Between Election and Inauguration: A Spotlight on National Security

Elaine Duke, former deputy secretary of homeland security

Elaine Duke is the principal of Elaine Duke & Associates, LLC, a company providing federal management and acquisition consulting services. Prior to this, she was a Specialist Executive with Deloitte Consulting LLP Government and Public Service. Ms. Duke uses her experience as a senior homeland security leader, prominent executive, and federal management and acquisition expert to help define and execute Deloitte’s Defense and National Security Sector Strategy.

Ms. Duke was the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from April 10, 2017 to April 15, 2018. She also served as the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security from July 31, 2017 to December 6, 2017. During this time, she led DHS including Federal Emergency Response Agency (FEMA) in the federal response to the devasting 2017 hurricane season, including Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

An accomplished leader and a civil servant for most of her career, Ms. Duke has served in the federal government for nearly three decades, including as the DHS’s Senate-confirmed Under Secretary for Management, and has been a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council and as a strategic advisor to the Government Technology and Services Coalition, assisting small and mid-tier businesses in the federal sector.

Essye B. Miller, chief information officer SAGE and former deputy chief information officer at the Department of Defense

Essye B. Miller is the President/CEO of Executive Business Management, LLC.  She provides consulting and advisory services focused on national security issues related to digital transformation, information technology, leadership, and cybersecurity.  Essye serves on the board of directors for MetroStar Systems and board of trustees for Corporate Office Properties Trust.  She also serves on the board of the National Cybersecurity Scholarship Foundation, a non-profit organization working to address the current cybersecurity skills shortage. Essye is a Principal for Pallas Advisors and a strategic advisor to several leading technology companies. 

Essye retired from the Department of Defense in 2020 after 35 years of service with the Air Force, Army, and Office of Secretary of Defense. She culminated her career as the Principal Deputy Chief Information Officer for the Department of Defense.  Essye is a recognized leader, driving cross-cutting information technology and business transformation initiatives.

Essye was the DoD Chief Information Security Officer, the senior official for all policy and governance matters related to DoD’s $8B Cybersecurity program.  Essye was named the Acting DoD Chief Information Officer by the Secretary of Defense in 2017, leading the organization through a critical political transition.

Karen Gibson, sergeant at arms of the United States Senate 

Karen Gibson became the Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate on March 22, 2021, having recently completed a 33-year military career in which she attained the rank of Lieutenant General in the United States Army. 

Ms. Gibson has performed in numerous intelligence and cyberspace operations roles, culminating her military service as Deputy Director of National Intelligence for National Security Partnerships. In previous assignments, she served as Director of Intelligence for United States Central Command; Director of Intelligence for Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, the multinational coalition to defeat ISIS; and Deputy Commanding General for U.S. Army Cyber Command. A seasoned combat veteran, Ms. Gibson has led intelligence-operations fusion centers in Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, East Africa, and in the United States. 

Ms. Gibson is a native of Bozeman, Montana. She earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University, a M.S. in National Security Strategy from the National War College, and a M.S. in Strategic Intelligence from the National Intelligence University. She is married and has two adult children.

Sue Gordon, former principal deputy director of national intelligence

The Honorable Susan M. “Sue” Gordon served as the principal deputy director of national intelligence from 2017-2019. In that role, she advised the president on intelligence matters and provided operational leadership to the agencies and organizations of the Intelligence Community. She is a widely respected authority on risk management, technical innovation, and cyber and space issues.

Over the course of more than three decades, Ms. Gordon worked to adapt the Intelligence Community to the emerging economic, military and political trends impacting the current operating environment. She joined the CIA in 1980 and served for 29 years, rising to senior executive positions in each of the agency’s four directorates: operations, analysis, science and technology, and support.

While serving as deputy director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency from 2015 to 2017, Ms. Gordon helped lead the agency through a transformation to adapt to emergent challenges. In that role, she spearheaded agile decision-making, modernization of the information environment and the expansion of geospatial intelligence services to the open marketplace. Today, she is an active board member and a university fellow, and she advises private companies in the areas of technology, strategy and leadership.