Alfred Bender

Deputy Director for Risk Policy, Department of Homeland Security

Alfred Bender is the Deputy Director for Risk Policy within the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans (PLCY). In that role, he is responsible for leading PLCY’s emerging risk and domestic incident management work. In his time at PLCY, he has focused on updating DHS’s domestic incident management policy to account for diverse, overlapping, and serious future risks, including those with potential for cyber and physical consequences and coordinated whole of nation response. He also recently led an effort with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to develop an international Framework for Managing Emerging Critical Risks that was adopted in June of this year.

Prior to joining DHS in 2021, Alfred led FEMA’s risk and capability assessment work and the annual National Preparedness Report. Alfred joined FEMA in 2013 as a Presidential Management Fellow and holds a J.D. from George Mason University’s School of Law.