Lynne Kidder is the senior vice president of Business Executives for National Security. She oversees all operations of the BENS Business Force, providing management support to BENS’ six regional public-private partnerships (New Jersey, Georgia, Kansas City, Iowa, the San Francisco Bay Area, and LA/Orange County in Southern California), and facilitating the development of new homeland security partnerships at the request of key stakeholders. Prior to joining BENS, Kidder served as the executive director of a non-profit business leadership organization in Northern California. Her previous experience also includes executive level management in state government, eight years as professional staff in the U.S. Senate, and corporate government affairs for Bechtel Corporation. She holds a B.A. from Indiana University, a Masters degree from the University of Texas at Austin, and did additional postgraduate study in public administration at George Mason University.