Chief legal officer of CISA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. I lead an office of attorneys who negotiate complex technology agreements, interpret and implement legal frameworks associated with supply chain risk management, advocate the agency's positions in litigation, and provide fiscal and appropriations law advice to the agency.

Daniel Sutherland is the Associate General Counsel for the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In this capacity, Mr. Sutherland is the primary legal advisor to the Under Secretary for NPPD. He leads a team that provides legal services to the Office of Cybersecurity & Communications, the Office of Infrastructure Protection, the Office of Biometric and Identity Management, and the Federal Protective Service.

Mr. Sutherland served in the Senior National Intelligence Service at the National Counterterrorism Center. Within the Directorate of Strategic Operational Planning, he coordinated government activities designed to prevent violent extremism around the world. Mr. Sutherland supported the National Security Staff on projects such as developing the country’s first strategic plan to combat domestic violent extremism (released in August 2011), and, at the request of Gen. Petreus and Special Representative Holbrooke, coordinated the development of a strategic communications plan focused on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Wired described Mr. Sutherland as “one of the government’s point people on stemming the appeal of al-Qaida.”

Appointed by the President to serve as the first Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at the Department of Homeland Security. As one of the top three legal officials in the Department, provided legal and policy advice to three Secretaries on issues at the intersection of homeland security and civil rights and civil liberties, including: intelligence policy, technology law, law enforcement issues, disability law, emergency preparedness and response, equal employment opportunity law, and immigration law. Collaborated on major projects with essentially every component in the Department. Also worked closely with the National Security Council and Homeland Security Council, other federal agencies, partner governments, and a wide range of private sector entities.

I litigated civil rights complaints dealing primarily with discrimination against immigrants and people with disabilities. For example, the litigation included allegations of discrimination by a police department against witnesses and defendants who are deaf, by a licensing authority that would not accommodate a test-taker who is blind, and by a research company that refused to hire a Jewish refugee from persecution in the former Soviet Union. I also handled a number of sports-related litigation, including United States v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (1997), U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In an accompanying Consent Decree, the NCAA agreed to modify its eligibility rules to allow students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities to become student-athletes. As a by-product of this litigation, filed amicus curiae briefs in several federal courts around the country and participated in oral arguments at the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.