Steve Lenkart

Deputy Undersecretary, Science and Technology, U.S Department of Homeland Security

Steve Lenkart brings more than 25 years of government, non-profit and private sector experience leading organizations to success. He possesses an invaluable combination of executive, advocacy and government affairs expertise to generate opportunities for clients as they seek to shape a national presence, build alliances or engage in new market space. Mr. Lenkart employs sophisticated operating solutions to translate the language of government into strengthened value propositions to secure the domestic and global impacts of organizations, products and services.

Mr. Lenkart held senior leadership appointments under Democratic and Republican presidential administrations, and maintains strong bipartisan relationships with the U.S. Congress. Mr. Lenkart most recently served in the Obama administration as the Executive Director of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), an agency charged with enforcing merit system laws and best practices that govern executive branch management of two million federal employees.

Prior to his work at MSPB, Steve Lenkart was Deputy Under Secretary (Acting) of the Directorate for Science and Technology at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He led the daily operations of the Directorate and its major divisions: Borders and Maritime; Chemical and Biological; Explosives; Human Factors Behavioral Science; Infrastructure and Geophysical; and Command, Control and Interoperability. Mr. Lenkart was also a member of the Deputy Secretary’s Program Review Board, reviewing and appraising all major programs within the $50 billion organization.

Under the Bush administration, he served as Chief of Staff and Director of Operations to the first Chief Medical Officer at DHS. Working closely with Secretary Chertoff, the Homeland Security Council and Congress, he designed and directed the creation of the Office of Health Affairs, established as the health and medical expert for DHS with a focus on the nation’s biodefense and medical readiness.

Pulling from his 14 years of public service in local and state government in Illinois and Minnesota, his early work in Washington included serving as a bipartisan external advisor to the U.S. House and Senate to formulate readiness and response policies shortly after 9/11, and then as senior advisor to the House Committee on Homeland Security under Chairman Peter King (R-NY).

Over the course of his career, Mr. Lenkart represented and advised business leaders, non-profits, labor organizations, executive and professional associations, political candidates, elected officials, and national coalitions. His instinctive leadership in corporate operations and government affairs combined with his expansive network of diverse professionals empowers clients to heighten their influence and achieve their strategic objectives.