Leadership

Advisory Board

Brigadier General Ronald Bouchard

Partner
Deep Water Point

Ron Bouchard is a partner at Deep Water Point, which provides insight into the federal market through its team of former senior executives from government and industry. Prior to joining Deep Water Point, Bouchard served as Deputy General Manager Global Services Sector and General Manager for the DoD Enterprise Services Group for NCI Information Systems, Inc. As Deputy General Manager Global Services Sector, Bouchard provided support and advice to the General Manager as well as leadership, direction and oversight to the operational units within the Sector’s portfolio. As the General Manager for the DoD Enterprise Services Group, he had P&L responsibility for a business unit with worldwide operations serving the Department of Defense.

Bouchard joined NCI after retiring from the U.S. Army as a Brigadier General. He has over 30 years of experience in planning, implementing and overseeing automation and communications systems for the U.S. Army and Joint organizations. Bouchard commanded at all levels in the Army through Brigade Command, with assignments including Director, Resource Management, United States Army Air Defense Artillery Center and Fort Bliss; Chief of Staff, United States Army Cadet Command; Commander, 1st Signal Brigade; Executive Officer to the Commander, UNC/CFC/USFK; Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon; Director for Communications System (J6), U.S. Pacific Command; and, Deputy Chief of Staff G-6, U.S. Army Forces Command.

Bouchard received his undergraduate degree from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and an MBA (Comptroller) from Syracuse University. He has received numerous awards, which include the Defense Superior Service Medal with OLC, the Legion of Merit with 3 OLCs, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with 6 OLCs, the Army Commendation Medal with OLC, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Army Achievement Medal with OLC, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Korea Defense Service. Bouchard was inducted into the UNH ROTC Hall of Fame for outstanding service the U.S. Army, the university and the State of New Hampshire.

Jennifer Harper

Director
Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
New Hampshire Department of Safety

Jennifer L. Harper was appointed by Governor Christopher T. Sununu and confirmed by Executive Council on June 5, 2019. Director Harper proudly serves as the first female director and only the third director since the formation of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) in 2006.

As director of HSEM, she is responsible for coordinating the state’s response to major disasters as well as planning, training and exercises to ensure readiness at the local and state levels of government for the safety and security of NH’s citizens and visitors. As Homeland Security Advisor, she coordinates homeland security activities through collaboration with federal partners, other state departments and agencies, local governments, private sector partners and other states. Director Harper advises state, local, federal and private partners on an array of matters, including emergency preparedness, security assessments, critical infrastructures, human-caused and natural threats, grants management and projects, and emergency planning, training, and exercises.

Since October 2014, she has served as the Assistant Director for the division and played an integral role in the direction of the state’s responses to emergency events and ensuring the readiness and coordination efforts of first responders, communities, state agencies and private sector partners in responding to disasters and emergency incidents.

Director Harper started her career in emergency management in 1991 under the NH Governor’s Office of Emergency Management. During her more than 30 years of state service, she has served as the HSEM Operations Chief, Co-Director of the NH Department of Safety’s Information and Analysis Center, HSEM Bioterrorism Coordinator, HSEM State Exercise Training Officer and HSEM Terrorism Coordinator.

Director Harper serves on the International Emergency Management Group, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Health Security Intelligence Enterprise Advisory Committee, the State Emergency Preparedness Conference Planning Committee and is the State Security Liaison with the U.S. DHS. Director Harper also served as a Homeland Security Adjunct Professor with the Plymouth State University Criminal Justice Department.

Director Harper holds a Master’s Degree in Homeland Security and Defense from the Naval Postgraduate School, an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University, a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Franklin Pierce University and an associate degree in Business Science from Hesser College.

Brigadier General Michael McDaniel

Associate Dean of Lansing Campus  
Director of LL.M. in Homeland and National Security Law
Western Michigan University

Brigadier General Michael C.H. McDaniel serves as associate Dean of Lansing campus, director of LL.M. in Homeland and National Security Law and professor at West Mighican University (WMU) Cooley Law School.

McDaniel joined the WMU-Cooley Law School full-time faculty as a professor in the Constitutional Law Department in 2010, and has developed an LL.M. program in Homeland and National Security Law.

McDaniel most recently served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense Strategy, Prevention and Mission Assurance. His responsibilities included supervision of the Department of Defense Critical Infrastructure Protection Program and Global Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection Policy.

McDaniel was appointed by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm as her Homeland Security Adviser in 2003 and served in that capacity until July 2009. At the same time, he also served as the Assistant Adjutant General for Homeland Security, Michigan National Guard. He served as the liaison between the governor's office in Michigan and all federal, state and local agencies on homeland security with responsibility for developing statewide policy on homeland security preparedness. His duties included coordinating efforts to protect the state and its critical infrastructure from terrorist attacks.

