Dr. DiRenzo is a retired Coast Guard officer, who spent nine years in the Navy, in both the submarine and surface warfare communities. In 1991 he transitioned to the United States Coast Guard and was assigned to several cutters including command of USCGC JEFFERSON ISLAND. In 1999, Dr. DiRenzo was detailed as the inaugural Coast Guard Liaison Officer assigned to the CONSTELLATION Strike Group deployed to the Arabian Gulf. In 2000 he was assigned to Atlantic Area, held seven different positions including Division Chief before rising to the Senior Advisor to the Commander for Science, Technology, Innovation and Research position. In October 2015 he moved to New London Connecticut and assumed his current position at the USCG Research and Development Center.

Dr. DiRenzo is one of the most published authors in Coast Guard history. His latest article is scheduled to be published by the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings in March of 2022. A five-time winner of the service’s prestigious JOC Alex Haley award, he has published over 350 articles on various maritime terrorism and port security topics. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute at the University of Illinois Champaign Urbana. He is Northeast Deputy Regional Coordinator for the Federal Lab Consortium. He is also the RDC Liaison to the Naval Postgraduate School. Finally, he is a fourteen-time national Co-Chair of the Maritime Risk Symposium (the 2022 event will be at ARGONNE National Lab) and was the co-editor of the first ever textbook focused on maritime cyber security – Issues In Maritime Cybersecurity (Westphalia).

Dr. DiRenzo is a 1982 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, holds a Master’s in Business Administration from California Coast University, and is a graduate of both the Naval War College and Marine Corps Command and Staff College. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration (Homeland Security Specialization) in 2007 at Northcentral University in Prescott AZ. He teaches for American Military University and Northcentral University. Dr. DiRenzo is married to retired Navy Nurse Corps Captain and Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran Karen DiRenzo. They have two children Joe IV, a Mergers and Acquisitions banker and Lauren an Intermediate School teacher.