About Us

COG is the one place in metropolitan Washington that regularly brings leaders together to develop solutions to the region's major challenges. COG prepares plans enabling the region to receive federal funding, provides members with research and data to inform decision-making, and offers a wide range of programs, including commuter services, cooperative purchasing, technical assistance and grants, and public outreach campaigns.

Transportation

Through the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB), area officials, planners, and engineers ensure a well-managed and maintained transportation system. The TPB, which is staffed by COG, conducts the federally mandated transportation planning process for the region and ensures the uninterrupted flow of federal transportation funds that area jurisdictions receive.

Environment

COG's work engages leaders in various environmental fields from water quality experts to climate scientists. Together, they are advancing regional efforts to restore local waterways, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change, promote recycling, and enhance and preserve green space and agriculture.

Community

Area officials and experts, including planning and housing directors and child welfare and health officials, work together with their counterparts at COG to help shape stronger communities throughout the region.

Homeland Security & Public Safety

COG brings police chiefs, fire chiefs, emergency managers, and other leaders together as part of its work to strengthen regional public safety coordination, homeland security planning, and emergency communication.

NCR Homeland Security Executive Committee (HSEC)

The Homeland Security Executive Committee (HSEC) helps jurisdictions anticipate and prepare for emergency situations that require regional coordination and response. Its members are charged with establishing a shared perspective across local, state, and federal decision-makers on the risks and unmet security needs of the region. The intent of regional coordination is to set direction, collect information on threats and opportunities, assess gaps, and determine how to focus resources to address risks.

The HSEC is comprised of local Chief Administrative Officers or Deputy Administrative Officers for public safety and homeland security; the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia state directors for emergency management and homeland security; and the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Office of National Capital Region Coordination.

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Department of Homeland Security and Public Safety provides staff support to the HSEC in the form of data analysis, research, strategic policy development, and meeting coordination.

For an overview of HSEC, view its digital storybook.

Learn more about HSEC's priorities in the Regional Guidance document and in the video below. The HSEC Operating Procedures and Policies establish the foundational processes by which it and other regional bodies will operate.

NCR Homeland Security Executive Committee (HSEC)

Committee Members

Staff