Robert M. Russell currently serves as the Acting Regional Director for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Region 6, headquartered in Irving, Texas. His staff oversees risk management and physical and cyber security activities for private and public sector partners in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. He regularly interacts with state and local Homeland Security officials and is the CISA Director’s representative to Region 6 stakeholders.
Mr. Russell previously served as the CISA Interagency Security Committee Regional Advisor and was responsible for implementing Presidential Executive Order 14111 to strengthen and reinforce the importance of the security of executive branch federal facilities in the face of both persistent and emerging threats across 11 states in regions 6 and 8.
Mr. Russell also served as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (Office of Security & Integrity) Deputy Regional Security Manager, covering 10 southeast states, and led senior geographically dispersed field security managers. He also spent time as the Social Security Administration (SSA) Lead Security Advisor, in the development of the Program of Requirements for the new National Service Data Center where he received two Associate Commissioner’s Citations. He managed the planning, development, and evaluation of the SSA's field facility security risk assessments/analysis initiatives to ensure the cost-effective protection of facilities, equipment, personnel, documents, and security systems. He also administered the security operations and policy for developing, implementing, and evaluating a comprehensive physical security program, and conducted risk assessments and corrective safeguard actions for SSA headquarters and field facilities.
He honorably served in the U.S. armed forces for more than 21 years. After retirement from the armed forces, he served as a Sheriff Deputy Criminal Detective in Charlotte County, Florida before entering federal service in July 2005.
He is a graduate of Southern Illinois University where he received a Bachelor of Science in Vocational Workforce Education and Human Resource Development. He also earned associate degrees in Criminal Justice and Personnel Management from the University of Maryland.