Celebrating Women in Homeland Security

From left to right: Elaine Lammert, Homeland Security MPS Program Director; Trishi Malhotra, Alumna, MPS in Homeland Security; Donna Bartee-Robertson, Sr. Attorney, Cyberspace Ops Air Force Headquarters, JAG; CPS Dean Liesl Riddle; Lyndsey Kuck, Emergency Management Specialist, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; Lamar Gonzalez Medlock, Director of International Affairs, U.S. Fire Administration; Jeff Delinski, Homeland Security BPS Program Director; Connie Uthoff, Cybersecurity Strategy and Information Management MPS Program Director.

Four distinguished panelists provided unique insights into the roles women play in the  field of homeland security. The in-person event held March 21 celebrated women in homeland security and the diverse opportunities available to women to contribute to the homeland security mission. Additionally, the conversation focused on preparing for and succeeding in this field.

The esteemed panelists for this event included:

• Lamar Gonazalez Medlock, Director of International Affairs, U.S. Fire Administration
• Lindsay Kuck, Emergency Management Specialist, Administrative Office of the US Courts
• Donna Bartee-Robertson, Senior Attorney, Cyberspace Operations and Information Law Division, Office of the Judge Advocate General, Headquarters Air Force
• Trishi Malhotra, Manager, U.S. Department of Defense; Homeland Security Master's Degree Alumna

Panelist Biographies

Lamar González Medlock

Lamar González Medlock, the Director for International Affairs with the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), is responsible for a global portfolio of fire services and civil defense authorities. She has more than 25 years in public and private service to the United States Government. Ms. González Medlock holds a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) in Security Technology from George Washington University and is currently pursuing an Executive Certificate from Harvard Kennedy School.

Deploying to the field as an emergency management specialist since 2012, she transitioned to incident command and control in 2019, and received an award of merit for supporting the COVID-19 and Vaccine Operations in the U.S. National Response Coordination Center, Washington, DC.

Her areas of expertise are strategic planning, negotiating memoranda of cooperation, and implementing bilateral and multi-lateral work plans with foreign partners. Most recently, Ms. González Medlock brokered memoranda of understanding with the Mexican Association of Fire Chiefs and a significant donation of fire equipment from Los Angeles County to Mexico.

She is fluent in Spanish and a certified instructor in Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) within both the U.S. and Mexico.

Lindsay Kuck

Lindsay Kuck has over 20 years of experience in Emergency Management and Homeland Security working in multiple levels of government. Her areas of expertise include homeland security, emergency management, risk and vulnerability analysis, all-hazards planning, contingency response planning, continuity of operations planning, situational awareness, building effective cross-agency collaboration within the government and private sectors, and law. Ms. Kuck previously worked at Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) where she led planning and situational awareness efforts in the National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) for large-scale domestic and international incident response efforts. Lindsay also served as the Homeland Security Strategic Planner for the Tampa Bay Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) performing risk and capability analysis, in support of the Homeland Security UASI grant program. Lindsay retired from the United States Air National Guard where her primary role was Emergency Management and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) defense. Lindsay is currently an Emergency Management Specialist at the Administrative Office of the US Courts where she provides emergency management support to Federal Courts across the Nation.

In addition to serving as an Adjunct Faculty member at The George Washington University, Lindsay is also a licensed attorney and has been a member of the Florida Bar since 2014.

Donna Bartee-Robertson

Donna Bartee-Robertson serves as a Senior Attorney in the Cyberspace Operations and Information Law Division, Operations and International Law Directorate, Office of the Judge Advocate General, Headquarters Air Force, Washington D.C. She is part of the team providing advice to the Air Force and Space Force on cyberspace and information law issues, including law of war, space, cyber, and intelligence law activities; information operations; responsible use of artificial intelligence; stability operations; and rule of law. Ms. Bartee also provides support to the Department of the Air Force Chief Information Officer, Chief Information Security Officer, and Chief Data and AI Officer and their staffs.

Donna, a retired Navy Judge Advocate specialized in National Security and Cyber Operations Law. Her prior experience includes: Senior Attorney at the National Security Agency, Office of the General Counsel (Intelligence Operations and Cybersecurity Practice groups), JDA at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Office of General Counsel, Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy Principal at the MITRE Corp. (supporting the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Secret Service and the Intelligence Community), and Adjunct Professor at George Washington University Law School (National Security Law Program) and Regent University Law School (Cybersecurity Law Program).

Donna was commissioned in the Air Force as a Registered Nurse in April 1988 and was stationed at Andrews AFB. She was deployed in support of Desert Storm to establish a contingency hospital in the United Kingdom. She completed law school at American University Law in May 1994, attending part-time while on active duty, then transferred into the Navy Judge Advocate Corp in November 1994. Ms. Bartee’s Navy Judge Advocate career included assignments as a defense counsel in San Diego, research attorney at Marine HQ, Staff Judge Advocate for the Naval Cryptologic Command and senior trial counsel at Naval Station Norfolk, VA. During her time with the Navy, Ms. Bartee deployed to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze and Baghdad, Iraq in support of the Iraqi Survey Group tasked with searching for weapons of mass destruction.

Trishi Malhotra

Trishi Malhotra currently serves as a manager with the U.S. Department of Defense providing business, financial and resource management support to various missions such as enterprise infrastructure, network capabilities and corporate management services across the agency. She is also the President of Shield Concepts, providing expertise in strategy, compliance and risk management to governmental and non-governmental organizations. Trishi holds a Master’s degree in Homeland Security from The George Washington University and near completion Trishi was selected as the first female recipient of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) Workforce Diversity Scholarship. After her graduate studies, Trishi spent time at the University of Cambridge researching the effects of economic sanctions on Iran's foreign policy behavior and its nuclear capabilities.

Trishi's fluency in Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu combined with her cultural background as a first-generation American of Indian descent, further enriches her ability to navigate diverse environments and contribute effectively to her field in national security.

This event was sponsored by The George Washington University’s College of Professional Studies, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity programs.