Stephen L. Hill, PMP, SES

Director of Contingency Operations and Chief, Office of Homeland Security

Published Sept. 22, 2020

Mr. Stephen Hill is the Director of Contingency Operations and Chief, Office of Homeland Security, Headquarters, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). 

As Director of Contingency Operations, he leads a dynamic team of military and civilian professionals and an organization with a diverse array of missions across the enterprise and around the globe. The Directorate of Contingency Operations provides command and control of USACE civil and military contingency operations during disaster incident response and recovery; ensures the readiness of critical teams and equipment; leads the development of contingency doctrine and plans in support of interagency partners and both Combatant and Service Component Commands; oversees execution of current operations and planning for future operations; provides oversight of the command’s force protection and physical security program; and monitors intelligence operations that support contingency plans development and execution. 

As Chief, Office of Homeland Security, he leads programs and missions in support of the departments of Homeland Security, Defense, and Army. Hill serves as the agency’s principal executive to assist federal, state and local emergency management and response organizations in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies or all-hazards disasters to include mitigating risk associated with future events. His portfolio includes programs in flood risk management and critical water resources infrastructure.

Prior to his Senior Executive Service appointment, Hill accumulated over 35 years of combined experience in the federal and private sector.  In the private sector, his key duties included serving as program manager for the World Trade Center Construction Program in New York City where he provided comprehensive support to a world-class team responsible for nearly all program wide aspects of an $18 billion construction program.  During that period, he also led the construction response and recovery efforts after Hurricane Sandy.  Hill also supported major transportation program efforts in the Middle East and served as the mission director for the Power Field Office during the emergency response for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands after Hurricane Maria.

Hill is a retired U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Officer with more than 25 years of experience in federal contracting, design, construction, operations and maintenance, environmental remediation, and contract management.  Key USACE assignments included serving as the Headquarters, USACE chief of staff, and as commander of Pittsburgh District and Gulf Region South  in Iraq. He began his USACE career with Seattle District running the KC-135 beddown program at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, and later as lead for federal environmental restoration projects.  Additional assignments provided significant experience managing large construction programs, conducting emergency response operations and leading winning teams in locations around the world, including Japan, Iraq, Germany, Haiti, Kuwait, Egypt, Qatar and multiple locations in the U.S. 

Hill is a Fellow with the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME), and Silver and Bronze Order of the de Fleury Medal recipient from the Army Engineer Association.  He is a recipient of the Infantry Association’s Order of Saint Maurice and Armor Association’s Order of Saint George for significant contributions and service in support of the U.S. Army’s Infantry and Armor branches. 

He also serves on several private boards to assist with nonprofit engineering and facility management programs and received his previous firm’s Global Values Award and President’s Award for inspirational leadership, mentorship and program management for his service with industry prior to his Senior Executive Service selection. 

Hill is a certified Project Management Professional, has a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from Purdue University.