Former Deputy Administrator, Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

Holly Canevari is an accomplished executive experienced in managing enterprise-wide initiatives and complex organizations.  She has over twenty-five years of U.S. Government and private sector experience focused on security, customer experience, technology, workforce, and transportation issues, programs, strategies, and policies.

She most recently served as the Deputy Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), overseeing the day-to-day operations of TSA’s 64,000-person workforce and an 11-billion-dollar budget, with a particular focus on enterprise risk, budget, and partnerships. Previously, she was the agency’s Chief of Staff, first appointed in March 2021. 

Before joining TSA, Canevari served as Director of Consulting Services at CGI Federal, focusing on national security customers. In that role, she managed and responded to customer needs and challenges and was responsible for operations, management, and growth initiatives. Prior to her CGI Federal experience, Canevari was the Chief of Staff and Vice President of Strategy and Operations at BSA | The Software Alliance.

Canevari first joined DHS in 2010 as a Senior Advisor to the then-Assistant Secretary for Policy, focusing on major initiatives including resilience and screening. From 2012 to 2017, she served as the Chief of Staff for the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans. Canevari implemented a strategic realignment of activities and coordinated and collaborated on complex policy issues across DHS and in the interagency. 

Prior to her time at DHS Policy, Canevari was a senior professional staff member on the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security for Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS), where she was responsible for management and oversight issues. She also served as a senior staff member for former Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA), where she focused on port security, information sharing, and aviation security. Canevari was instrumental in the development and passage of the SAFE Port Act of 2006, which improved maritime and cargo security through enhanced layered defenses.

Early in her career, Canevari represented the business interests of then-United Technologies Corporation and prior to that role served on the staff of Congressman John Larson (D-CT). 

Canevari has a Bachelor of Arts from Boston College and a Master of Arts from Johns Hopkins University.