Gordon Aoyagi is the Director of Homeland Security and Public Policy for Justice & Security Strategies, Inc. Mr. Aoyagi has over 30 years of public policy experience in leadership and senior executive management positions for local government in homeland security, emergency management, fire and rescue services management, public administration, public transit operations at the local government level.

Mr. Aoyagi served as the first Director of the Montgomery County Homeland Security Department (MCHSD) from its inception in January 2005 to June 2008. He successfully transitioned and integrated interdepartmental coordination, policy development, hazard identification and risk assessment, target capabilities review, emergency management and County facility security functions in the new department. MCHSD’s role was to plan, prevent, prepare and protect against all major hazards and to manage and coordinate the County’s unified response, mitigation and recovery to disasters, caused by natural, accidental or purposefully harmful events.

In his service with Montgomery County, he directed and coordinated the County’s emergency management response as Disaster Manager to several major emergencies in the County, including 1999 severe ice and snow storms, Y2K planning and readiness, two train wrecks, September 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon, suspected anthrax spore releases, Montgomery County sniper attacks, Hurricane Isabel, June 2006 flooding and potential Lake Needwood earthen dam collapse involving designated community evacuation, water restriction emergencies and other emergencies affecting the County.

Prior to his service with Montgomery County, he was the General Manager/Executive Director for various transit agencies: Regional Transit District (RTD) in Boulder, Colorado; Westport Transit District in Westport Connecticut; and Salem Area Mass Transit District in Salem, Oregon. He was also a community participation manager and environmental planner for rapid transit planning with RTD and an urban planner for the cities of Denver and Boulder, Colorado.

Mr. Aoyagi served as a commissioned officer in the US Army. He completed his military service in Viet Nam as Captain of a Military Intelligence Unit.

Mr. Aoyagi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colorado College and Masters of Public Administration degree from the University of Colorado.