The Department of Homeland Security: Year Eight

Aspen Institute and Georgetown University Present A Conversation with Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano, and Former Secretaries Chertoff and Ridge

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Aspen Institute's Homeland Security Program, in collaboration with the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, will present a roundtable conversation marking the eighth anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security. The discussion will take place at Georgetown University's Gaston Hall on Tuesday, March 1, 2011, and will feature Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano along with her two predecessors, Michael Chertoff and Tom Ridge. Walter Isaacson, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, will moderate the discussion.

This on-the-record event is open to the press. The event will be available on a live stream on the Aspen Institute's website, www.aspeninstitute.org, and at webcast.georgetown.edu/live. Additionally, event updates will be featured at www.twitter.com/aspeninstitute and http://www.facebook.com/AspenInstitute.

"We are honored to feature Secretary Napolitano and her two predecessors, Secretary Chertoff and Secretary Ridge, to mark this important moment in DHS' history and that of the nation," said Clark Kent Ervin, director of the Homeland Security Program at the Aspen Institute.

Georgetown University is the oldest and largest Catholic and Jesuit university in America, founded in 1789 by Archbishop John Carroll. Georgetown today is a major student-centered, international, research university offering respected undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in Washington, DC, Doha, Qatar and around the world. For more information about Georgetown University, visit www.georgetown.edu.

The Aspen Institute's Homeland Security Program works to heighten public awareness as to the nation's continued vulnerability to terrorism, and to persuade the nation to take the necessary steps to close the gap between how secure we should be and how secure we actually are.

The Aspen Institute mission is twofold: to foster values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues. The Aspen Institute does this primarily in four ways: seminars, young-leader fellowships around the globe, policy programs, and public conferences and events. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, CO; and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore and has an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.

SOURCE The Aspen Institute