Peter Vance Neffenger (born 1955) is a

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

Admiral and public servant who served as Administrator of the

Transportation Security Administration The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within, and connecting to the United States. It was created ...

from July 2015 to January 20, 2017.

Education

Neffenger earned a B.A. from

Baldwin Wallace University Baldwin Wallace University (BW) is a private university in Berea, Ohio. It was founded in 1845 as Baldwin Institute by Methodist businessman John Baldwin. The school merged with nearby German Wallace College in 1913 to become Baldwin-Wallace C ...

. He holds an MPA from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, an MA in National Security and Strategic Studies from the

United States Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

, and an MA in Business Management from Central Michigan University.

Career

United States Coast Guard

Neffenger joined the Coast Guard in 1981 and was commissioned in 1982 through the Coast Guard Officer Candidate School. Vice Admiral Neffenger is a member of the

Pacific Council on International Policy The Pacific Council on International Policy is an independent, non-partisan, membership-based organization dedicated to global engagement. Founded in 1995 in partnership with the Council on Foreign Relations and the University of Southern Califo ...

and a former fellow on the

Senate Appropriations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Appropriations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over all discretionary spending legislation in the Senate. The Senate Appropriations Committee is the largest committ ...

. Neffenger was a Vice Admiral in the

, serving as

Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard The vice commandant of the Coast Guard serves as the second-in-command of the United States Coast Guard, behind only the commandant of the Coast Guard. Since 1929, 31 officers have served as Vice Commandant, or, as the position was referred to b ...

since May 20, 2014. He previously had served as Deputy Commandant for Operations, Deputy National Incident Commander for the 2010 ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill, Director of Coast Guard Strategic Management and Doctrine, Commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District, Commander of Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles – Long Beach, Captain of the Port and Federal Maritime Security Coordinator, Budget Officer of the Coast Guard, and Coast Guard Liaison Officer to the Territory of American Samoa.

Transportation Security Administration

On April 28, 2015, he was nominated by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

to be the administrator of the

. On June 23, 2015, Vice Admiral Neffenger was confirmed by the Senate to be the next Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

Secretary

Jeh Johnson Jeh Charles Johnson ( "Jay"; born September 11, 1957) is an American lawyer and former government official. He was United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017. From 2009 to 2012, Johnson was the general counsel of the Departm ...

released a statement on June 24: "Last night the Senate voted 81–1 to confirm Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger, the current Vice Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, to be the next Administrator of TSA. Admiral Neffenger understands the challenges we face, and I know he is ready to take them on at TSA. During his 30-year career in the Coast Guard, Admiral Neffenger proved himself to be an effective operator and commander. I have utmost faith in Pete Neffenger, and I am confident he will be a strong leader of TSA." On March 22, 2016, a flight carrying Neffenger arrived at Brussels Airport during the dual bombing that occurred at the airport. Neffenger was in Brussels to meet with

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

counterparts. Testifying a few days later in front of the

United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate. Besides having broad jurisdiction over all matters concerning interstate commerce, science and technology policy, a ...

, Neffenger said, “I will tell you being there that day, seeing the devastation, seeing the chaos of the airport environment and the evil behind it was a stark reminder of the importance of the work we do every day to protect travelers.” On January 20, 2017, upon the beginning of the

Presidency of Donald Trump Donald Trump's tenure as the 45th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican from New York City, took office following his Electoral College victory ...

, Neffenger stepped down as Administrator as required by federal law as his term had expired with

leaving office.

Other work

Since leaving TSA, Neffenger has become a distinguished fellow at both the Atlantic Council's Adrienne Arsht Center for Resilience and Northeastern University's Global Resilience Institute. In November 2020, Neffenger was named a volunteer member of the

Joe Biden presidential transition The presidential transition of Joe Biden began on November 7, 2020 and ended on January 20, 2021. Unlike previous presidential transitions, which normally take place during the roughly 10-week period between the election in the first week o ...

Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the

. Neffenger is chairman of the Board of Directors of

Smartmatic Smartmatic (also referred as Smartmatic Corp. or Smartmatic International) or Smartmatic SGO Group is a multinational company that builds and implements electronic voting systems. The company also produces smart cities solutions (including publ ...

, a multinational company that specializes in building and implementing electronic voting systems.

Personal life

Neffenger resides in Washington, D.C.

Awards and decorations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neffenger, Peter V. 1955 births Living people Transportation Security Administration officials United States Coast Guard admirals Harvard Kennedy School alumni Vice Commandants of the United States Coast Guard Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal Obama administration personnel Baldwin Wallace University alumni Naval War College alumni Central Michigan University alumni