Essential wisdom, proven ability to think/act well outside the box, team leaders/players, consensus gatherers, catalysts, alchemists, charismatic story tellers… Tribal Elders.
Dianne Brunelle. Dianne has a degree in library and information sciences with a special interest in the use of technology to gather, organize and deliver information to individuals or organizations. The internet, along with the vast array of Web 2.0 technologies can be a simultaneously invaluable and overwhelming source of information. Dianne understands the critical need for turning that information into usable knowledge and helping clients use it to advance the missions of their organizations. Dianne has extensive global experience as a project manager and implementation specialist for the automation of many libraries and library consortiums.
Guy Corriveau. Guy Corriveau has 25 years of experience in emergency management: Chaired multi-agency, cross-jurisdictional committees / advisory groups. Participated in National working groups focused on disaster management issues, such as: planning for the outbreak of a pandemic influenza, establishing national health disaster management standards, and addressing national surge capacity issues. In summer and fall of 2004, on two separate eight-hour occasions, in collaboration with Regional Medical Officers of Health, led a Pandemic Influenza Planning effort involving over 60 experts from all sectors of the Regional Health Authority, many representatives from other Authority programs, as well as participants from provincial health, central and surrounding municipalities. In collaboration with each sector of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (Hospitals, Personal Care Homes, Community Health Services, Corporate Headquarters and Services), The City of Winnipeg, and the Provincial Health Department, Guy was responsible for the direction of comprehensive, integrated, and all-hazards disaster management planning and support with the Winnipeg Health Region (606 sq km – 27,000 health care professionals – 88 sites); Developed from the ground up a health sector disaster management program based on NFPA 1600; managed the $200K design, development, and implementation of an area-wide Incident Command System tailored for a Regional Health Authority comprising 6 hospitals, 39 personal care homes, and a suite of community based health services including public health, primary care, home care, and mental health. This ICS involved over 2000 designated positions across the Health Authority and included the design, development, and delivery of an integral training package for each of the Authority’s sectors; Developed and implemented disaster management policies and procedures; took assertive action to effect legislative change in policy / regulations with respect to the implementation of disaster management programs in the health sector; provided subject matter advice to senior managements, medical clinicians, the public, and other audiences on disaster management policies and procedures; chaired multi-agency, cross-jurisdictional committees / advisory groups; Participated in National (Canada) working groups focused on disaster management issues, such as: planning for the outbreak of a pandemic influenza, establishing national health disaster management standards, and addressing national surge capacity issues; initiated, formulated, developed, and implemented a wide range of response plans and suite of guidelines for use across the full spectrum of the health sector and overarching plans for use at a Regional Health Authority; initiated and participated in exercise (TT-CPX, FS-FTX, and functional) design, development, conduct, and evaluation as well as in actual disaster response activity; Coordinated health sector support to forest fire and provincial flood evacuations; managed the $200K design, development, and implementation of a Regional Disaster Operations Center working with outside designers, contractors, and communications specialists; in collaboration with Regional Medical Officers of Health, led a pandemic influenza planning effort involving over 60 experts from all sectors of the Regional Health Authority, many representatives from other Authority programs, as well as participants from provincial health, central and surrounding municipalities to develop a practical working tool outlining key tasks to assist with various aspects of preparing for, responding to, and recovering from either a pandemic influenza outbreak or the occurrence of an epidemic of SARS-like corona virus; Supervised (and assisted) in the ICS training of over 2000 personnel; conducted disaster management orientations frequently throughout a health region comprising over 88 sites and facilities and over 200 other programs; provided disaster management “Grand Rounds” to Public Health Physicians as part of their Public Health residencies; attended as guest lecturer to higher education institutions, other health authorities, conferences, and workshops across Canada.
Elizabeth Davis. Elizabeth is an emergency management consultant specializing in Special Needs planning and related issues. Elizabeth was New York City’s first-ever Special Needs Advisor. In this capacity, she ensured that all elements of the City’s emergency planning, response and recovery incorporated the unique needs of the disability community, senior population and medically managed individuals. Elizabeth also managed special needs planning, response and recovery for some of the most critical emergencies in New York City history, including the West Nile Virus outbreaks, hurricanes, blizzards and heat waves, mass transit service interruptions and accidents, construction accidents, utility failures and the devastating terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Elizabeth was the first Director of the National Organization on Disability’s (N.O.D.) Emergency Preparedness Initiative (EPI), and is an advisor to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. She co-chairs the National Hurricane Conference’s Health Care/Special Needs Committee, chairs the International Association of Emergency Managers’ (IAEM) Special Needs Committee, and sits on the Advisory Boards of several national disaster preparedness and response organizations and research teams. Elizabeth also conducts special need planning workshops and presentations nationally and internationally, and has contributed to numerous academic studies. An accomplished public speaker, an inspiring teacher and a multiple-award winning emergency management expert, Elizabeth now shares her experience, unique skills and creative vision with clients who need comprehensive, customized and affordable solutions to appropriately address their special needs/disaster preparedness issues.
