Biography of Dr. John Kim Cook

A government and private sector consultant with recent experience as a senior-level government executive, Dr. John Kim Cook is an accomplished, skilled, visionary leader with a demonstrated ability to develop sound policy and quality programs. He has more than ten years of experience in state and federal government, a decade in higher education administration, and a wide range of expertise in homeland security, emergency management, civil rights and civil liberties, education, labor, human services, disability and faith-based initiatives. Dr. Cook is highly regarded as an approachable yet persuasive, resourceful problem solver with excellent presentation skills and strategic public and private sector relationships. Dr. Cook is currently President and CEO of Cook Strategies LLC, a Washington, DC area consulting firm specializing in winning homeland security and emergency management business development strategies, program management, government relations, training, and technical writing as well as policy issues such as civil rights and civil liberties, disability and human services.

Previous to his consulting role, Dr. Cook served for eight years as a political appointee in the George W. Bush Administration, serving most recently as Director of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (CFBCI). He was also simultaneously designated by President George W. Bush as FEMA’s Small State and Rural Advocate. DHS CFBCI was established in 2006 to improve outreach and policy coordination for DHS and FEMA’s disaster preparedness and relief efforts, and to eliminate regulatory and programmatic obstacles to the participation of faith-based and community organizations in all DHS security and disaster-related activities. In this role, Dr. Cook planned and hosted a number of regional emergency preparedness workshops nationwide for more than 1,500 faith-based and community organizations and state and local emergency management officials in key urban areas to highlight effective practices among non-profit organizations, government funding opportunities, collaboration tools and other resources available before, during and following disasters.

Prior to his appointment at DHS CFBCI, Dr. Cook served as Senior Advisor to the DHS Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. There he developed and coordinated department-wide training programs for law enforcement officers and other DHS personnel on civil rights and civil liberties issues such as equal employment opportunity, detention standards for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, racial profiling, cultural competencies and Constitution Day. Earlier in the Bush Administration, Dr. Cook also served as Chief of Staff to the Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy and Senior Intergovernmental Officer at the Department of Labor as well as Special Assistant in the U.S. Department of Health of Human Services' Administration for Children and Families.

In his native state of Texas, Dr. Cook was appointed by then-Governor George W. Bush to be Austin Director of the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations. He also served for more than a decade in higher education administration, spent a number of years in radio broadcasting, and worked for two members of the Texas House of Representatives.

Dr. Cook holds a Ph.D. in higher education administration and public policy from Texas A&M University, a Master’s in education administration, and a Bachelor of Arts in communications from Baylor University. Active in his community, Dr. Cook is currently Vice President of the Board of Directors for the National Disaster Interfaiths Network, a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Church Safety and Risk Management, and chair of the Eye of the Storm Emergency Preparedness/Disaster Relief Team at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, VA. He resides with his wife and two young sons in Northern Virginia.