Leadership

Director, Federal Protective Service (FPS),
Gary W. Schenkel

Gary W. Schenkel was appointed director of the Federal Protective Service, one of the five divisions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in March 2007. A retired Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel, Schenkel has significant leadership experience in a wide range of arenas, including organizational transformation efforts, security planning for public facilities, logistical planning and execution and business administration. Throughout his career, Schenkel has established excellent relationships with stakeholders, partners and clients such as industry executives and the local Fraternal Order of Police.

Schenkel takes the helm at the division following the February 2007 announcement of a new effort to adjust the execution of the FPS mission and to improve FPS's administration and financial management.

Prior to joining FPS, Schenkel served as Assistant Federal Security Director for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at Chicago Midway Airport, a position he has held since February 2004. He was responsible for security operations and planning at the fastest growing airport facility in the United States, and worked to implement effective responses to the new challenges of securing the homeland. In this position, Schenkel oversaw the strategic planning and business management of TSA operations at the airport and worked with government partners and private sector service providers to ensure the highest levels of security at the airport without sacrificing efficiency and service. His portfolio included the departments of Human Resources, Finance, Customer Service and Stakeholder. Schenkel was responsible for operational planning for specific security events such as periods of high travel and elevated threat levels.

Before joining TSA, Schenkel served from 2000-2004 as the Assistant Deputy Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department (CPD), the nation's second largest police force, where he was one of only two civilians in the department's history to be given operational command over uniformed officers in the department. Schenkel joined the CPD specifically to help guide the department's transformation efforts in recruiting and training officers and deploying new technology and operational concepts to meet new challenges in fighting and reducing crime. In addition, he headed the department's anti-terrorism efforts following the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Schenkel is a 29-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, having retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2000. In his three decades of service, he garnered significant leadership experience, including command of a 1,200-man company during combat operations in Desert Storm in 1991. In addition, he developed nuclear response plans and executed various logistical projects, including what was then the largest single movement of nuclear weapons in U.S. history. Prior to retiring from the Marine Corps, Schenkel served as Operations Officer at the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab in Quantico, Va., where he focused on long-range planning related to the Marine mission in the 21st century.

Schenkel is a graduate of Lindenwood College in St. Charles, Mo., and California State University in Hayward, Calif.