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HSEP Students Help During Regional DHS Exercise

The Wilder School group and colleagues from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Academic Engagement gather during the conference. From left are Associate Professor James Keck; Kaitlin Signor of the DHS; students Garrett Stefaniak, Nathan Moorhead, Abigail Hobbs, Kevin Chevitanon; and Trent Frazier of the DHS.

June 20, 2018

Four students in the Wilder School’s Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness program recently provided support to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s 2018 Charlottesville Regional Tabletop Exercise for Institutions of Higher Education (RTTX).

This exercise aimed to empower the higher education community of more than 150 participants from colleges and universities from Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and Washington, D.C., to improve preparedness and build resilience for the variety of threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk to campuses across the nation.

The Charlottesville RTTX, held on June 11, focused on threats and hazards related to a soft target incident in which campus unrest is caused by a controversial speaker. Three main event components provided participants with insights into protection, response, and recovery best practices for the academic community when faced with the threat of campus unrest resulting in a soft target attack. 

Wilder School students Garrett Stefaniak, Nathan Moorhead, Abigail Hobbs and Kevin Chevitanon provided registration assistance, helping participants find their assigned tables and documenting as much of the discussions as possible.  Each student was assigned to three tables for notetaking purposes and rotated through their assigned tables throughout the exercise in addition to serving as microphone runners during the discussions.

Teresa A. Sullivan, Ph.D., president of the University of Virginia, and Brian J. Moran, Virginia’s Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, opened the exercise.

“This was a tremendous opportunity for our students, who were able to observe and learn best practices for responding to this type of potential threat,” said James Keck, associate professor of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.