Angela Devlen. Angela is an accomplished management consultant and social entrepreneur known as a passionate advocate for humanitarian, healthcare and women’s issues. She is a recognized thought-leader and is regularly sought out by private and public organizations for her ability to deliver solutions in complex environments. Currently she is the Managing Partner of Wakefield Brunswick, Inc. a healthcare management consulting firm and President of Mahila Partnership, a non-profit organization she co-founded in 2008. Currently, she is working with several healthcare clients on educational, strategic and programmatic needs related to organizational strategy, disaster management and business continuity. She is also working with the Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters at UMASS Boston (CRSCAD,) Cambridge College, the Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRII) and the Human Resiliency Training Institute (HRTI) supporting curriculum development, research and instruction in emergency management and business continuity. Previously she worked with Boston University on their Emergency Management and Organizational Continuity and Managing Disasters and Complex Humanitarian Emergencies programs. She has served as an advisor to several organizations including Ascension Health, US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), US Department of State, Fidelity Investments and USAID. In 2000 she was a co-recipient of an award from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a program developed to increase community resiliency. She was selected as an international healthcare disaster preparedness expert reviewer for a ProVention Consortium in 2006, for a grant funded initiative on hospital preparedness in Kyrgyzstan and has participated in the development of an indicator matrix for the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) led by the Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction. Angela’s expert technical knowledge and strong management skills are drawn from experience responding to various crisis including the 2005 Gulf Coast disaster following Hurricane’s Katrina and Rita, several floods, rail accidents and weather emergencies. Additionally she has been an advisor to various organizations after the 1999 earthquake in Turkey, the 2001 floods in Mozambique and 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. Following the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti she has collaborated with international NGOs, United Nations agencies, and grassroots organizations on the establishment of projects designed to support partnerships and sustainable development addressing healthcare, gender issues, special needs populations, sheltering and post disaster reconstruction. Angela’s career began in EMS in Canada and in 1991 was awarded the James Watson Award for her contributions to emergency services. In 1996 she moved to New York City where she spent over 3 years in the private sector in operations management and business continuity managing national logistics across 14 cities at Gitter, Anapol and Glazer, Inc. During this time she was also a disaster volunteer with the Canadian and American Red Cross. In 2001 she joined Partners Healthcare in Boston to lead their Business Continuity Program and during her tenure was part of the executive emergency management taskforce awarded the Partners in Excellence Award for their efforts in Emergency Preparedness. From 2005-2008 she led the Emergency Management Program at Caritas Christi Healthcare where she developed several training programs, conducted exercises and authored emergency operations plans for several of their hospitals. During this time she also became a Certified Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) Instructor by Boston’s Delvalle Institute. Angela has held several leadership positions, previously serving on the board of directors of several organizations. She currently serves on the International Benchmarking Advisory Board for BC Management, the Board of Directors for EMPOWER, and she is one of the founding board members of the Business Continuity Planning Workgroup for Healthcare Organizations (BCPWHO). Angela is widely published, including “How to Build a Comprehensive Business Continuity Programme for a Healthcare Organisation” in the UK peer reviewed Journal of Business Continuity and Emergency Management and was a contributor to the book, “Organizational Crisis Management: The Human Factor” (Lewis, G. March 2006) and speaks regularly at venues in Canada and the US. In 2005 she was named on the list of the Top 300 Women Leaders in New England. In her spare time you’ll often find her capturing the world around her with her camera, climbing mountains, practicing yoga and spending time with her family.
Jacques Dufort. Jacques is a results-oriented solutions-searching creative and courageous entrepreneur. He is also a solid listener who enjoys sharing his experience and wisdom with clients interested in increasing operational depth and market reach. Jacques is a world traveler with an interest in exploring many of the paths less traveled. His trek to Santiago de Compostela is typical Jacques — determined, focused, and willing to go the extra mile to achieve his goals. Jacques has been working in various business development positions in the technology industry and other sectors for the past 20 years. Jacques’ core strengths include: Sales & Marketing in B2B and B2C; Executive Leadership; Retail Sales; Commercial & Industrial Distribution; Technology Solutions; Contract Negotiations; and Durable Goods.