McDaniel served as a member of the National Governors Association’s Homeland Security Advisors Council where he was elected to the executive committee in 2006 and 2008. He was named by the Office of Infrastructure Protection, Department of Homeland Security, as chair of the State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Government Coordinating Council in 2007.

McDaniel was promoted to Brigadier General in 2007 and has been a member of the Michigan National Guard for over 26 years, previously serving as a military judge. He was formerly the Assistant Attorney General for Litigation in the executive division of the Michigan Department of Attorney General. He received the Zimbardo Award, given to the Center for Homeland Defense and Security graduate who best embodies high academic achievement, outstanding leadership, and innovation in homeland security thinking.

Holly Peterson-Yakovakis

Security Architect
Liberty Mutual Insurance

Erik Sobel

Manager of Network and Technical Services
Northeast Delta Dental

Erik Sobel is currently the Manager of Network and Technical Services at Northeast Delta Dental and is responsible for executing the technical vision of the enterprise.

Throughout his 20 year career, Sobel has successfully brought several large Information Systems projects to fruition on time and within budget.

Previously, Sobel spent 16 years within the State of New Hampshire Department of Safety working his way from front line technical positions to managing an Information Systems group responsible for the State’s most critical systems.

Sobel earned his Certified Public Manager credential in 2011 which builds upon his various formal technical training and certifications. He is actively pursuing a B.S in Information Technology Management. He currently resides in the Lake Sunapee area and enjoys running with his co-workers and other fitness pursuits.

Paul Stockton

Managing Director
Sonecon

Paul N. Stockton is the Managing Director of Sonecon. In this position, Dr. Stockton helps businesses and U.S. agencies meet analytically complex cybersecurity and infrastructure resilience challenges.

Working with CEOs and senior government officials, Dr. Stockton develops innovative ways to defeat cyberattacks. His recommendations in Resilience for Grid Security Emergencies: Opportunities for Industry-Government Collaboration are being implemented by electric utilities nationwide. Dr. Stockton also assists the Department of Homeland Security in planning against simultaneous cyberattacks on financial systems, communications networks, and other interdependent businesses. He helps government leaders advance new strategies to deter cyber warfare, including through his recommendations in the Defense Science Board Task Force report on Cyber Deterrence. In addition, he advises the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on technologies to re-start the grid during sustained, nationwide cyber campaigns.

Dr. Stockton is helping the Federal Emergency Management Agency strengthen the U.S. disaster response system by bringing infrastructure owners into the heart of emergency operations, and by creating new mechanism for industry-government collaboration to restore essential services and supply chains. He also advises water utilities and other infrastructure owners on system modernization strategies to sustain critical functions in catastrophes. Dr. Stockton provides expert testimony to Federal and state regulators to help them assess the cost-effectiveness of investments in resilience. In addition, he designs resilience exercises for government and private sector clients, and serves as the facilitator for GridEx, the premier exercise for the North American electric system.

Dr. Stockton works with the Department of Defense (DOD) to ensure that if adversaries attack the businesses and civilian infrastructure on which DOD relies, the armed forces will still able to perform their critical missions. Dr. Stockton also helps the Federal agencies and their industry partners reduce the risks posed by insider threats, Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) weapons, and information warfare operations that opponents may conduct to magnify the effects of cyberattacks.

Before joining Sonecon, Dr. Stockton served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas’ Security Affairs from May 2009 until January 2013. In that position, he was responsible for Defense Critical Infrastructure Protection and led the creation of the Department’s Mission Assurance Strategy. He also guided defense support operations in the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Superstorm Sandy, and other disasters. In addition, Dr. Stockton served as the Executive Director of the Council of Governors and was responsible for developing and overseeing the implementation of DOD security policy in the Western Hemisphere.

Prior to Dr. Stockton’s confirmation as Assistant Secretary, he served as a Senior Research Scholar at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation, and as Associate Provost of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). While at NPS, Dr. Stockton founded and led its School of International Graduate Studies, the Center for Homeland Defense and Security, and the Center for Civil-Military Relations. He also served as a senior legislative assistant for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan on foreign affairs and national security issues.

Dr. Stockton holds a PhD from Harvard University and a BA from Dartmouth College. He was twice awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, DOD’s highest civilian award. The Department of Homeland Security also awarded Dr. Stockton its Distinguished Public Service Medal.

Dr. Stockton is widely published in professional journals, most recently on cybersecurity and infrastructure resilience issues. A list of Dr. Stockton’s latest work for Sonecon can be found here.