Fred Rosa

Distinguished Senior Fellow

Fred Rosa is Senior Advisor for Homeland Security at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland. As a leading university-affiliated center for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E), APL conducts a wide range of cutting-edge homeland protection programs, focused primarily on border control, multi-modal transportation security, infrastructure resilience, cybersecurity, and national preparedness. Located just north of the National Capital Region on a 450- acre campus, APL has more than 6,500 staff members, two-thirds of whom are scientists and engineers.

In addition to his current role with Johns Hopkins APL, Fred Rosa is a Senior Fellow with the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at Auburn University and a member of the Board of Directors for The Common Defense. He also served previously as a seminar co- presenter for the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative (NPLI), a joint undertaking of the Kennedy School of Government and the Harvard School of Public Health.

A U.S. Armed Forces veteran with extensive operational, emergency response, and national security policy experience, Rear Admiral Rosa’s military career culminated as Commander of the Fifth Coast Guard District headquartered in Portsmouth, Virginia. In this capacity, he led an integrated team of military, civilian, and auxiliary personnel in carrying out the full range of Coast Guard maritime safety, law enforcement, and security operations throughout America’s mid- Atlantic region, extending across six states from central New Jersey down through North Carolina.

Prior to the Fifth District assignment, he was Deputy Director for Coast Guard Intelligence and Criminal Investigations in Washington, DC. He also served at The White House on the National Security Council staff during two successive Administrations in several different capacities, including Director of the International Crime Group in the Transnational Threats Directorate and Special Assistant to the President for Border and Transportation Security.

Additional military assignments included: Deputy Commander, Seventh Coast Guard District, headquartered in Miami, Florida; Legal Advisor, Coast Guard Enforcement of Laws and Treaties Program, Washington, DC; and Deputy U.S. Representative, Legal Committee, International Maritime Organization, London, England.

Rear Admiral Rosa received numerous military awards during his Coast Guard career, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Humanitarian Service Medal. He also received a Director’s Award for Distinguished Service from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and a Unifying Best Practice Award from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

A native of Detroit, Michigan, Fred Rosa received a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut; a Master of Liberal Arts degree from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut; a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law in West Hartford, Connecticut