• Retired agent takes Jewish secu- rity role,
As a veteran Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, Shawn Brokos was a first responder to the Oct. 27, 2018, attack at the Tree of Life synagogue building in Squirrel Hill.
She was the crisis management coordinator for the FBI’s response team, both on-site and in the days following the attacks, which killed 11 worshipers from three congregations in the worst anti-Semitic violence in U.S. history.
“It was very difficult,” Ms. Brokos recalled. But she said the aftermath of the attacks reminded her of what happened after the 9/11 attacks, where she was also a first responder.
“After going through a traumatic incident in a community, you are able to see such camaraderie and warmth and bonding, and that’s what I saw in the Jewish community,” Ms. Brokos said. “I worked with such excellent people throughout ... and we relied heavily on one another.”
Now Ms. Brokos, recently retired as supervisory special agent from the FBI after 24 years of service with the bureau, is taking on the role of director of community security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
She will be succeeding Brad Orsini, another former FBI agent, who was the first to hold the position.
After he started on the job in early 2017, Mr. Orsini conducted assessments of
synagogues and other Jewish facilities, recommended improvements in their security and conducted training sessions for emergencies such as activeshooter attacks. Some who survived the shootings at the Tree of Life building credited their survival to the training.
Mr. Orsini recently became senior national security adviser for the Secure Community Network, a program of the Jewish Federations of North America. “We’re going to take our model from Pittsburgh throughout the country” and offer guidance on security enhancements, said Mr. Orsini, 56, who will remain based in Pittsburgh.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the fact that we engaged Brad Orsini as an individual and at the time we did,” said Jeffrey Finkelstein, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. “He brought his expertise to the community at a time before we absolutely needed it, and it saved lives on Oct. 27, 2018. Shawn is going to be able to build on the program Brad put in place and help our program as it evolves.”
Ms. Brokos, 50, is not Jewish but grew up amid a diverse population in Philadelphia, where she had close Jewish friends and developed “such an appreciation of the Jewish faith.”
In addition to crisis response, Ms. Brokos brings other directly relevant experience to the post. Her FBI work included investigating cases involving civil rights violations and hate crimes. She’s well aware of current groups with antiSemitic ideologies.
“It will certainly be a key focus, continuing to educate folks on the threats we face,” she said.
She plans to continue the trainings and security assessments throughout the community. One new initiative will be the assembling and placement of “Go Bags” in Jewish schools and early learning centers, complete with equipment that could be useful during or after an attack, such as whistles, hammers and vests.
She said it’s important to keep a balance of preparing people without instilling anxiety. However, she noted that safety is already on the minds of people following the anti-Semitic attacks in Pittsburgh and, more recently, in Jersey City, N.J., and Monsey, N.Y.,
“There is a balance between being fearful and being vigilant,” she said.