Former Director Of Preparedness Programs For The Department Of Homeland Security Joins CNA

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA — CNA (CNA) president, Robert Murray, today announced that Timothy Beres has been named vice president and director of CNA's Safety and Security Center.

The center is currently engaged in work supporting federal departments, including Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and Agriculture. The center also provides contract support to numerous state, regional, and local agencies as well.

"Tim's impressive record of service in addressing our nation's domestic security and emergency preparedness issues—at both the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice—give him excellent credentials for his work here at CNA," Murray said. "His management and leadership skills, along with the depth of his expertise in critical areas of preparedness at the local, state, and national levels will make Tim a valuable asset for us, and a valuable resource for our clients."

Beres is the immediate past director of the preparedness programs in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness/Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP). In this position, he was responsible for managing more than $3 billion in preparedness grant funding annually and directing the work of 116 staff, including 35 staff located in regional offices. He briefed and advised senior administration officials on preparedness programs and resource allocation and served as an administration witness at congressional hearings.

Beres's accomplishments during his tenure at DHS include: development of the Urban Areas Security Initiative (the first risked-based preparedness grant program); establishment of the first interoperable communications technical assistance program for state and local jurisdictions; establishment of the first graduate degree program in Homeland Security at the Naval Postgraduate School; and the creation of mobile education teams to assist governors and mayors with homeland security issues.

He also developed the first terrorism prevention technical assistance program for state and local jurisdictions, and developed and implemented the Pre-positioned Equipment Program as well as 35 other specific technical assistance programs, including staff orientation and professional training programs, ODP's first national training program, and its statewide assessment and strategy process, which is the basis for the governance of over $2.5 billion annually in federal preparedness grant funding.

Prior to joining DHS, Beres served as chief of training and technical assistance in the U.S. Department of Justice's Office for State and Local Domestic Preparedness Support/Office of Justice Programs (OJP). While there he helped develop a national weapons of mass destruction training and technical assistance program for state and local first responders, managed the transition of the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Domestic Preparedness Program from the Department of Defense to the Department of Justice, and assisted in the establishment of the Center for Domestic Preparedness (ODP's National Training Center).

Before serving in this position, Beres was an OJP program manager, and also held positions within OJP's Corrections Program Office. Beres began his career at Justice as a grant manager in OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance. Before joining the federal workforce, he was a revenue officer for the North Carolina Department of Revenue. Beres holds a B.A. in history from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg, Virginia.