Jeff McLeod is director of the Homeland Security & Public Safety (HSPS) Division at the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices. In this role, he directs research, policy analysis, technical assistance, and resource development for the division. Through policy academies, learning collaboratives, and other engagements with states, the HSPS Division provides direct support to governors and their staff in developing data-driven, evidence-based solutions to critical policy challenges. Areas of focus for the division include cybersecurity, homeland security, emergency communications, traffic safety and autonomous vehicles, sentencing and corrections, juvenile justice, opioid abuse, and public health preparedness. He assists state policymakers with strategic planning and implementation; regularly leads policy summits and workshops for governors’ senior-most advisors and other state executives; and has testified before Congress and state legislative bodies.
Before serving as director, Mr. McLeod directed the HSPS division’s program on criminal justice and public safety. Prior to joining the NGA Center, Mr. McLeod worked as an attorney in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and taught middle school in Phoenix, Arizona. He holds a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College, and a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh where he served as lead executive editor of the University of Pittsburgh Law Review. He completed his undergraduate education at the University of Michigan.