TEAM / Andy Patrick

Andy Patrick
Columbia, SC
803.733.2256
Andy Patrick joined The Southern Group’s South Carolina office in 2016 after a career in public service, including positions with the U.S. Air Force, New York Air National Guard, New York State Police, U.S. Secret Service, and South Carolina House of Representatives. Throughout his career, Andy has cultivated expertise in numerous areas, including appropriations, economic and business development, gaming, local government, military, policy, public and private partnerships, public safety, and travel and tourism.

Andy began his career as an active duty member of the U.S. Air Force, rising to the rank of Sergeant before joining the Air National Guard and later the New York State Police. He was commissioned as a Special Agent with the United States Secret Service in 1997. Early in his career Andy was recruited and trained into the Electronic Crimes Special Agent Program where he received specialized training to help combat the emerging cyber threat. Throughout his Secret Service career, Andy directed the planning and implementation of security arrangements for the president, vice president, and foreign heads of state. Andy spent much of his Secret Service career as a liaison with the U.S. intelligence community, supervising the receipt and review of law enforcement, cybersecurity, and national security intelligence information and assessing its impact on Secret Service protective responsibilities. In 2007, Andy resigned his post with the Secret Service to work as an independent consultant providing comprehensive assistance for protecting critical infrastructure.

Andy and DeWitt Zemp lead our Cybersecurity Team at The Southern Group.

In 2010, Andy was elected to represent Hilton Head Island in the South Carolina House of Representatives and became its leading voice for families and children; he was re-elected in 2012. During Andy’s time in the State House, he served on the House Education and Education Oversight Committees and chaired the K-12 Education Subcommittee, where he worked tirelessly to improve educational opportunity for each student, educational choice for all families, and accountability in every classroom. Andy was also appointed to serve on the House Ethics Study and DOR Security Breach Investigative Committees.

Andy currently serves as a trustee of The SC School for the Deaf and the Blind Foundation, is a former member of the Rotary Club of Hilton Head Island and American Society of Industrial Security, and is an active member of the Association of Former Agents of the U.S. Secret Service.

Andy graduated cum laude with a BS in criminal justice from the State University of New York. He lives in Columbia, South Carolina with his wife and four children.

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11 seconds
Ransomware attacks against businesses will occur every 11 seconds in 2021.

And the global cost associated with ransomware recovery is estimated to exceed $68 billion in the United States alone. Discover how The Southern Group is working to minimize the threat against its clients.

Our Columbia team possesses decades of public service experience at the local, state, and federal levels.