Mr. Bliss is the Director of the National Infrastructure Institute’s Center for Infrastructure Expertise. The NI2 Center for Infrastructure Expertise is an independent not-for-profit applied research group dedicated to strengthening the security and resiliency of the nation’s built critical infrastructure and key resources. Mr.Bliss served as the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal from August 1992 until November 2003, overseeing fire investigations and the enforcement of fire and building codes and coordinated the state’s response to hazardous materials incidents. After 9/11, Mr. Bliss took the leadership for New Hampshire’s emergency management and homeland security efforts. He chaired the Governor’s Commission on Preparedness and Security, and transitioned the Governor’s Office of Emergency Management to the newly formed Division of Fire Safety & Emergency Management within the NH Department of Safety. He also served as homeland security advisor to both Governor (now US Senator) Jeanne Shaheen and Governor Craig Benson.

Mr. Bliss has served in leadership roles in numerous professional organizations, including National Association of State Fire Marshals, the National Fire Protection Association, and the New Hampshire Association of Fire Chiefs. He is a past president of the New Hampshire Association of Fire Chiefs and a former chair of the New Hampshire Emergency Medical Services Coordinating Board. He served as President of the National Association of State Fire Marshals and chair of the association’s Consumer Product Safety Task Force, and as chair of the International Fire Code Prescriptive Drafting Committee. Mr. Bliss chaired the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Uniform Fire Prevention Code Technical Committee and currently serves on the NFPA board of directors. He chairs the National Electrical Code panel on homeland security and mission critical facilities, and serves on the NFPA Technical Committee on Emergency Management and Business Continuity and the NFPA Technical Committee on Cultural Resources.

Mr. Bliss received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of New Hampshire in 1973 and he received a Master of public administration degree, also from the University of New Hampshire, in 1979. He has completed numerous courses at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland.