GTSC’s 6th Annual IRS Day will examine the missions of the Internal Revenue Service tracking the agency’s strategic plan, as IRS subject matter experts will discuss the latest plans for IRS modernization, the taxpayer experience strategy, training strategy, and more. Thank you to our Guardian Sponsor, Anika Systems for their support!

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Join Women in Homeland Security for a special afternoon tea with a panel of OSDBUs, small business specialists, and successful WOSBs to discuss opportunities and strategies with first-class networking!

Speakers:

3:15 PM Keynote

Jaclyn Rubino Executive Director, Strategic Programs Division, OCPO, DHS

3:30 PM WOSB OpportuniTEAs Panel 

Melissa Oliva, Deputy Director, OSDBU, U.S. Department of Treasury

Anna Urman, Director, Strategic Outreach and Communications, OSDBU, Department of Veterans Affairs

George Price, Director, OSDBU, U.S. Department of State

Sharon Phillips, Desk Officer for United States Coast Guard (USCG), Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC), and ICE; Women-Owned Small Business Program Manager; 8(a) Program Manager; FAR Council, WOSB Program Manager, 8(a), SDB Program Co-Manager, OSDBU, U.S. Department of Homeland Security*

Mary McKinzie, Procurement Analyst, OSDBU, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of Treasury

Dwight Deneal, Assistant Administrator, Office of Small Business Programs, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

4:15 PM WOSB Panel 

Vini Ehsan, Founder and CEO, Arch Systems

Elaine Kapetanakis, CEO and Owner, KAPCOM

Olivia Trivisani Bowker, Founder and CEO, Amivero

*Invited

Supporters:

In January, HSToday released the 2024 Threat Forecast in three parts. In an election year, with tremendous risks and vulnerabilities facing the nation, we take stock each year by asking our cadre of experienced homeland security practitioners what they would like to share with you, our community of readers. This year is our most comprehensive collection to date from a diverse group of professionals who have served both in and outside government.

Join us for a webinar dissecting the identified terrorist threat trends from our contributors. 

Key takeaways from the threat forecast include:

– Internal dissension and disagreement puts America and its institutions at great peril, from our elections to foreign policy to border security.

– Misinformation is misunderstood and our ability to combat it will determine the outcome of many critical challenges facing the country.

– Misunderstanding the activity, strength, and strategy of foreign nation’s like Iran, China, Russia, North Korea, and foreign terrorist groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Qaeda, and ISIS leads to a heightened risk and threat environment

– Our nation must devote more focus to strategic foresight and mitigate against “strategic surprise” by nurturing our people’s understanding, and mastery of, complexity.

– Allowing the potential of AI and quantum computing to benefit us while balancing the need for security will be pivotal to our future – collaboration is key to understanding the technology and its implications. – Specific threats like individual violent perpetrators of terrorism, drones, biological threats, and vulnerabilities like lack of preparedness for natural disasters, continue to increase

– Ransomware is increasing exponentially and poses a considerable threat to critical infrastructure.

Speakers: 

Dexter Ingram, Director of the Office of Countering Violent Extremism, U.S. Department of State; Founder, IN Network; Editorial Board Member, HSToday

Mahmut Cengiz, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor, Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC)

Moshe Nelson, Former Legislative Fellow, U.S. House Subcommittee for the Middle East; Partner, Guidehouse – Defense and Security Practice

Stephanie Yanta, Supervisory Special Agent, FBI (ret.)

John Halinski, Former Deputy Administrator, U.S. Transportation Security Administration; President, Raloid Corp; Editorial Board Member, Homeland Security Today

This Supply Chain Integrity Month HSToday is welcoming Board Member Bob Kolasky and other supply chain experts to discuss how organizations can utilize new technologies to advance their supply chain security. Emerging technologies present both an opportunity and a challenge for supply chain integrity.

As supply chains get increasingly digitized, data management and protection are key to their security and resilience. Technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital twinning, and (in the future) quantum computing are undoubtedly helping supply chain operations and security but they come with a risk. This discussion will explain how organizations can use new technologies to advance their supply chain integrity while also assessing where novel risks will be introduced and the Top 3 ways to stay in front of them

Speakers:

Bob Kolasky, Senior Vice President for Critical Infrastructure, Exiger; former Director, National Risk Management Center, CISA; Editorial Board Member, HSToday

Laura Hershon, Acting Chief, Initiatives B Branch, CISA*

March is GTSC’s annual membership drive – March Membership Madness!

Each year we host a membership briefing for prospective members to learn more about the benefits of joining our organization and being part of an elite team of government contractors devoted to the homeland mission.

Founded by small businesses in the homeland security community, GTSC is home to the preeminent companies working in the homeland and national security with partners across the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security, State, Justice, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Treasury, and Defense. This is a great opportunity for small, mid-, and large companies to find out more about the numerous benefits of GTSC Membership…

The benefits keep growing – join us to learn all we can do for you!

Join HSToday for a Law Enforcement-only analysis of global terrorism trends from 2023 and threat forecasts for 2024. The Department of State’s yearly Annex of Statistical Information Reports uses The Global Terrorism Trends and Analysis Center (GTTAC) database.

Dr. Mahmut Cengiz, a senior data analyst at GTTAC since 2018, will discuss terrorism trends from 2023 and areas of concern for law enforcement in the United States (US). More specifically, his analyses will focus on HAMAS and Iran-backed terror groups targeting American facilities in the Middle East, Al Qaeda- and ISIS-affiliated organizations actively involved in terrorist attacks worldwide, increasing far-right terrorism and emerging lone actor threats in the US and Europe.

The Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) is the first center in the United States devoted to understanding the links among terrorism, transnational crime and corruption, and to teach, research, train and help formulate policy on these critical issues. TraCCC is a research center within the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. TraCCC also houses the innovative and highly-respected Anti-Illicit Trade Institute (AITI).

This webinar is for law enforcement only – you must register with your official email, or your registration will be cancelled. If you have special circumstances, please reach out to Kristina Tanasichuk, ktanasichuk@gtscoalition.com or kwhite@gtscoalition.com, for more information. 

Presenter: Mahmut Cengiz, PhD Research Associate Professor Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC)

Mahmut Cengiz is an Associate Professor with the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University (GMU). He has international field experience where he has delivered capacity building and training assistance to international partners in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.

He has also been involved in research projects for the Brookings Institute, European Union, and various US agencies. Dr. Cengiz is a Fellow at Small Wars Journal-El Centro and a columnist at HS Today, where he regularly publishes articles and op-eds on security issues in Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan, the most trends on Al Qaeda, ISIS, and Iran-backed militia groups, as well as on cocaine and fentanyl trafficking.

He is the author of six books, and his 2019 book, The Illicit Economy in Turkey: How Criminals, Terrorists, and the Syrian Conflict Fuel Underground Economies, analyzes the role of criminals, money launderers, and corrupt politicians, and discusses the involvement of ISIS and al-Qaida-affiliated groups in illicit economy.

His 2024 book will discuss the global history of letter and package bombs. Dr. Cengiz teaches Terrorism, American Security Policy and Narco-terrorism courses at GMU.