James Sheehan

James J. Sheehan is a senior law enforcement and homeland security executive with more than 40 years of experience spanning police leadership, intelligence and information sharing, and regional security program management. He currently serves as Program Manager of the Jersey City- Newark Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), a Tier 1 UASI, where he oversees the Office of Management and Regional Integration within the Rutgers Miller Center on Policing and Community Resilience and coordinates approximately $20 million in annual federal grant investments across nine jurisdictions.

In this role, Sheehan works closely with the UASI Executive Committee, New Jersey state agencies, fusion centers, and federal partners to advance information sharing, interoperability, and multi-discipline collaboration. He has been a member of the New Jersey Regional Operations Intelligence Center (ROIC) Advisory Board since its inception and was instrumental in the development of the Real Time Crime Center for Northern New Jersey. He continues to support the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative, serves as board member of the All Hazards Consortium, and participates in federal, state, and local working groups focused on intelligence, threat assessment, and regional preparedness.

Prior to his full-time homeland security work, Sheehan spent nearly three decades with the Paramus Police Department, rising through the ranks to serve as Acting Chief in 2010. He held senior command positions responsible for operations, technology, communications, emergency preparedness, and counterterrorism in a department of more than 150 employees serving a major commercial hub. Throughout his career he has managed significant public safety technology implementations, homeland security grants, and regional working groups, while maintaining strong partnerships across law enforcement, government, and the private sector.

Sheehan holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Northeastern University, an M.A. in Education Administration and Supervision and an Ed.S. in Higher Education Administration from Seton Hall University, and completed the Executive Leadership Program at the Naval Postgraduate School. He maintains a Secret security clearance and is a DHS/NTER Master Trainer in Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management.