Press Releases

The Chertoff Group Expands Washington D.C. Office

March 9th, 2011

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Chertoff Group, a strategic security and risk management advisory firm, today announced two new members to their Washington, D.C. office. Cindy Farkus, a 29-year veteran of the National Security Agency (NSA) and former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intelligence officer, has joined The Chertoff Group as a Managing Director. Nicolle Sciara Rippeon, former Chief of Staff to the DHS Assistant Secretary for Policy, is joining the firm as a Director, lending her expertise on border security management, global commerce and supply chain security, technology modernization and the homeland security market.

"We are delighted to welcome Cindy and Nicolle to The Chertoff Group team," said Michael Chertoff, former DHS Secretary and co-founder of the firm. "These two individuals demonstrate the true value of our firm – unparalleled experience and deep knowledge of the homeland security and intelligence sectors. This experience, along with that of the rest of our team, enables our firm to offer the highest quality of service on the most critical security matters for our clients."

Cindy Farkus Joins as Managing Director

Prior to joining The Chertoff Group, Cindy Farkus served as Executive Advisor to the DHS Under Secretary of Intelligence & Analysis. In this position, Ms. Farkus was responsible for assisting and directing special projects involving the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and threats to our nation's transportation systems while also increasing the intelligence capabilities throughout the Department. Each day, Ms. Farkus ensured information was provided to the Intelligence Community regarding DHS actions and served as the DHS point of contact for reviewing intelligence products related to transportation security threats from across the federal government.

Since first joining DHS in 2007, Ms. Farkus also served in several key positions including DHS Acting Assistant Secretary for International Affairs as well as Assistant Administrator for the Office of Global Strategies and Assistant Administrator for the Office of Intelligence at TSA. While leading the Office of Global Strategies, she worked proactively with foreign partners and those involved in overseas transportation operations affecting the United States including the agency's Transportation Security Administration Representatives (TSARs) and International Industry Representatives (IIRs). As Assistant Administrator for Intelligence, Ms. Farkus served as the agency's Chief Intelligence Officer, overseeing day-to-day operational intelligence work performed by a host of analysts, several Watch Operations floors and Field Intelligence Officers across the nation.

Ms. Farkus is a 29-year veteran of the NSA where her previous assignments involved guiding and directing new organizations as they rose to meet new challenges. These assignments included serving as the Chief of Staff for the NSA operations center in San Antonio, Texas; Executive Assistant to NSA Director General Michael V. Hayden; and Special U.S. Liaison Officer in Ottawa, Canada. From 2005 until her appointment to the Office of Global Strategies, Ms. Farkus served as the Assistant Deputy Director for Analysis and Production, leading a worldwide enterprise in providing products and services to decision makers across the federal government and military.

Ms. Farkus is a graduate of the University of Maryland Baltimore County with a bachelor's degree in Economics and certificates in Accounting and Finance. She has completed leadership and change management courses with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kellogg School of Management, and Center for Creative Leadership. She served four years in the U.S. Air Force, including an assignment to the NSA as a Russian linguist/analyst.

Nicolle Sciara Rippeon Joins as Director

Nicolle Sciara Rippeon joins The Chertoff Group from ABM LLC, an advisory services firm which assisted firms in support of the government's implementation of border security and immigration programs as well as technology modernization projects. During this time, she also worked with both large and small companies in developing and pursuing federal strategies in the homeland security market space.

Previously, Ms. Rippeon served as chief of staff to the Assistant Secretary for Policy at DHS. In this role, she managed the transition and growth of the newly formed office and served as the primary advisor to the Assistant Secretary for homeland security policy, international operations, strategic planning, intra-department coordination, and external outreach to private sector stakeholders.

Prior to joining the DHS Office of Policy, Ms. Rippeon was the Director for the Office of Policy and Planning and Deputy Chief of Staff for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Robert C. Bonner. In these roles, she provided leadership to CBP's overall policy development, strategic and tactical planning, and program evaluation efforts. Her office advised the Office of the Commissioner on programs and policy matters related to homeland security, customs, and immigration for domestic and foreign operations. In addition, she served as the liaison to external audit groups, and directed the performance measurement, statistical analysis, and organizational assessment processes used to evaluate key CBP programs and assess CBP's mission performance in relation to its goals, objectives, and strategies.

Ms. Rippeon previously worked for the law firm of Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher in Washington, D.C. where she specialized in white collar criminal cases. She is a graduate of the University of Texas and the University of Pennsylvania Law School as well as a member of both the Texas Bar and District of Columbia Bar associations.