Juliette Kayyem


Juliette N. Kayyem is an American businessperson, author and host of the WGBH podcast The SCIF. She serves as a national security analyst for CNN and is a weekly guest on Boston Public Radio. She is the Belfer Lecturer in International Security at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, a member of Secretary Jeh Johnson’s Homeland Security Advisory Council, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Pacific Council on International Policy. She is a former candidate for Governor of Massachusetts and a former Boston Globe columnist, writing about issues of national security and foreign affairs for the op-ed page.

Early life and education

Born in Los Angeles to Lebanese parents, Kayyem graduated from Harvard University with her bachelor's degree in 1991 and from Harvard Law School with a Juris Doctor degree in 1995.

Legal career

A lawyer by training, she began her legal career in 1995 at the Department of Justice, ultimately serving as an advisor to then Attorney General Janet Reno until 1999.
From 1999-2000, Kayyem served as former House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt's appointee to the National Commission on Terrorism, a Congressionally mandated review of how the government could better prepare for the growing terrorist threat. Chaired by L. Paul Bremer, that Commission's recommendations in the year 2000 urged the nation to recognize and adapt to the growing tide of terrorist activity against the United States.
In October 2017, Kayyem became the chief executive officer of Massachusetts-based Zemcar, an on-demand and scheduled rideshare company focused on children and seniors. Zemcar discontinued its rideshare services in December 2018.
After ending operations in December 2018, it was announced in March 2019 that Kayyem is chief executive officer of Grip Mobility - a technology company focused on providing transparency in the rideshare industry.

Academic career

As of fall 2011, Kayyem has returned to the Kennedy School as a lecturer in Public Policy. She is a member of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs board of directors, and Faculty Co-Chair, Dubai Initiative.
Since 2001, Kayyem has been a resident scholar at the Belfer Center, serving both as Executive Director of the Kennedy School's Executive Session on Domestic Preparedness, a terrorism and homeland security research program, and as co-Director of Harvard's Long-Term Legal Strategy for Combating Terrorism. She also taught courses on law and national security.

Government service

Department of Homeland Security

She was appointed as Massachusetts’ first Undersecretary for Homeland Security by Governor Deval L. Patrick in January 2007, overseeing the National Guard, the commonwealth's strategic security planning, and the distribution of homeland security funds consistent with the Governor's priorities.
On March 5, 2009 United States Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano appointed Juliette N. Kayyem Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs. As Assistant Secretary, Kayyem was responsible for coordinated and consistent planning between the Department and all of its state, local, tribal, and territorial partners on issues as varied as immigration, intelligence sharing, military affairs, border security, and the response to operational events such as H1N1 influenza outbreak, the December 25th attempted terrorist attack, the Haiti earthquake, and the BP oil spill. In this capacity, she also served as the co-chair of congressionally mandated Preparedness Task Force and a member of President Obama's Task Force on Puerto Rico and the Defense Department's Council of Governors. She also managed the security efforts surrounding major sporting events, including the Chicago Olympic bid, the Vancouver Olympics, the Caribbean Games, and the World Equestrian Games. She was the most senior Arab-American female appointee in the Obama Administration. She left the DHS in the fall of 2010. On May 7, 2015, United States Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson appointed Kayyem to the .
In the immediate aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Kayyem was tasked to direct interagency and intergovernmental affairs for the National Incident Command, overseeing a diverse interagency and interdisciplinary staff for the White House and DHS to address unprecedented issues in the response, including public safety, public engagement, environmental remediation, and legal compliance. For her work, she received the Coast Guard's highest civilian honor.

Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2014

On August 21, 2013, Kayyem announced she was running for Governor of Massachusetts.
In February 2014, it was reported by The Boston Globe that Kayyem failed to vote in either 2009 and 2010. At the time she was living temporarily in Washington, D.C., and did not ask for an absentee ballot for Massachusetts or register to vote in the District of Columbia.
When asked about her voting record, Kayyem's spokesman initially stated that Kayyem had registered in the District of Columbia during those years. But records later showed that Kayyem was never registered in Washington. When confronted with this evidence, Kayyem's campaign spokesman stated that Kayyem didn't think she could vote in Massachusetts during the time in Washington.
At the state party convention on June 14, 2014, Kayyem failed to receive the 15% of delegate votes required to make the primary ballot.

Personal life

Named one of CNN/Fortune Magazines "People to Watch," Kayyem served as an on-air analyst for NBC, MSNBC News, and CNN. Her bi-weekly Boston Globe column is distributed through the New York Times wire service. She was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary "for her colorful, well reported columns on an array of issues, from women in combat to oil drilling in Alaska." She served on the advisory board of the Qatari-government financed International Centre for Sport Security.
She is married to David J. Barron, a judge on the First Circuit Court of Appeals. They have one daughter and two sons.

NSO Group and Washington Post Controversy

Kayyem serves as a senior advisor to NSO Group, an Israeli technology firm known for its Pegasus spying tool. The company has been reported to provide spying software that has been used in targeted attacks against human rights activists and journalists in various countries, and played a role in the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi. On October 21, 2019, Kayyem was hired as an opinion contributor by the Washington Post, where Khashoggi worked as a columnist. Observers pointed out the problematic nature of the hire. The director of Citizen Lab, a laboratory that studies human rights abuses and technology told Forbes at the time: "It is a sad day for human rights, a deeply disturbing irony in the wake of Khashoggi’s execution, and a public relations victory for NSO Group, to have the Washington Post hire someone sitting on their advisory board.” Facing mounting criticism, Kayyem stepped down from her Washington Post role just four days later, issuing a tweet that didn't clarify her role at NSO Group.

Selected work

Books