Jeri Epstein. Jeri has 20-years of experience in business development, software sales, and helping individual companies make a strategic leap forward. As EVP of Balaya, a social media company, she has significant experience in social media and can help clients to who intend to incorporate it into their business. Her broad experience, and proven success record, have been leveraged repeatedly to provide innovative C-Level consulting services. Jeri is adept in building value propositions that closely align product development to identified market needs with continued attention to changes and adjustments as the market matures. She helps teams to construct internal business processes that will enable corporate teams to be more effective. Whenever practical, she taps into a wide network of skilled colleagues with whom she can solve problems on behalf of her clients. Jeri’s experience, her candor and her enthusiasm are evident in every engagement. Jeri lives in Washington, DC where she and her husband make good use of the hiking and biking trails.
Alan Fryer. Alan is one of Canada’s best known and most respected journalist with over 30 years experience in television news, with particular strengths in creative writing, documentary storytelling and on-camera presentation. Other skills include: strong television production skills; multiple Gemini nominations for news and feature reporting and two RTNDA awards for W-FIVE documentaries; a strong storyteller, able to meld words, sound and video to maximum effect; ability to understand and synthesize complex issues and explain them in a clear, succinct and visual manner; interviewed world leaders and covered hundreds of major Canadian, American and international events from the fall of the Soviet Union to the fall of Baghdad; the attacks of 9/11 to the ensuing war on terrorism; and an excellent understanding of the inner workings of news media and its relationship with the worlds of politics, business and entertainment.
Anne Grunewald. Anne is a senior-level executive with a record of accomplishment in program creation, development and organizational capacity building. She has progressive experience in disaster preparedness, international development, and arts administration. Her expertise includes large-scale project launches, systems analysis, and strategic planning. Anne is recognized for her leadership, her ability to build consensus among diverse communities, and effective negotiation. Anne’s list of recent clients includes the American Red Cross in Greater New York, New York Disaster Interfaith Services, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Metropolitan Council on Government, State of Louisiana, and City University of New York – School of Professional Studies. As the Director of Disaster Preparedness for the Human Services Council of New York City, Anne developed the mission, vision and budget for a disaster preparedness program designed to ensure the ability of NYC’s nonprofit human services sector to provide disaster social services in a coordinated, effective way after a large-scale incident. As the Director of Human Services for the NYC Office of Emergency Management, Anne created and led the human services division of one of the largest, most innovative public emergency management agencies on the continent. She oversaw the creation and implementation of the OEM’s disaster education programs including the NYC Community Emergency Response Team [CERT] program, and development of a NYC-specific curriculum, now being used in 20 NYC communities and as a National model for urban environments. Anne created the NYC Citizen Corps Council – a federal model that serves as a mechanism for coordinating and facilitating public participation in disaster preparedness and volunteer initiatives being implemented by private, public and non-profit sectors.
Rebecca Hansen. As a Senior Project Manager and consultant for EAD & Associates, Rebecca works nationwide with clients including governments, non-profits and private entities. Her professional emphasis is the integration of special needs and human services issues into emergency management standards, planning and practices. In her field she has developed and conducted several training sessions for public health and emergency management professionals. During the response and recovery phases of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in Louisiana, Hansen worked as a subject matter expert on one of four Rapid Assessment Teams deployed by a national disability organization. She presently serves on a select special needs advisory group to The Road Home, Louisiana’s housing recovery program. Hansen was recently selected as an instructor with the CUNY Graduate Center, a partner with NYC OEM, to carry out coastal storm training to NYC employees to prepare them for leadership roles in evacuation centers and hurricane shelters. From 2000-2003 Hansen served as the Assistant Director of Government Relations for the Greater New York American Red Cross (ARC) and as their primary disaster planner and liaison to the New York City Office of Emergency Management. In that role, directly working with NYC OEM, she helped lead the initial and long-term human services response to the World Trade Center terrorist attack including assisting with sheltering, food provision, service coordination, outreach, and other aspects of the complex response system. She collaborated with government and non-profit organizations in disaster preparedness and planning activities to address critical human needs issues. At ARC Hansen managed and trained a team of 20 volunteers to respond to the ARC, OEM, NYPD, or other Emergency Operations Centers activated within the ARC jurisdiction prior to, during, or after disasters. In addition she initiated activities to increase membership, develop infrastructure, and increase response capability of member organizations, as vice chair for the New York City Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NYC VOAD).
