Peter Boynton is the Founding Co-Director of the Kostas Research Institute for Homeland Security at Northeastern University in Boston.
He was previously the Commissioner of Emergency Management and Homeland Security for the state of Connecticut. Boynton was appointed by both republican and democratic Governors, and was twice confirmed by the Connecticut General Assembly.
While Commissioner, his department oversaw three Presidential disaster declarations and led the state-wide responses to hurricane Irene, tropical storms, tornadoes, flooding, record blizzards, and an earthquake. He established a state-operated intelligence fusion center with local, state and federal partners, and implemented a new state framework for emergency response with multi-agency and public-private task forces.
Boynton previously served for 28 years in the U.S. Coast Guard. His final assignment was as Captain of the Port for Connecticut and Long Island, where he led the implementation of post-9/11 maritime security measures. While there, he led the rescue of a grounded oil tanker during a winter storm preventing a major spill and oversaw an investigation that closed an international oil pollution loophole for foreign vessels.
He was a Director on the White House National Security Council staff and served at the U.S. Department of State during his Coast Guard career. He was commanding officer on three Coast Guard cutters and spent 10 years at sea on six cutters. He helped create a joint-agency program with the Customs Service and Coast Guard interdicting the cocaine smuggling air bridge from Colombia to Florida. Earlier in his career he was on a drug task force in New York City. His military awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal and Presidential Service Badge.
After retiring from the Coast Guard, he served as the Federal Security Director at Bradley International Airport, where he led the airport from the bottom to among the top 10 rated TSA operations in the eastern U.S.
Boynton holds a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a bachelor’s degree in Ocean Engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He is on the national Board of Directors for the Military Officers Association of America, was Chair of the Connecticut Pilot Commission, and holds an unlimited Master’s License for ocean-going vessels of any tonnage.