Joshua Ederheimer

Senior Director/Assistant Professor - UVA Center for Public Safety and Justice

Joshua A. Ederheimer is a seasoned executive with more than four decades of service in government and public safety. His diverse background spans the local, federal, non-profit, and academic sectors, with expertise in operations, leadership, education, technology, and management. Mr. Ederheimer retired from federal service in April 2025. Shortly thereafter, he joined the faculty of the University of Virginia as Assistant Professor of Practice and Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships at the UVA Center for Public Safety and Justice. He most recently served as the acting Chief Learning Officer and Executive Director of the Office of Learning, Education, and Development Strategy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), overseeing training policy and programs for 260,000 employees worldwide. He chaired the DHS Chief Learning Officer’s Council and represented the agency on the federal-wide council for professional development. From 2017 to 2024, he was Deputy Director of the Federal Protective Service (FPS), the DHS law enforcement agency responsible for protecting federal facilities and more than 1.4 million personnel and visitors nationwide. His previous federal roles include Senior Law Enforcement Advisor at the DOJ Office of Tribal Justice at Main Justice (2016–2017), where he served as the DOJ’s Liaison to tribal law enforcement in the United States. From 2014-2015, he was the Senior Law Enforcement Advisor at the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he launched FirstNet’s law enforcement portfolio to support national public safety communications. From 2010 to 2013, he served as Principal Deputy Director of the DOJ’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). In 2013, he was appointed by Attorney General Eric Holder as acting Director and served in that role for a year. The DOJ COPS Office is the federal agency within the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for supporting all U.S. law enforcement agencies. It has an active portfolio of nearly $3 billion in federal grants. Before federal service, Mr. Ederheimer spent 23 years with the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, rising to the rank of Assistant Chief. He led numerous innovative initiatives, several of which became national models. He also directed the Center on Force and Accountability at the Police Executive Research Forum, where he advised U.S. and international agencies on executive development, use of force, and accountability. Mr. Ederheimer has taught law enforcement courses for over a decade as an Adjunct Professor at American University and is widely published on policing topics. He speaks regularly on law enforcement practices, trends, and innovation and is a frequent on-air subject-matter expert for several new outlets. He has served on numerous boards, including the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and the International Law Enforcement Forum. He currently sits on the Advisory Board of the Global Consortium of Law Enforcement Training Executives at Rutgers University, serves on the Board of the Federal Protective Service Association, serves on the National Law Enforcement Museum curatorial committee, and is an active member of several professional organizations. Mr. Ederheimer holds a B.A. in Justice from American University and an M.S. in Management and Leadership from Johns Hopkins University.

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