Event (Virtual)
Safety and Emergency Readiness ... Virtual Leadership Summit ... ​September 21-22, 2016

​Preparing Leaders to Lead When It Matters Most ... the key presenters

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Safety and Emergency Readiness Virtual Leadership Summit ​September 21-22, 2016 Picture ​OR

Picture ​Preparing Leaders to Lead When It Matters Most Businesses, schools, local governments and other community institutions are all concerned with the safety and well-being of their organizations. There are many commonalities across each sector--like the need to plan, train, exercise and collaborate--and there are also sector specific considerations. The summit offers an opportunity to learn from national experts in your sector. Featuring...

Picture ​​Dr. Mary Schoenfeldt Mary is an internationally renowned school safety and crisis management expert. She was introduced to school crisis management as a social worker for a law enforcement agency and has since supported many high profile incidents. She helped rebuild the City of New Orleans School System after Hurricane Katrina, and supported recovery efforts at Columbine High School (CO), Sandy Hook Elementary School (CT), and Marysville School District (WA). Her passion is teaching schools to be prepared for all types of emergencies and crises. She also teaches the online course School Crisis Management.

Picture Chris Floyd Chris retired from a career with the American Red Cross several years ago and started the Disaster Resistant Communities Group (DRCG). Most notably, he has worked with hundreds of communities across the nation to host virtual disaster exercises. DRCG hosts the Just In Time Disaster Training Library, which is the most comprehensive set of disaster training videos on the web. Chris has a wide range of knowledge and experience across all sectors. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisDisaster.

Picture Joel Thomas, M.S. Joel is CEO of SPIN Global, an organization committed to helping public and private sector agencies improve coordination prior to a disaster. He has worked with many local, state, federal, and international organizations and has helped organizations applied science and technologies to improve emergency management coordination and build disaster resilience. His passion is to help the planet be ready for emergencies of all types and sizes. Follow him on Twitter @Spin_Global.

Picture Ronda Oberlin, CEP, CEM Ronda is co-creator of Do 1 Thing (do1thing.com), a nonprofit organization that encourages communities to be prepared for emergencies. She is a Certified Floodplain Manager and a Certified Emergency Manager employed by the City of Lansing since 1992. As the first child on the playground to realize that monkey bars were, in fact, a death trap and that the destructive power of the merry-go-round should not be placed in the hands of children, Ronda was destined for emergency management from a young age. She has now realized her lifelong ambition of being able to nag everyone else’s family to take shelter during a tornado warning, as well as her own.

Picture Brandon Greenberg, PhD(c), CEM Brandon is the founder and principal consultant of DisasterNet, Inc. where he helps communities, organizations, and people leverage information and technology to operate in complex, dynamic and uncertain environments. He has over 12 years of experience in emergency response and disaster management. He currently researches ways to improve disaster information management and sharing as a PhD student at George Washington University. He also holds an MPA from NYU's Wagner School of Public Service. He runs the DisasterNet blog and can be found on tweeting @DisasterNet.

Picture Jonathon Monken, MBA Jon is senior director of system resiliency and strategic coordination at PJM Interconnection. He is also a Major in the U.S. Army Reserve, an Adjunct Instructor for Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, and a fellow for both the Madison Policy Forum and the Truman National Security Project. Previously, he was Vice President of U.S. Operations for the Electric Infrastructure Security Council, Director of Illinois Emergency Management Agency, and Director of the Illinois State Police. He served the U.S. Army at the rank of Captain from 2002 to 2007. He holds an MBA from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management and graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Picture Marcus T. Coleman, M.S. Marcus specializes in outreach, communication, stakeholder engagement and building public-private partnerships with the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He is passionate about individual and organizational preparedness and encourages houses of worship and community organizations to adopt Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training.

Picture Peggy Schaefer Peggy is the national training certification project manager for the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST). In this capacity she leads a dynamic and innovative team comprised of training reviewers, content experts, and software specialists committed to ensuring that criminal justice training content and delivery methods comply with national standards. Previously, she served as the CEO/Training Director of the North Carolina Justice Academy. She has authored courses and delivered training on SWAT, Officer Survival, Physical Fitness, and more.

Picture Jeff Friedland Jeff is the director of homeland security and emergency management in St. Claire County, Michigan. He leads a variety of emergency preparedness initiatives to prepare the whole community, with specialized programs for businesses, children, persons with disabilities and volunteers. The 72 HOURS - BEREADY St. Clair preparedness YouTube videos educate the community on how to prepare for a wide range or emergencies. ​

Picture Raynika Battle, M.S. Raynika is the executive director for Do 1 Thing, whose mission is to move individuals, families, businesses and communities to prepare for all hazards and become disaster resilient. She is also president of the board of directors for Hannah House of Lansing--an organization that serves pregnant homeless women. organization--and vice president of the Battle Leadership Group. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy from Michigan Statue University, and a Master's degree in Human Services and Non-Profit Management from Capella University.

Picture Eric Kant Eric is a consultant and trusted advisor with in-depth experience in homeland security and emergency management. His specialties include emergency communications, technology, cyber security, and using social media for emergency operations. ​Follow him on Twitter @eTechOps.

Picture Elizabeth Dunn, MPH, CPH Elizabeth is an Instructor at the University of South Florida College of Public Health and currently teaches public health courses focusing on topics related to global disaster management, humanitarian relief, and homeland security. Her work in the field began with focusing on public health interventions and economic development in post-conflict areas and with refugee populations. She now focuses on working with vulnerable populations throughout the Tampa Bay area, while engaging with diverse populations and community partners. Follow her team on Twitter @USFDisasterMgmt.

Picture Jim Williams ​Jim has over 20 years of experience in the business continuity and emergency management field. He has worked for the U.S. Air Force and Fortune 50 companies, and currently works for an international law firm. He has managed numerous incidents of all types and sizes and is excited to help other organizations be better prepared and resilient in the face of crisis. He is an instructor for the the online course Enterprise Resilience: Preparing Businesses for the Worst.

Picture ​Ben Eskow Ben is the Executive Director for Warren County (NJ) Habitat for Humanity. Through the work of Habitat, thousands of low-income families have found new hope in the form of affordable housing. Churches, community groups and others have joined together to successfully tackle a significant social problem -- decent housing for all. Today, Habitat for Humanity has built more than 175,000 houses, sheltering more than 900,000 people in more than 3,000 communities worldwide.

Picture Ari Vidali Ari is the founder and CEO of Envisage Technologies, a unique software company developing training and compliance ecosystems for Law Enforcement, Public Safety and Military professionals. Envisage is the sixth high-tech enterprise for which Vidali has served as the lead founder and visionary. His current work spans a host of interconnected disciplines: next-generation training/learning architectures, cloud-based learning, social media applied to public safety, automation of high-liability training, complex logistics management, operational automation and pervasive readiness technologies.

Picture James Jaffe, J.D. James is a university professor and teaches courses on disaster economics, as well as environmental health and safety. He has worked as environmental lawyer for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and in private practice, and became interested in emergency management when disaster struck his town. He is author of the book Disaster Dollars and instructor for the online course Financial Emergency Preparation and Recovery and has spent much of his career researching how to assist others before, during and after disasters.