

Mr. David J. Kaufman
Vice President and Director, Safety and Security, CNA
David J. Kaufman is the Vice President and Director for Safety and Security at CNA, a non-profit organization that provides in-depth research, analysis and results-oriented solutions to government leaders. He is responsible for executive management, development, and execution of CNA’s work in the areas of public safety, homeland security, emergency management, and public health.
Mr. Kaufman is the former Associate Administrator for Policy, Program Analysis, and International Affairs at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), where from 2009 to 2015, he provided leadership, analysis, coordination, and decision-making support to the FEMA Administrator on a wide range of Agency policies, strategy, plans, programs, and key initiatives. Mr. Kaufman is an internationally recognized leader in homeland security and disaster management. His notable accomplishments include developing FEMA’s Whole Community Approach to Emergency Management and its supporting doctrine; launching the Strategic Foresight Initiative, exploring the impacts of global trends on disaster management; and co-created a ten country Multinational Resilience Policy Group.
Mr. Kaufman is the Chair of the National Academy of Sciences Planning Committee for Science-Based Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Resilience Exercises, and a member of the Academies’ Resilient America Roundtable. He teaches in Georgetown University’s graduate program in Emergency and Disaster Management; is a former faculty member at the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security; and has previously served in several senior positions in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and in FEMA. Mr. Kaufman holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Michigan; a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations, Political Science, and History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and is a graduate of the Center for Homeland Defense and Security’s Executive Leaders Program at the Naval Postgraduate School.
