Homeland Security Program

About Clark Ervin

Clark Kent Ervin is the Director of the Aspen Institute’s Homeland Security Program. He joined the Institute in 2005. Before doing so, he served as the first Inspector General of the United States Department of Homeland Security, from January, 2003 to December, 2004. Prior to his service at DHS, he served as the Inspector General of the United States Department of State and the Broadcasting Board of Governors, from August, 2001 to January, 2003. His service in the administration of President George W. Bush is preceded by his service as the Associate Director of Policy in the White House Office of National Service in the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

A native Houstonian, he served in the state government of Texas from 1995 to 2001, first as Assistant Secretary of State, and then as a Deputy Attorney General.

He has practiced law twice in the private sector, with the Houston based firms of Vinson & Elkins, and Locke, Liddell, & Sapp, respectively.

He earned a B.A. degree cum laude in Government from Harvard in 1980, an M.A. degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from Oxford University in 1982 as a Rhodes Scholar, and a J.D. degree cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1985.

In addition to his work at The Aspen Institute, Mr. Ervin is a member of the Wartime Contracting Commission on Iraq and Afghanistan. He is also an on-air analyst and contributor at CNN, where he focuses on homeland security, national security, and intelligence issues. He is frequently cited as an expert on these matters by major national and international publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Time magazine, and The Economist. His opinion pieces have appeared in, among other papers, The New York Times and The Washington Post. His book on homeland security, titled, "Open Target: Where America is Vulnerable to Attack," was published by the St. Martin's Press imprint, Palgrave Macmillan, in May, 2006.

Mr. Ervin serves on the Board of Advisers of Clear Path Technologies, Inc. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Asia Society, and the American Association of Rhodes Scholars.

Clark Ervin is author of the book Open Target: Where America is Vulnerable to Attack (Palgrave MacMillan)

Articles by or about Clark Ervin:

• Clark Kent Ervin is among a group selected to investigate billions of dollars of contract spending in Iraq and Afghanistan (Wartime contracting commission members named, Government Executive, July 1, 2008)
• Clark Kent Ervin recommends key changes in procurement operations for the Department of Homeland Security (HS Today, Advice to Next Administration: Strengthen Procurement, May 2, 2008)
• Clark Kent Ervin blogs for the New York Times: Look Out Below, (January 4, 2008)
• Clark Kent Ervin blogs for the New York Times: Will More Eyes Make Us Safer?, (December 30, 2007)
• Clark Kent Ervin blogs for the New York Times: Where Should Airport Security Begin? (December 17, 2007)
• Clark Kent Ervin blogs for the New York Times: Screening Dreams, (December 10, 2007)

• Aspen Institute Homeland Security Program Director Ervin Testifies on Cover Blown Before House Panel (LexisNexis News, November 14, 2007)
• Why N.Y. Driver's License Plan Might Make Us Safer (USA Today, November 1, 2007)
• U.S. resolve must match the terrorist threat to close the vulnerability gap writes Clark Kent Ervin in the San Francisco Chronicle (Our resolve must match al Qaeda's, September 12, 2007)
• Listen to a Sept 10, 2007 interview with Clark Ervin, "Americans Ask, 'Are we Safer Today?,' on National Public Radio.
• Read Clark Kent Ervin's Commentary in the Philadelphia Inquirer, "U.S. Should Take Risk and Admit More Iraqis," August 9, 2007
  
• Read Clark Kent Ervin's op-ed in the Baltimore Sun, Surveillance Cameras Strike Balance in Fight Against Terrorism, August 5, 2007
  
• Clark Ervin, director of the Aspen Institute Homeland Security Program writes, with Andy Zelleke, that "A Permanent Bipartisan Committee of Senior Statesmen is Needed to Check Presidential Power" (The Christian Science Monitor, July 16, 2007)
  
• Clark Kent Ervin, director of the Institute's Homeland Security Initiative, suggests the U.S. needs to inquire as to "Why do so Many U.S. Muslims Appear to be Sympathetic to al-Qaeda?" (The Dallas Morning News, July 5, 2007)
  
• Clark Kent Ervin, director of the Institute's Homeland Security Initiative, writes of the imperative to keep inspectors general independent to ensure their effectiveness (Los Angeles Times, Protect government watchdogs from politics , May 19, 2007).