Kayyem named Homeland Security assistant secretary

Juliette Kayyem, undersecretary of homeland security for the commonwealth of Massachusetts, has been named assistant secretary of intergovernmental programs of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Kayyem, who is a former executive director at Harvard Kennedy School’s (HKS) Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, is also a current member (on leave) of the Belfer Center’s board of directors, and previously served as executive director for research at the center and taught courses in public policy at HKS.

“My work at the Belfer Center taught me the need for practical policy, policy that can be utilized on the ground. In my efforts to improve communication and coordination among the different groups essential to homeland security in the U.S., I hope to put those lessons into operation,” Kayyem said.

Prior to being named the first undersecretary for Massachusetts’ Department of Homeland Security in 2007, Kayyem was a resident scholar at the Belfer Center, first in 2001 as a research fellow, then as a lecturer in public policy and executive director for research.

A graduate of Harvard Law School, Kayyem taught courses at HKS in law, homeland security, and national security, with a particular focus on the intersection between democratic values and counter-terrorism policies. She also co-directed the Belfer Center’s Executive Session on Domestic Preparedness. From 1999 to 2000, she served on the National Commission on Terrorism, a congressionally mandated review of how the government could better prepare for the growing terrorist threat.