Hans Govertsen was selected to join the Canady Leadership Group in 2025. His background as an Officer and Pilot in the Coast Guard provided him with opportunities to become a Servant Leader in the Service to the United States. He has been blessed to work closely with the young men and women of the Coast Guard, serving the people of the United States and protecting those who find themselves in distress on the high seas. His leadership experiences include guiding highly motivated teams across the Coast Guard’s primary mission sets, including Law Enforcement, Homeland Security, and Search and Rescue. After growing up in Watertown, CT, he graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1997 and spent 27 years as an Officer in the Coast Guard. In 1999, he graduated from Naval Flight Training, earned his Wings of Gold, and became a helicopter pilot. He participated in the Coast Guard’s response to 9-11, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and subsequent oil spill, and multiple hurricane response operations. As an initial member of the Coast Guard’s Rotary Wing Air Intercept mission, he worked with the Secret Service to provide aviation security to the President of the United States during National Special Security Events and was a part of the Coast Guard’s inaugural Ship-Rider Counter Narcotic Program with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. As a member of the rotating military faculty at the Coast Guard Academy, he taught Mechanical Engineering to prospective Officers and future engineers for the oldest seagoing service in the United States. His last assignment in the Coast Guard was as the Commanding Officer of Air Station Corpus Christi, TX. He earned a Master’s Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University. Hans is blessed to be married to his wife, Michelle since 1999 and they have two wonderful children, Sonja and Kainoa.