Richard L. Townsend is the Director for Security at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Headquartered in the Herbert C. Hoover Building in Washington D.C., Mr. Townsend is responsible for a nationwide, multi-disciplined security program, which includes: personnel security, physical security, law enforcement, counterespionage, investigations, information security, continuity and emergency preparedness, and anti-terrorism.  Mr. Townsend serves as a primary member of the National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee (NISPPAC), the primary Departmental Representative to the DHS Interagency Security Committee (ISC), the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) Training Partner, and is the Delegated Original Classification Authority (Secret Level) for the Department.

Prior to joining the Department, Mr. Townsend has held leadership and senior management roles in both the private and public sectors. In the public sector, working for the Department of Defense based at the Pentagon, he supported the programmatic needs for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Military Departments, Defense Agencies and Field Activities. In the private sector, Mr. Townsend has held senior positions at General Dynamics, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Parsons Corporation supporting clients such as the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, the U.S. State Department’s Overseas Building Office, and the U.S. Intelligence Community.

Mr. Townsend earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. Mr. Townsend is married with 4 children, 5 grandchildren, and 2 Labrador retrievers.