Jacquelyn Haver. Jackie is an experienced social entrepreneur with special interests in international development, gender equality and sustainable rebuilding in disaster situations. She is developing her expertise on culturally sensitive attitudes towards menstrual and reproductive health in support of sustainable community development, and has spent the last several years researching menstruation as a development tool and monitoring the success of programs in Western Africa. She has experience in facilitating relationships and programs between grassroots women’s groups and aid agencies, and has consulted with UN agencies, International NGOs, International Governments and funding agencies. Jacquelyn believes in sustainable disaster recovery and rebuilding focusing on empowering able and established local organizations in partnership with international aid agencies. As a first responder to the aid efforts in Haiti Jackie was able to mobilize private companies to contribute logistics and procurement skills and experience to the earthquake in Haiti. Jackie partnered with Mahila Partnership to grow and develop the Women In Development Initiative – a project that promotes equal education opportunities, socio economic development for women, reproductive health rights and gender equality in a sustainable manner. Jackie’s interests and experience are globally oriented with special focus on women from developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean.
Julie Barron Morrill. Julie is the Secretary of Mahila Partnership, a grassroots nonprofit organization committed to issues of education, community development, gender equality, and disaster management. Mahila Partnership recently met with local women in Haiti to better understand the needs of women following disasters. Professionally, Julie is an emergency management consultant with Contingency Management Consulting Group and its sister company, The Litaker Group. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Julie enjoys traveling the world to assist clients in emergency and disaster management. She recently conducted a series of courses in the United Arab Emirates on emergency planning. Julie regularly assists clients in developing all hazard emergency management plans and evaluating responses following major disasters. For example, Julie was the lead author of an After Action Report for the State of Texas Department of State of Health Services (DSHS) evaluating the Texas response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Currently, Julie is assisting several universities and private K-12 preparatory schools in the development of emergency procedures to respond to a variety of hazards, including an active shooter on campus. Julie is a certified Emergency Medical Technician in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and a Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) with the Disaster Recovery Institute International. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia and attended the School for International Training in Geneva, Switzerland. In addition to consulting, Julie is an active volunteer for the American Red Cross, where she regularly teaches CPR and first aid classes for professional rescuers. She satisfies her indelible warrior spirit through avid training in Krav Maga (an Israeli hand-to-hand combat system), teaching self-defense to local community groups, and running the wooded trails of Massachusetts with her husband, Jeff.
Norm Rooker. Norm is Chief Paramedic, Ouray County EMS in Ouray, Colorado.Norm is a popular speaker on the national EMS, fire & rescue lecture circuit including FIRE-RESCUE WEST; EMS EXPO, the annual educational conference sponsored by EMS Magazine; OUTLOOK, the annual educational conference for the National Association of EMTs; SAR, the annual education conference for NASAR, the National Association for Search and Rescue, as well as numerous state and local conferences. He has also served as both a speaker and the medical track leader for SAREX 2001, the California State Search and Rescue Conference put on by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Norm has served as faculty for multiple EMT, Paramedic and Fire Science training programs in both the industrial, community college and university settings. He has been a Heavy Rescue Instructor for the California State Fire Marshal’s Office, an EMT-T and is a member of his department’s surf and cliff rescue teams and technical rescue committee. Norm is prodigious user of any training or education offered by almost anyone, including but not limited to COMTOMS, PEMSTP, SARMR, ICS, Urban Rescue, Water Rescue, California’s POST 11550 Drug Influence certification, as well as the usual Paramedic Merit badges such as ACLS, PALS, PHTLS and others. Norm is lifetime member of the National Association for Search And Rescue, NASAR, and was recently re-elected to the Board of Directors. He is a member of the NASAR External Affairs Committee, Chair of the Technical Affairs Committee as well as the chairman for the NASAR Flood & Water Rescue Advisory Group. He is a past member of the NASAR Medical Advisory Committee and one of the developers of NASAR’s Search & Rescue Medical Responder, SARMR, Program including writing the chapter on burn injuries for the SARMR text book.
