Hala V. Furst

Hala V. Furst is the first Director for Strategic Partnerships at PERIL, enabling organizational partners of all types to adopt proven prevention methods. In this role, she oversees the CARE Centers and facilitates the growth of the CARE Corps.

Before joining PERIL she was the inaugural Associate Director for Strategic Partnerships at the DHS Center for Prevention Programs and Partnership, leading CP3’s efforts to engage with national level stakeholder organizations to educate and raise awareness about the public health informed approach to targeted violence and terrorisms prevention. Through engagement with every level of government, the federal interagency, international governments, civil society, faith-based organizations, academia, and the private sector, her team enabled and encouraged national organizations to support local prevention efforts to address violent extremism. Her team was responsible for the CP3 Prevention Forums, CP3’s premiere event series bringing together technology platforms, federal, state, and local government, community organizations, and civil society to better understand how we can all play a role in preventing terrorism and targeted violence by helping to create more resilient individuals and communities. She and her team led the execution of the Invent2Prevent Program, where high school and college students competed to present innovative approaches to targeted violence prevention in their communities.

Prior to standing up this line of effort for CP3, she was the Principal Director (Acting) of the Department of Homeland Security’s Private Sector Office, creating strategic relationships between Department Headquarters, Department components, the policy community in DC, and business communities across the country. Before that as the Director of Cybersecurity and Innovation, a position she created, she focused on cybersecurity and innovative technology interests, including social media, countering terrorist use of the internet, and preventing the online exploitation and abuse of children. At the same time, she was the Executive Director of the Loaned Executive and Exemplar Programs, two premiere U.S. Government efforts to enable the private sector and government officials to share expertise through executive leader exchanges.

Before CP3, she led the Stakeholder Outreach effort for the second Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR). In 2012 Hala was detailed to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, working for the Majority Staff under then Chairman Joe Lieberman on cybersecurity legislation, after joining the Department as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF) in 2010. In August of 2018 she completed the Excellence in Government Fellowship with the Partnership for Public Service and has since become a Senior Fellow and Co-Coach for subsequent classes of Fellows. She grew up in Alabama and Kansas, holds a J.D. from Roger Williams University School of Law in Rhode Island, and a B.A. in Theatre from the University of Minnesota. She lives in Alexandria, VA with her husband Josh, stepson Duke, and cat Gary.