David VanderWeele

David VanderWeele has been with the U.S. Department of the Interior for 22 years as a physical security specialist and emergency manager. He has been with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under the Department of the Interior for four years as the physical security program manager and deputy chief of the Office of Emergency Management and Physical Security. The U.S. FWS mission is “working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.”

The FWS has 570 National Wildlife Refuges, 38 wetland management districts and 70 national fish hatcheries encompassing about 95 million land acres and 760 million marine acres. The FWS has about 8,000 employees with nearly 700 field offices throughout the United States and its territories. The Physical Security Program is primarily responsible for monitoring the FWS’s compliance with physical security requirements established by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Department of the Interior guidelines. As the physical security program manager, VanderWeele provides guidance and establishes clear policies and procedures that implement physical security programs to ensure the FWS’ facilities, personnel and visitors are adequately protected. He also ensures that physical security assessments on FWS facilities are conducted and coordinates with the facilities management staff to ensure implementation of countermeasures recommended to mitigate physical security vulnerabilities.