Roy Roper. Roy is a Consulting Anthropologist in Cultural Integrity, LLC, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is an Adjunct Professor in Anthropology, The Honors College and the Department of Sociology, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (honors seminars: Gumbo Anthropology: Cajun Diaspora, Ethnicity, and Community Resilience; The Anthropology of Natural and Man-Made Disasters: Preparedness, Response and Recovery; The Anthropology of Human Vulnerability in Biological Disasters: Ducks, Pigs, Fowl, Flu and You; courses: Introduction to Sociology; Introduction to Anthropology). Roper is an Adjunct Professor in Anthropology, Grove City College, Grove City, Pennsylvania (course: Medical Anthropology in Ecological Perspective) and a Lecturer in Anthropology, Community College of Beaver County, Pennsylvania (course: Principles of Anthropology). He is the Assistant Managing Editor and Book Review Editor, Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management (ICDRM), School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS), George Washington University, Washington, D.C. Roper is an Instructor, Community College of Allegheny County and the Public Safety Institute, Allegheny Campus, Pennsylvania (courses: Shelter Operations, Shelter Simulation, Mass Care, Community Services, and Disaster Services Overview). Roper holds a B.A. in Social Psychology and Sociology from Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan. He earned his M.A. and the Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Martin Rothstein. Marty Rothstein has been an accomplished CEO, who has earned a reputation for delivering financial results and business growth to shareholders through periods of both economic growth and decline. Marty is recognized in the business community as a leader with vision, experience and an acute grasp of strategic issues and with a track record of providing innovative and practical solutions at a divisional and corporate level. An experienced Agent of Change, Marty is known as a professional with passion and a commitment to winning. Marty has been a CEO in the Corporate sector; a leader in the Not-for-Profit sector; a consultant to Privately Owned and Publicly Traded businesses on Strategic Thinking, Planning/Implementation, Marketing & Communications and Organizational Development. Marty spent 27 years at MacLaren Advertising (now MacLaren McCann) including five years as EVP & COO and 4 years as President & CEO. As COO, he was the architect and implementer of the company’s diversification from pure media advertising to a complete communications company, which dramatically increased revenues and profits, while further strengthening long-standing client relationships.
W. David Stephenson. W. David Stephenson is a leading Gov./Enterprise 2.0 strategist and theorist. He particularly focuses on homeland security and disaster management and ways to directly involve the public in policy and services debate and delivery. He consults for several governmental entities on strategies to increase their transparency and simultaneously increase operating efficiency: services that are particularly appropriate to the current loss of faith in governmental institutions coupled with the need to innovate in an era of dramatically-reduced resources. He is completing a book, Democratizing Data to transform government, business and daily life, on strategies for automated structured data feeds and their use to improve worker efficiency, transparency, and to stimulate mass collaboration. He argues that governments and corporations, by creating automated data feeds in formats such as XML and KML, can simultaneously:
- for the first time give their entire workforces, not just senior management, access to the information they need to do their jobs more efficiently, but also collaborate organization-wide
- restore public confidence through transparent operations that watchdog groups, the media, regulators, and the public can monitor on a real-time basis
- find creative new solutions to problems and add profitable new services through mass collaboration leveraging their organizational data.
In addition to work for his own firm, he is a “subject matter expert” for the Homeland Security Institute, participated in the Institute for the Future’s “Open Source Warfare” project, and is an on-call expert for James Lee Witt Associates, a leading disaster management firm.
Stephen Wilgar believes in a strong work ethic, in always doing your level-headed-best for the client, and in conducting business the same way you would like to be treated in life. ‘Deliver more than you promise.’ Mr. Wilgar has served as the Chairman of Team EMS from January 2002 to the present. Mr. Wilgar has served as one of the corporate directors of PreMD [formerly IMI International Medical Innovation] since 1993. Mr. Wilgar has served as a corporate director of Electrohome, Ltd., from January 2004 to the present. From 2002 to 2007, Mr. Wilgar served as Chairman of AIM PowerGen Corporation. AIM PowerGen Corporation (AIM) is a wind power development company based in Toronto, Ontario. From May 2001 to June 2002, Mr. Wilgar was also a Director of Dimethaid Research Inc. and from June 1991 to April 2002, he was a Director of Verity International. Prior to that, Mr. Wilgar was a Director of MedExtra Corp. from December 2001 to March 2002 and was the President of SunBlush Technologies Corporation from 1996 to 1999. He has previously served on the boards of the Liposome Company, Nabob Coffee, and Telemedia Inc. From 1974 to 1988 Mr. Wilgar served as President of Warner-Lambert Canada, Asia, Australia and Latin America. During a 20-year career with Warner Lambert, he served in various executive positions including President of Warner Lambert, and President of Warner Lambert Far East, and Warner Lambert Canada – Latin America. Warner Lambert, now part of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), was a multi-divisional company comprised of Parke-Davis, General Diagnostics and Adams Brands, as well as a Consumer Products division.