensively in academic, law, business, and policy journals, and magazines and newspapers worldwide, Cilluffo is co-author and editor of the following selected publications:

  • The Homeland Security Council: Considerations for the Future (2009)
  • Micro-Diplomacy in Afghanistan: Disaggregating and Engaging the Taliban (2009)
  • Serving America's Disaster Victims: FEMA, Where Does it Fit? (2009)
  • NETworked Radicalization: A Counter-Strategy (2007)
  • Out of the Shadows: Getting Ahead of Prisoner Radicalization (2006)
  • Cyberstrategy 2.0 (2006)
  • Regionalizing Homeland Security: Unifying National Preparedness and Response (2006)
  • Empowering America: A Proposal for Enhancing Regional Preparedness (2006)
  • Terrorism Risk Insurance: Assessing TRIA and the Way Forward (2005)
  • Back to The Future: An Agenda for Federal Leadership of Emergency Medical Services (2005)
  • Public Preparedness: A National Imperative (2005)
  • Consolidating the House’s Homeland Security Efforts: The Time to Act is Now (2004)
  • Combating Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Terrorism: A Comprehensive Strategy (2001)
  • Cyber Threats and Information Security: Meeting the 21st Century Challenge (2001)
  • Russian Organized Crime & Corruption: Putin’s Challenge (2000)
  • Cybercrime, Cyberterrorism, Cyberwarfare (1998); Russian Organized Crime (1997)
  • Global Organized Crime: The New Empire of Evil (1994)

He has testified before the United States Congress on a number of occasions, has been a regular guest on major television and radio networks worldwide, and lectures extensively to governmental and academic audiences domestically and internationally. Cilluffo presently serves and has served on various national security-related committees sponsored by the U.S. government and non-profit organizations, including the Homeland Security Advisory Council, where he served as the Vice Chairman of the Future of Terrorism Task Force, chaired by Congressman Lee Hamilton. Cilluffo also served as a member of the Secure Borders and Open Doors Advisory Committee.

Cilluffo served as a Fellow at the World Economic Forum, and was a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations. He continues to remain active in the non-profit and think tank communities, currently serving as a member of the Center for the Study of the Presidency’s National Council of Advisors, a member of the University of Virginia’s Critical Incident Analysis Group Steering Committee, a Research Fellow at the Institute for Infrastructure and Information Assurance at James Madison University, a “coach” with the Partnership for Public Service’s Annenberg Leadership Institute, and co-chairs the CSIS Lessons from Abroad study.