Paul N. Stockton


Dr. Paul N. Stockton is the Managing Director of Sonecon, LLC, a District of Columbia-based advisory firm. From 2009-2013, Dr. Stockton served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas' Security Affairs, where he helped lead the Department's response to Hurricane Sandy. He was responsible for Defense Critical Infrastructure Protection, Western Hemisphere security policy, domestic crisis management, continuity of operations planning, and a range of other responsibilities. While Assistant Secretary, Dr. Stockton also served as Executive Director of the Council of Governors.
In September 2013, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel appointed Dr. Stockton to co-chair the , which recommended major changes to the Department's security clearance system that are now being implemented.
Dr. Stockton serves on the for the Department of Homeland Security and is Co-Chair of the Council's Cybersecurity Subcommittee. In 2020, he was appointed to the United States Department of Energy's . 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 the National Institute for Hometown Security, 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.

Education and early career

Education

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

Early career

Dr. Stockton served as a Research Associate for the International Institute for Strategic Studies from 1982–83, and was a Legislative Assistant to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan from 1986–89, where he was responsible for foreign relations, defense, and intelligence issues. Dr. Stockton then joined the faculty of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California in 1990. Dr. Stockton held a number of positions at NPS before becoming Associate Provost in 2000. During his NPS tenure, Dr. Stockton founded and led its School of International Graduate Studies, the Center for Homeland Defense and Security, and the Center for Civil-Military Relations.
Dr. Stockton was appointed Senior Research Scholar at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation in 2006 and held the position until 2009.

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and America’s Security Affairs

Nomination

President Barack Obama nominated Dr. Stockton to be Assistant Secretary of Defense 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, Dr. 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. Dr. Stockton was responsible for DoD policy on domestic counter-terrorism, continuity of operations planning, maritime domain awareness, air sovereignty, and preparedness for chemical, biological radiological and nuclear events.
From 2010 until January 2013, Dr. Stockton also served as Executive Director of the Council of Governors, where he helped Governors, the National Guard, DoD, the Department of Homeland Security 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, Dr. 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 awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, DoD's highest civilian award, in 2011 and again in 2013. The Department of Homeland Security also awarded Dr. 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

Dr. Stockton currently serves as the Managing Director of Sonecon, LLC, a security and economic advisory firm in Washington, DC. In this role, Dr. Stockton provides strategic advice to industry and government clients on critical infrastructure and international security issues. He also performs studies, prepares expert testimony and regulatory filings, and contributes to the design and execution of infrastructure resilience and cybersecurity exercises.

Activities and organizations

Dr. Stockton helped the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security develop the and served as contributing editor to the 4th Edition of the National Response Framework.
Dr. Stockton was a member of the Defense Science Board’s Task Force on Cyber Deterrence and contributed to its . Dr. Stockton has served on the Homeland Security Advisory Council since 2015, is Co-Chair of the Council’s Cybersecurity Subcommittee, and co-authored its . Dr. Stockton 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 the National Institute for Hometown Security, 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. Dr. Stockton also co-chaired the DoD's Independent Review of the Washington Navy Yard Shooting, released March 2014.

Publications

In August 2018, Dr. Stockton authored published by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. This follows Dr. Stockton’s 2016 report for APL.
Dr. Stockton is also the Principal Author and Editor in Chief of the Electric Infrastructure Security Council’s Electric Grid Protection Handbook series. The most recent Handbook, was published in June 2018.
In 2014, Dr. Stockton authored Chapter 5 of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Electric Grid Cybersecurity Initiative. Dr. Stockton also authored 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 “. Dr. Stockton was also the lead co-author of “,” Stanford Law & Policy Review, and “,” published by Yale Law and Policy Review, and has published in International Security, Political Science Quarterly, Homeland Security Affairs, and other peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes.