Getting It Right: A Conversation with Tom Ridge

To mark the fourth anniversary of the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), former DHS Secretary Tom Ridge visits The George Washington University for a provocative event moderated by GW Professor of Media and Public Affairs and CNN Special Correspondent Frank Sesno. "Getting It Right:  A Conversation with Tom Ridge" focusing on critical questions surrounding the future of homeland security and whether the United States government is communicating honestly, effectively, and directly with the American public.  

Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush created the Department of Homeland Security and named Ridge as its first secretary.  The newly created department was the most comprehensive reorganization of the federal government since the National Security Act of 1947. The Department of Homeland Security consolidated 22 agencies and 180,000 employees, unifying once-fragmented federal functions into a single agency dedicated to protecting America from terrorism. 

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