Frances Townsend
Frances Fragos Townsend (born
December 28,
1961, in
Mineola,
New York, and raised in
Wantagh,
Long Island [
1]) is the current
Homeland Security Advisor to
United States President George W. Bush. Townsend was appointed to this position by President Bush on
May 28,
2004.
Frances is the daughter of a
Greek American roofer and an
Irish American office manager for a construction company who instilled in her daughter a sense of being very independent. Raised on
Long Island, Townsend was the first in her family to finish high school. Her parents were determined that their only child would receive a college education, but money was tight. Townsend decided to save money by accelerating her course load in addition to waiting tables and working as a dormitory adviser.
Townsend graduated
cum laude from the
American University in
1982 where she received a
B.A. in
Political Science and a
B.S. in
Psychology. She received her
Juris Doctor from the
University of San Diego School of Law in
1984. In
1986, she attended the Institute on International and Comparative Law in
London, England.
In
1994, she married lawyer John Townsend; the couple have two sons, ages 9 and 3 years old.
Townsend began her
prosecutorial career in
1985, serving as an Assistant
District Attorney in
Brooklyn, New York. She chairs the Homeland Security Council and reports to the President on United States homeland security policy and
counterterrorism policy. She previously served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism. She came to the
White House from the
United States Coast Guard, where she had served as Assistant Commandant for Intelligence. Prior to that, Townsend spent thirteen years at the
United States Department of Justice in a variety of senior positions, her last assignment as Counsel to the
Attorney General for Intelligence Policy.
In
1988, she joined the
United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of
New York where she focused on international
organized crime and
white-collar crime cases. In
1991, she worked in the Office of the Attorney General to assist in establishing the newly created Office of International Programs, the predecessor to the Executive Office for National Security. In December
1993, she joined the Criminal Division where she served as Chief of Staff to the Assistant Attorney General and played a critical part in establishing the Division's international training and rule of law programs.
*
White House bio*
Order of St. Andrew Event*
Washington Post Article*
Orthodox News*
Thinking About Terrorism: Taking Stock Four Years After September 11th Townsend Keynote Address at
U.S. Institute of Peace, September 2005
