James (Jim) Featherstone most recently served as Executive Director of the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC), where he worked to strengthen the greater Los Angeles region's crisis readiness and resilience. Jim joined HSAC in March 2016, after serving the City of Los Angeles for thirty years.
A native of Washington D.C. and a veteran of the United States Navy, Jim began his public service to the City of Los Angeles in 1986 with the Los Angeles Fire Department and was later appointed Interim Fire Chief (2013-2014). In 2007, Jim was appointed General Manager of the Los Angeles Emergency Management Department, where he led a successful departmental reorganization and restructured the City’s emergency management protocols and processes.
Jim holds a Master of Leadership from the University of Southern California, a Bachelor of Public Administration from Union Institute and University. He is an alumnus of the Executive Leaders Program at the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security. Jim is also a Senior Fellow in the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government’s Program on Crisis Leadership.