**Personal Profile:  Paula D. Gordon, Ph.D.**

 

Paula Gordon is a writer, analyst, and consultant.  She serves as an
adjunct professor or a member of the practitioner faculty of
several institutions.  During the past year these have included Johns
Hopkins University, Trinity University, and The Washington Center for
Internships and Academic Seminars.  She has also recently been
developing two online courses for Jacksonville State University.  One of
these began on June 1.  They are on \"Planning and Preparedness for
Homeland Security\" and \"Critical Infrastructure\".  

 

She has served in staff officer, analyst, and consultant and contractor
roles with the Federal government as well as in the private sector. 
She also headed a San Francisco Bay Area-based non-profit organization
focused on drug abuse prevention among youth.  

 

She ran for Congress from the 7th District of California in 1978
with major national party support.

 

Agencies that she has worked with include the National Institute of
Mental Health; the Federal Energy Office/Federal Energy Administration;
the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (as an HEW Fellow); 
the General Accounting Office;  the Research Applied to National Needs
Program of the National Science Foundation, the Federal Emergency
Management Agency;  the Environmental Protection Agency; and the U.S.
Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. 

 

In the early 1980s, her work as a full time consultant
at FEMA included writing an issue paper that was used by the Director
and a task group of the top 25 or so top officials in the Agency to
determine how the nation\'s nuclear attack preparedness efforts would be
changed.  That issue paper played a role in the adoption by the agency
of an all hazards approach to emergency management based on a functional
approach to emergency management that she found on West Germany\'s
emergency management program.  She later was involved in researching and
writing a variety of reports on emergency management, including drafting
of guidance for local level emergency medical preparedness
coordinators.  That guidance addressed the full range of possible
emergencies and catastrophic scenarios through and including a worst
case nuclear attack.  In 1997, she was a contributing author to a guide
that addressed substance abuse prevention concerns in the aftermath of 
Federally-declared disasters.

 

From 1998 through 2000, she focused attention on addressing Y2K
technology challenges and organized behind the scenes briefings and
engaged in networking aimed at raising awareness of the seriousness of
the threats and preventing possible worst case societal impacts,
including impacts those involving critical infrastructure,
cybersecurity, and public health.  She played a role in organizing
several conferences, public and media briefings, and a series of panel
programs, several of which were aired by C-SPAN.  

 

Since September 11, 2001, her efforts have focused largely on homeland
security.   She has been particularly concerned with the need
for enhancing and building the capabilities and skills of those in roles
of public responsibility so that they will be in the best possible
position to organize effectively and advance local, state, regional, and
national homeland security efforts.  Her writing that may be of
particular interest to conference participants includes the following
pieces, all of which are posted on her homeland security website at
[http://gordonhomeland.com](http://gordonhomeland.com/)  (direct URLs
are noted) : 

 

\~  \"Education and Training Initiatives Needed to Address Threats and
Challenges to Homeland Security \"  (
<http://users.rcn.com/pgordon/homeland/homeland_educ.html> and also
posted on the website of the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of
Terrorism at [http://mipt.org](http://mipt.org/) )

 

\~  \"Capabilities and Skills Needed by Those in New Roles of
Responsibility for Homeland Security at the State and Local Levels of
Government\"   
<http://users.rcn.com/pgordon/homeland/CapabilitiesAndSkillsNeeded.html> 

 

\~ Improving Homeland Security - Continuing Challenges and
Opportunities. Presentation to EIIP Virtual Forum, 3/24/2004\
<http://users.rcn.com/pgordon/homeland/eiipdhs.htm>\
\
\~ \"Transforming and Leading Organizations,\" **Government
Transformation**,  Winter 2004-05 issue. ( Also posted
at <http://users.rcn.com/pgordon/homeland/transforming_orgs.pdf> .)
(This article includes examples from emergency management.)

 

\~ \"Improving Homeland Security & Critical Infrastructure Protection
and Continuity Efforts\" (60 page report)\
<http://users.rcn.com/pgordon/homeland/hscipreport.pdf>\
\
\~ \"The Different Nature of Terrorism and Terrorist Threats Post
9/11 and the Implications of These Differences\"  (subsection from the
preceding report) 
<http://users.rcn.com/pgordon/homeland/thedifferentnatureofterrorism.htm>\
\
 \~ \"The Homeland Security Impact Scale:  An Alternative Approach to
Assessing Homeland Security and Critical Infrastructure Protection
Efforts and a Frame of Reference for Understanding and Addressing
Current Challenges\" (Part 6 of the report on \"Improving Homeland
Security & Critical Infrastructure Protection and Continuity Efforts\")\
<http://users.rcn.com/pgordon/homeland/thehomelandsecurityimpactscale.htm>

 

\~ \"Comparative Scenario and Options Analysis: Important Tools for
Leaders, Change Agents, Planners, and Decisionmakers\" (including a
typology of emergencies of different levels of severity and an options
analysis that looks at different approaches to homeland security and
critical infrastructure) 
<http://users.rcn.com/pgordon/homeland/compscen.pdf> .

 

\~ \"List of Selected Homeland Security References and Resources\"
 January 10, 2005  (40 plus pages)  
[http://users.rcn.com/pgordon/homeland/resources.html#13](http://users.rcn.com/pgordon/homeland/resources.html#13l) .

The latter \"List of Selected Homeland Security References and
Resources\" may be of help to those involved in developing homeland
security courses and curricula, particularly those who are in the
initial stages of developing courses and curricula.

 

Paula Gordon\'s homeland security website, GordonHomeland.com, would not
exist in its current form had it not been for the dedicated volunteer
efforts of several webmasters who have devoted considerable time and
effort to maintaining this website and posting new material.   The
website features reports, publications, articles, presentations,
references and resources, and other material relating to homeland
security issues, efforts, or concerns.  The website is intended to serve
as a resource for policymakers and implementers, analysts,
administrators, and managers.  It is also intended to serve as a
resource for educators, researchers, students, the media, and the
general public.

Dr. Gordon may be reached by e-mail at <pgordon@erols.com>.