F. David Sheppard

Specialization: Homeland Security

F. David Sheppard is a Public Service Professor at Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany. Professor Sheppard is a former Director of the New York State Office of Homeland Security, serving in this capacity from 2006 through 2008. During this period, Sheppard directed and coordinated federal, state and local homeland security strategies to prevent terrorist attacks, protect critical infrastructure and prepare first responders to respond to natural and man-made disasters. As the director of both the New York State Office of Homeland Security and the State Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Task Force, Sheppard also managed more than $2 billion in Federal Homeland Security Grant Program funds involving 14 separate preparedness grants. He developed a Critical Infrastructure - Suspicious Activity Report (CI-SAR) model for law enforcement and intelligent analyst use at state intelligence fusion centers and authored numerous classified homeland security advisories and intelligence products.

Professor Sheppard is also a retired U.S. Army General Officer and former Commanding General of the 53rd Troop Command, New York Army National Guard. He directed and coordinated the New York National Guard's military support to civil authorities after the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. General Sheppard also served as the Joint Task Force Commander of military security forces protecting critical infrastructure during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City, and is a rated military and commercial fixed-wing and rotary-wing aviator. He is a Vietnam combat veteran.