Donell Harvin

Donell Harvin is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. His expertise is in complex homeland security issues, including domestic intelligence and information sharing, planning and response to terrorism, and countering weapons of mass destruction. He has been involved in public safety for over 30 years, starting as a first responder in New York City and serving in senior leadership roles in various agencies in New York City and Washington, D.C. He has worked in fire/EMS, HazMat/WMD, forensics, intelligence, and law enforcement.

Immediately before coming to RAND, Harvin served as the Chief of Homeland Security and Intelligence for the Government of the District of Columbia, where he oversaw the Fusion Intelligence Center for the nation's capital and oversaw the district's intelligence enterprise prior to and after the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Over his career, Harvin has responded to numerous large-scale incidents, ranging from the attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11 and Flight 587 as a member of FDNY EMS, to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as the forensics lead for NYC, to Hurricane Sandy. He serves as a member of the international Counter Terrorism Preparedness Network (CTPN) and is subject-matter expert for INTERPOL's Bioterrorism Prevention Unit and the Naval Post Graduate School's Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS).

Harvin earned his Dr.P.H. from the State University of New York, and his M.P.A. in emergency management and M.P.H. in environmental science from the City University of New York.