Stephen A. Cauffman

Steve Cauffman is the Acting Chief, Resilience Services Branch of the Infrastructure Security Division, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). In this role he oversees the development and deployment of assessment products such as the Infrastructure Survey Tool (IST), Infrastructure Visualization Platform (IVP) and the Regional Resilience Assessment Program (RRAP). The Branch is also responsible for development of the Infrastructure Resilience Planning Framework (IRPF) and associated tools. In addition to his CISA role, Mr. Cauffman represents the agency as an Action Officer on the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group (MitFLG) and co-chairs the development and implementation of the National Mitigation Investment Strategy. Mr. Cauffman serves as a federal board member for the DHS Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence and the Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute, and previously served on the Research Review Board for the Flood APEX program. Mr. Cauffman previously served as the Planning Section Chief in the Resilience Services Branch.

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Before joining CISA in 2018, Mr. Cauffman worked for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for 19 years. Most recently, he was a key member of the Community Resilience Group, where he led efforts to implement the Community Resilience Planning Guide to support local resilience planning efforts. Mr. Cauffman initiated resilience research at NIST in 2011 with funding from DHS S&T, to study standards gaps for building and infrastructure design and construction that could impact resilience. He developed the program plan for NIST’s Community Resilience Program that began in 2013. Mr. Cauffman held several leadership positions at NIST including leader of the Structures Group, Deputy Chief and Acting Chief of the Materials and Structural Systems Division. He was the program manager for NIST’s study of the World Trade Center Disaster and led a 26-member team to study the performance of buildings and infrastructure during hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

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Prior to joining the Federal Government, Mr. Cauffman worked in the private sector for 13 years. Immediately before joining NIST, Mr. Cauffman was a Senior Program Manager for the Civil Engineering Research Foundation, where he led efforts to encourage the use of advanced materials in civil engineering applications. He led a project to bring together industry, academic, and government experts to identify research and data barriers limiting the use of fiber-reinforced composites in infrastructure applications.

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Mr. Cauffman began his professional career with the Atlantic Research Corporation where he led research and development projects of composite aerospace, naval, civil engineering and commercial structures. He also led R&D projects to develop solid propulsion and fire suppression systems.