New Jersey has a unique threat profile. It is one of the most densely populated states in the US. It’s also an international travel and transportation hub that sits across the Hudson River from Lower Manhattan and is home to significant financial services industry and critical infrastructure. With a range of threats and recent incidents that include domestic and international terrorism, homegrown violent extremism, cyberattacks, disinformation and now COVID-19, New Jersey is on the front lines of some of the most complicated and critical security challenges facing the US. It’s the mission of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) to lead and coordinate New Jersey’s counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and preparedness. This week we’re excited to welcome Jared Maples, the Director of NJOHSP to the show. Jared is the Director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. In this role he serves as the federally designated Homeland Security Advisor (HSA) to the Governor and is the Cabinet-level executive responsible for coordinating and leading New Jersey’s Counterterrorism, Cybersecurity, and Emergency Preparedness efforts. Prior to his current role, Jared spent over a decade at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in a variety of leadership roles and previously worked at the US Department of Defense in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. As a seasoned intelligence officer, his career focused on executive strategy development and execution, organizational and operational change management, emergency operations response, internal security investigations and personnel protection in high threat environments. Jared has traveled around the world on behalf of the US Government, including many deployments to areas of active hostilities.