Keynote Address: Thad Allen

Thad William Allen is a retired United States Coast Guard admiral who served as the 23rd Commandant of the Coast Guard. Allen is best known for his widely praised performance directing the federal response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf Coast region from September 2005 to January 2006.

Allen officially retired from the U.S. Coast Guard on June 30, 2010, but for 36 days continued in his role as National Incident Commander of the Unified Command for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He is a Senior Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton.