Join the Government Technology & Services Coalition (GTSC) and the InfraGard National Capital Region Members Alliance for National Preparedness Month: Focus on FEMA & HHS on Thursday, September 26. Register for this all day program here.
Speakers:
Sara Bryant
Program Development Section Chief, Preparedness Grants Division, FEMA
Sara Bryant is Section Chief in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Grant Programs Directorate (FEMA GPD). In her current capacity, she is responsible for the development and interagency coordination of FEMA’s non-disaster preparedness grant portfolio,providing advice and guidance to senior FEMA management on pertinent homeland security programs and priorities, the effectiveness of those programs as implemented in the field, recommends needed changes and improvements, and provides input on complex issues impacting Department of Homeland Security grant programs. Since her time with GPD, Sara has also coordinated preparedness planning efforts with state and local homeland security officials throughout the country, and provided expert guidance on the Department’s homeland security and emergency preparedness programs. She has previously served as the GPD’s Preparedness Officer for states to include California, Ohio, Iowa, Illinois, New Mexico, and Michigan. Sara works in Washington, DC and has been with FEMA GPD since 2006.
David Kaufman
Associate Administrator for Policy, Program Analysis, and International Affairs, FEMA
David J. Kaufman is FEMA’s Associate Administrator for Policy, Program Analysis, and International Affairs. Appointed in September 2009, he is responsible for providing leadership, analysis, coordination, and decision-making support to the FEMA Administrator on a wide range of Agency policies, strategy, plans, programs, and key initiatives.
Mr. Kaufman has extensive experience with homeland security and emergency management issues. He has been a member of the faculty at the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security, where he has taught in the Center’s graduate and executive level education programs; was the Safety and Security Director for CNA, a non-profit think-tank; and has previously served in several senior positions in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and in FEMA.
Mr. Kaufman’s notable recent accomplishments include framing FEMA’s current strategic direction; developing the Agency’s Whole Community Approach to Emergency Management and its supporting doctrine; launching the Strategic Foresight Initiative; and creating and co-leading a nine country multilateral working group on community resilience. His previous service included leading policy and planning efforts for FEMA’s National Preparedness Directorate; overseeing the day-to-day activities of DHS’ $3 billion portfolio of state, local, and infrastructure preparedness assistance programs; and working on homeland security issues in both the public and private sector spanning risk management, catastrophic planning, preparedness, and community engagement.
Dr. Nicole Lurie
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, HHS
Dr. Lurie is the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The mission of her office is to lead the nation in preventing, responding to and recovering from the adverse health effects of public health emergencies and disasters, ranging from hurricanes to bioterrorism.
Dr. Lurie was previously Senior Natural Scientist and the Paul O’ Neill Alcoa Professor of Health Policy at the RAND Corporation. There she directed RAND’s public health and preparedness work as well as RAND’s Center for Population Health and Health Disparities.
She also served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Health in the US Department of Health and Human Services; in state government, as Medical Advisor to the Commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Health; and in academia, as Professor in the University of Minnesota Schools of Medicine and Public Health. Dr. Lurie has a long history in the health services research field, primarily in the areas of access to and quality of care, mental health, prevention, public health infrastructure and preparedness and health disparities.
Darryl Madden
Director, READY Campaign, FEMA
Mr. Madden is the Director of the READY Campaign for FEMA and has done an outstanding job promoting preparedness for all communities. He graduated from the University of Baltimore. He will discuss how important planning is for contractors working with the Federal government. Follow him on Twitter! @ReadyDirect
Jason McNamara
Vice President, Obsidian Analysis LLC Former Chief of Staff, Administrator Craig Fugate, FEMA
As Vice President, Jason McNamara is a member of Obsidian’s executive management team, directing the disaster recovery program area as well as services for state and local clients. Mr. McNamara is a national leader in homeland security and emergency management, having been Chief of Staff for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the past four years. In that role, Mr. McNamara worked with leadership at FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, and the White House to transform FEMA into a highly effective response and recovery agency.
As FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate’s Chief of Staff, Mr. McNamara oversaw the cutting of red-tape, the staffing of FEMA with outstanding managers who are widely recognized as the most experienced and talented in the agency’s history, as well as the reinvigoration of the nation’s response and recovery strategies for disasters. Mr. McNamara also helped change FEMA’s orientation towards an emphasis on survivor outcomes and incorporation of the Whole Community in delivering solutions. In addition, he played a key role in legislative accomplishments such as the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act, legislation providing tribal governments the ability to directly request disaster assistance from the President, and the five-year reauthorization of the national flood insurance program. Mr. McNamara has been at the forefront of decision-making during all of the major events the last four years, including the tornado in Joplin, the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, and Hurricane Sandy.
Joseph Trindal
President, Direct Action Resilience & President, InfraGard National Capital Region Members Alliance
Mr. Joseph Trindal is President at Direct Action Resilience LLC (DAR) with offices in Virginia. DAR and its training division, Direct Action Resilience Institute (DARI) is a recognized leader in emergency preparedness, response and resilience for both public and private sectors. Mr. Trindal also serves as President of the InfraGard National Capital Region Members Alliance, an FBI led public/private sector information sharing consortium of over 10,000 members. He also serves on the Homeland Security Intelligence Council. A member of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), Mr. Trindal serves on the Federal Facilities Emergency Managers Committee. He is also a long standing member of the National Tactical Officer’s Association (NTOA), International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI), and the International Association of the Chiefs of Police (IACP) among other organizations. Mr. Trindal continues public service as a special Deputy Sheriff for Culpeper County, Virginia.
Dr. Michael Walter, pending confirmation
Detection Branch Chief & Program Manager BioWatch, Office of Health Affairs, DHS
As program manager for the BioWatch system, Dr. Michael Walter supports the Department’s efforts to protect the nation from, and prepare federal, state and local governments to respond to biological attacks.
Working with lab, field, public health, law enforcement, and emergency management personnel, Dr. Walter assists federal, state, and local governments from across the country in developing and testing response measures to biological attacks, tailored to specific local mission needs. In addition to directing operation of the current BioWatch system, Dr. Walter also oversees the testing of new technology called Gen-3, which is designed to collect and analyze air samples in the field, allowing for earlier detection of select pathogens. Initiated in the wake of the anthrax attacks 10 years ago, BioWatch is a federally-managed, locally-operated nationwide biosurveillance system designed to detect the release of aerosolized pathogens. BioWatch supports special events including the Super Bowl, presidential inaugurations and national party conventions.
Thank you to the Co-Chairs of GTSC’s National Preparedness Month!
Lilly Harris
CEO
Man-Machine Systems Assessment
Marty Rathmann
Director of Client Relations
GAP Solutions, Inc.