Mel Carraway

• Regional Security Director, Surface Field
• Transport Security Administration

Melvin Carraway is the Regional Security Director for Surface Operations in Region 4. He serves as the lead transportation Executive covering 11 states. Prior to the current position Carraway served as the Regional Director for Region 4. As the Regional Director, Mr. Carraway was responsible for providing leadership and management oversight of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) security operations involving over 5000 employees across a five-state region.

Mr. Carraway previously served as the Director for State and Local Law Enforcement Engagement in the Office for State and Local Law Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Prior to this position at DHS, Mr. Carraway served as the TSA Acting Administrator following the retirement of Administrator John Pistol in December 2014. In that role, he led a 60,000-strong workforce, the security operations of more than 450 airports throughout the U.S., the Federal Air Marshal Service, and shared security for highways, railroads, ports, mass transit systems and pipelines. Carraway served as Deputy Administrator beginning July 2014. Carraway also held various TSA positions within the Offices of Security Operations and the Law Enforcement-Federal Air Marshal Service. Previously, Carraway was the Supervisory Federal Air Marshal in Charge for the Dallas field office, where he managed the Dallas area OLE-FAMS workforce and operations, oversaw firearms and tactical training, and engaged with state and local law enforcement and security stakeholders.

In the Office of Security Operations, Carraway served as the Area Director for the Pacific Islands and states in the Southwest and the Northwest, where he was responsible for managing and coordinating security activities throughout the region and driving operational improvement. He has also served as the Director for Field Operations, where he managed all federal security directors in airports nationwide, providing management and oversight of security operations and engaging with airport stakeholders and law enforcement agencies nationwide. In 2004, Carraway joined TSA as the Federal Security Director at the Albuquerque International Airport in New Mexico. Carraway began his civilian public service career in 1979 as an officer with the Indiana State Police. As a State Police Major, he was appointed as the Director of the Indiana State Emergency Management Agency. Carraway rose through the ranks and was appointed as the ISP Superintendent in 1997, becoming the first African-American superintendent for the Indiana State Police and second African-American in the U.S. to head a statewide law enforcement agency. His accomplishments include the incorporation of private sector best practices, shifting focus from outputs to outcomes, and an agency reorganization to focus on violent crimes, crimes against children and cyber-crime. He retired from the Indiana State Police in 2004.

Carraway earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Heidelberg College. He is married and has two daughters.