Paul N Stockton

Education

Stockton holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and a BA Summa Cum Laude from Dartmouth College.

Early career

Stockton served as a Research Associate for the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and then was Legislative Assistant to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, where he was responsible for foreign relations, defense and intelligence issues. Stockton then joined the faculty of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, California. Stockton served as NPS’ Associate Provost and founded and led its School of International Graduate Studies, the Center for Homeland Defense and Security, and the Center for Civil-Military Relations. Stockton was appointed Senior Research Scholar at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation in 2006, after which President Barack Obama nominated him to serve as Assistant Secretary of Defense.

Nomination

Stockton was nominated to be Assistant Secretary of Defense (ASD) for Homeland Defense and America’s Security Affairs on April 28, 2009, and was confirmed by the Senate on May 18, 2009.

Tenure

As ASD HD&ASA, Stockton was responsible for DoD initiatives to strengthen security in the Western Hemisphere and help partner nations build their capacities to meet emerging security challenges. He also guided the Defense Critical Infrastructure Protection program, served as DoD's Domestic Crisis Manager, and helped lead the Department's response to Hurricane Sandy, Deepwater Horizon and other disasters. Stockton was responsible for DoD policy on domestic anti terrorism, continuity of operations planning, maritime domain awareness, air sovereignty and preparedness for chemical, biological radiological and nuclear events.

From 2010 until January 2013, Stockton also served as Executive Director of the Council of Governors, where he helped Governors, the National Guard, DoD, DHS and the Federal Emergency Management Agency adopt initiatives to strengthen Federal-State collaboration and unity of effort. These initiatives were codified into law in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, Section 515.

From 2009 to 2012, Stockton served as the Acting U.S. Co-Chair of the Canada-U.S. Permanent Joint Board of Defense, the premier organization for defense policy coordination between the two Nations.

Accomplishments and awards

Dr. Stockton was twice awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, DoD's highest civilian award. The Department of Homeland Security awarded Stockton its Distinguished Public Service Medal. While ASD, Stockton led the teams that created the Department’s first-ever Mission Assurance Strategy, the Complex Catastrophe Initiative for defense support to civil authorities in extreme events, and the implementation of installation and personnel security measures following the shootings at Fort Hood in 2009.

Private sector consulting

He is Managing Director of Sonecon, LLC, an advisory firm that analyzes risks to the operations and investment strategies of large organizations and advises their executives on how to meet these challenges. Sonecon helps clients build resilience against emerging threats to their infrastructure and continuity of operations, and conduct effective crisis management and communications. Sonecon also provides analysis of opportunities and potential risks for corporations weighing major foreign direct investment in South America, Central America and the Caribbean.

Activities and organizations

Dr. Stockton co-chaired the DoD's Independent Review of the Washington Navy Yard Shooting, released March, 2014. Dr. Stockton serves on the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and is Co-Chair of the Council’s Cybersecurity Subcommittee. He is a Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and a Senior Advisor to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Analytic Services Inc., and on advisory boards for the Idaho National Laboratory, the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security Studies at the George Washington University and, other organizations.

Publications

In 2016, Dr. Stockton authored "Super Storm Sandy: Implications for Designing a Post Cyber Attack Power Restoration System" published by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU APL). Dr. Stockton is also the Principal Author and Editor in Chief of the Electric Grid Protection Handbook II Volume I: Resilient Fuel Resources for Power Generation in Black Sky Events, Electric Grid Protection Handbook II Volume II: Water Sector Resilience for Black Sky Events, as well as the Electric Infrastructure Protection (E-PRO) Handbook I, published by the Electric Infrastructure Security (EIS) Council (second edition 2015).

In 2014, Stockton authored "Responding to a Cyber Attack on the North American Electric Grid," Chapter 5 of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Electric Grid Cybersecurity Initiative. Stockton also authored "Resilience for Black Sky Days: Supplementing Reliability Metrics for Extraordinary and Hazardous Events," a study published by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. The report proposes criteria for strengthening resilience against "black sky days": i.e., extraordinary and hazardous catastrophes utterly unlike the blue sky days during which utilities typically operate.

Dr. Stockton co-authored DoD’s “Independent Review of the Washington Navy Yard Shooting” published in November 2013. Dr. Stockton was also the lead co-author of “Prosecuting Cyberterrorists: Applying Traditional Jurisdictional Frameworks to a Modern Threat,” Stanford Law & Policy Review, and “Curbing the Market for Cyber Weapons,” published by Yale Law and Policy Review, and has published in International Security, Political Science Quarterly, Homeland Security Affairs (which he helped found in 2005), and other peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes.