James Gagliano, Director
Independent voting member March 2020- Present
Mr. Gagliano was elected the 29th mayor of the upstate New York Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson on March 16, 2021, after serving one two-year term as a Village trustee. Formerly a CNN contributor, his professional pursuits include continuing to serve as a law enforcement analyst and policing methodology subject matter expert in media, where he provides on-air analyses of complex law enforcement and counterterror matters. An adjunct assistant professor and doctoral candidate at St. John’s University (SJU) in Queens, New York, he is a sought-after speaker on criminal justice, homeland security, police use of force, and organizational leadership matters, and delivers keynote addresses for corporate clients and in academic settings.
A 1987 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, he was commissioned and served as a Cold War era light infantry platoon leader and company executive officer in the 2-14th Infantry, 10th Mountain Division; stationed at Fort Benning, GA, and Fort Drum, NY, between 1988 and 1991.
During his FBI career (1991-2016), he was appointed to a variety of investigative, tactical resolution, crisis management, undercover, mid-level and senior management positions, including assignment to the FBI’s elite counterterror unit, the Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), and as Senior Team Leader of FBI New York Field Division’s SWAT Team. During the Global War on Terrorism, between 2002 and 2003, he deployed to Afghanistan three times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He was awarded the FBI’s second highest award for valor, the Medal of Bravery, for his SWAT Team’s actions in June of 1993. He was also selected as the deputy legal attaché and acting legal attaché at the U.S. Embassy in México City between 2013-2014. He earned an M.P.S. in Homeland Security and Criminal Justice Leadership from St. John’s University in 2017 and is working towards a doctorate at SJU, with a focus on police use of force – analyzing NYPD officer-involved-shootings between 2000 and 2020.
He is an author and opinion writer and member of the FBI Agents Association, the Society of Former Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Hostage Rescue Team Association.
James and his wife, Tiffany, Dean of the School of Business at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, have five children between them and share custody of their beloved, rescued pit bull, Jaxon.