Full article by Ryan Eddy and Ann Lesperance, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, September 25, 2024.
In this feature article during National Preparedness Month, two directors at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory recognize how the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 spurred a pivotal change in the way the U.S. approaches preparedness for threats to the homeland.
Learn about a national laboratory’s efforts to address homeland security threats by developing the technology and other resources first responders need to combat these homeland threats.
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Ryan Eddy
Ryan Eddy serves as the director for Homeland Security Programs in the National Security Directorate at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). He oversees the work PNNL performs for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which encompasses nearly 50 diverse projects and over $100 million worth of annual business. Eddy manages a team that engages with components across DHS in such areas as explosives detection, nuclear security, and cybersecurity. By drawing on his years of experience in Washington, D.C., Mr. Eddy oversees program development strategies for DHS sponsors that assure PNNL is delivering mission-relevant work. DHS sponsors at PNNL include the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, Science & Technology Directorate, Customs and Border Protection, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Transportation Security Administration, and others.
Ann Lesperance
Ann Lesperance is the director of the Northwest Regional Technology Center at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). She has over 30 years of experience as a researcher and project manager, and her primary focus is developing regional programs to accelerate the demonstration and deployment of new homeland security technologies. Lesperance works with state and local emergency responders and public safety officials and builds regional coalitions of emergency management professionals to understand and help prioritize their operational needs and requirements. Ms. Lesperance also has a joint appointment as the director for the College of Social Science and Humanities Programs at Northeastern University Seattle. In this role, she leads efforts to build the master’s program in Security and Resilience Studies and Urban Informatics. She was also awarded a faculty affiliate appointment with Northeastern’s Global Resilience Institute, where she partners with the institute to identify and participate in interdisciplinary proposal efforts for new research and education collaborations.
