Tom Ridge-Mr. Ridge is former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, where he organized and oversaw a combined 22 federal agencies employing 180,000 staff. Secretary Ridge also served as two-term Governor of the State of Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2001. Prior to becoming Governor, he was elected to Congress in 1982. Born in Pittsburgh's Steel Valley, Secretary Ridge earned a scholarship to Harvard and graduated with honors in 1967. After his first year at The Dickinson School of Law, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served as an infantry staff sergeant in Vietnam, earning the Bronze Star for Valor. He was the first Vietnam combat veteran elected to the U.S. House, and was re-elected six times. |