U.S. Department of Homeland Security official to speak at Rider

The Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University will present “The Challenges of Homeland Security:  A National Perspective with Jonathan Meyer, Esq.,” on Monday, April 13. Meyer is the Deputy General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

A light reception begins at 6 p.m. Remarks begin at 7 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer period with the audience. The event will take place in the Mercer Room in Daly Dining Hall on Rider’s Lawrenceville campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Professor Ben Dworkin, Director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, said, “The reality of our age is that homeland security is a critical part of all levels of government, and that requires an informed public to help determine policies that impact every community.  This event is part of our effort to raise the level of political discourse when it comes to those debates.”

Dworkin said this event will give participants a unique opportunity to discuss today’s important issues involving homeland security from someone who helps lead the federal government’s response to topics such as Eric Snowden, civil liberties, hacking threats, ISIS and al Qaeda each and every day.

Meyer has been at the Department of Homeland Security since February 2011 and was appointed Deputy General Counsel in 2013. In his current position, Meyer supervises the work of over 600 attorneys, including attorneys at the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the U.S Coast Guard.  In addition, he oversees attorneys at DHS headquarters, including those involved with litigation, legislation, civil rights and civil liberties, and privacy.  Meyer is also the Department’s point person on Congressional oversight, and leads teams on the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, racial profiling, cyber-intrusion events, and law enforcement responses to new technology challenges.

From 2009 to 2011, Meyer served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Policy at the U.S. Department of Justice.  During that time, he ran the Department’s judicial selection and confirmation operations, and led the Department’s implementation of the President’s Open Government initiative. 

From 2007 to 2009, Meyer was Special Deputy General Counsel at Amtrak.  In this position, he led a variety of strategic reforms in Amtrak’s Law Department. He also served as the primary legal counsel for Amtrak on all homeland security and counter-terrorism activities. 

From 2001 to 2007, Meyer served as Counsel to Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on the Senate Judiciary Committee.  During his time on the Committee, Meyer advised Senator Biden on high technology issues, intellectual property, civil justice reform, the death penalty, antitrust, judicial nominations, and bankruptcy reform, among other areas, and supervised the Senator’s Judiciary Committee staff.

Previously, Meyer worked at the Justice Department’s Office of Policy Development, as a litigator at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington, and as a litigator and corporate lawyer at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York. 

Originally from Cincinnati, Meyer spent much of his childhood in Jerusalem, Israel and speaks fluent Hebrew and French.  He holds a B.A. from Harvard College, a J.D. from Columbia University and a Masters in Public Affairs from Princeton University. 

Dworkin said he is honored that Meyer is able to speak at Rider, where the Department of Political Science recently launched a new minor in Homeland Security.  The multidisciplinary program, open to all majors, offers students the opportunity to explore the underlying causes and motivations behind terrorism; understand how the global environment impacts a country’s internal environment; study the critical role of the intelligence community and comprehend the consequences of threats and countermeasures and the impact on civil liberties.

To earn a minor in Homeland Security, students must complete a total of 21 credits from a variety of courses. Examples of classes in the Homeland Security minor are “Terrorism Revolution and Political Violence”, “The Development and Structure of U.S. Intelligence Agencies”, “Presidential Power and National Security Policy”, and “Critical Views of Global Security”.

“To have one of the country’s premier experts in homeland security speak to our students firsthand about his work is an extraordinary opportunity,” Dworkin said.

Advance reservations to attend the event are requested by calling Susan Cuccia at 609-896-5350 or [email protected].