Lauren Kaufer

Lauren M. Kaufer was appointed the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Director, Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), on July 21, 2019. Director Kaufer was charged with establishing OPR to ensure the expeditious, fair, and objective review of all allegations of misconduct and/or harassment involving FEMA personnel. In this capacity, she is responsible for ensuring allegations of reportable misconduct are documented, reviewed, and properly routed for investigation as well as ensuring FEMA’s disciplinary process includes appropriate accountability when allegations of misconduct have been substantiated.

Prior to this appointment, Director Kaufer served as Executive Director, Headquarters Support, for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of the Chief Security Officer. In this role, she was responsible for all security support services for DHS Headquarters to include Personnel Security, Force Protection, Visitor Management, Access Control, Special Security Officer Operations, and Physical Security.

Director Kaufer has served within DHS since joining the U.S. Customs Service, the predecessor to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in 2000. A graduate of the CBP Leadership Institute, she served as Deputy Director of CBP’s Personnel Security Division, Director of the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), Acting Director of the Credibility Assessment Division (CBP’s polygraph program), and Director of CBP’s Employee Relations Division. Her final tour of duty at CBP was as the Deputy Executive Director, Headquarters Operations, in the CBP OPR Investigative Operations Division. In this capacity, she was responsible for a variety of investigative programs including Operations Policy, Cyber Investigations, the Joint Intake Center, the Administrative Inquiry Program, the Investigative Review Team, and Specialized Investigative Programs.

Director Kaufer holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Montclair State University and a Juris Doctorate from Widener University School of Law.