2015 Southern Alleghenies Regional LEPC Summit
SPEAKERS.
MEET ROBERT INGRAM
Robert J Ingram is a 40 year member of the Fire Service with the last 34 working for the Fire Department, City of New York (FDNY). He was assigned as the Chief in Charge of HazMat Operations from September 11th, 2001 until August of 2007 and managed the rebuilding of that command. He currently serves as the WMD Chief for the FDNY and is assigned to the department’s Center for Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness. Chief Ingram represents the FDNY on several committees including NFPA 472 and the IAFC HazMat. He has been a member of the National Inter-Agency Board for the Standardization and Interoperability of CBRNE Equipment since 1998 and chaired the IAB for 4-1/2 years. Chief Ingram holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Fire and Emergency Management, a Master’s degree in Homeland Defense and Security, and is a graduate of the DHS Naval Post Graduate Schools Executive Leadership Program and the FDNY’s Fire Officers Management Institute affiliated with the Graduate School of Business of Columbia University.
MEET AARON RICHMAN
Aaron Richman is the Director for TAM-C Solutions in the USA and Israel, where he is responsible for the global Targeted Actionable Monitoring Center’s intelligence and research projects and is an assistant professor for the master’s degree Disaster Medicine and Management program for Philadelphia University. He specializes in homeland security and counter terror fields of study, with specific expertise in suicide bombing response, “lone actors” interdiction and information collection planning. Richman has conducted various research projects dealing with best practices in terror response and command considerations for such incidents.
He has instructed and consulted first responders, law enforcement, and critical infrastructures and key resources in mass casualty incidents, suicide bombers, and weapons of mass destruction. As a subject matter expert in the field of suicide bombers, Richman developed curriculum for the United States Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency titled, “Prevention and Response to Suicide Bombing Incidents”, “Initial Law Enforcement Response to Suicide Bombing Attacks”, and “Medical Preparedness to Bombing Incidents”.
MEET THE STANDING STONE TEAM
Jim Hyslop, President
Lori Thompson, Vice President
Ian Thompson, Vice President
Standing Stone Consulting Inc. began in 1999 when a concerned group of mission driven security, crime prevention, and emergency response experts and began offering their expertise to clients. These consultants had years of real world, firsthand experience in a wide variety of environments. Together they had worked on thousands of safety, security, and emergency response projects. Over the past 15 years Standing Stone has been involved in hundreds of assessments and security/emergency response planning projects such as schools in rural Alaska, military bases around the country, and the evacuation and sheltering plan for Washington DC and the surrounding Metropolitan area. Their specialized expertise in CPTED-RED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design and Response Enhanced Design) is renowned in civilian and defense communities.
MEET
JEFF DONALDSON
Jeff has thirty years of Public Safety/Emergency Management and Response experience. Jeff retired as the Deputy Chief of Operations for an urban 1200 person profession Fire and Rescue Department where he was responsible for planning operations and training. He was also a member of Virginia Rescue 1 that is frequently called to provide search and rescue at natural disasters such as the earth quakes in Taiwan, Turkey and Iran. Additionally, Jeff teaches nationally and internationally on disaster and emergency operations, policies and procedures.
MEET KRISTINA ANDERSON
Kristina Anderson founded the The Koshka Foundation for Safe Schools, a non-profit dedicated to helping local community and school stakeholders work together to prevent, respond and heal in the aftermath of school violence, after becoming one of the most critically injured survivors from the 2007 Virginia Tech tragedy. Shot 3 times, Ms. Anderson returned to graduate from Virginia Tech with a degree in International Studies and Foreign Languages, and is now a resource to school administrators, teachers and students within higher education and K-12 regarding violence prevention initiatives and ways to increase individual personal safety awareness. The Koshka Foundation also partners with law enforcement agencies and first responders to provide educational presentations on surviving an active shooter from a survivor’s perspective, and best practices in incorporating lessons learned.
MEET ROBERT FULL
Robert A. Full is Chief Deputy Director for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA). Prior to his appointment at PEMA, Chief Full served as Chief of Emergency Services, Fire Marshal and Emergency Management Coordinator for Allegheny County for 13 years.
His public safety background, with both career and volunteer services, spanned for 42 years.
Chief Full worked and supervised emergency ambulance and rescue services for the City of Pittsburgh and specialized in all rescue, river rescue, special operations, and hazardous materials response for the city.
He is the former President of the PA State Association of Hazardous Materials Technicians. He continues to serve as a volunteer firefighter in Forest Hills Borough, Allegheny County since January 1973.
Chief Full also is a charter member of the Allegheny County Hazardous Materials Response Program, and Hazardous Materials Team. Chief Full is a lifelong resident of Allegheny County and lives in the City of Pittsburgh with his Wife, along with his Daughter, Son, and two Grandsons.
MEET
THOM BERRY
Agent Thom Berry is Public Information Officer and Freedom of Information Coordinator for the S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED). He is spokesperson for SLED and coordinates the processing of over 1,100 FOI requests and civil subpoenas annually.
Before joining SLED, he served as director of Media Relations for the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. Prior to his career in government service, Thom was a broadcast news reporter for 17 years at the local and network levels.
During his 30-plus years as a state agency PIO Thom has been responsible for public communications for events including Hurricane Hugo, the 2005 train crash and chlorine spill that killed nine and injured hundreds in Graniteville and an on-campus murder-suicide of a University of South Carolina professor and his estranged wife.
He has served on work groups for the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Georgetown University, Wayne State University and the University of Pittsburgh Centers for Bioterrorism Security. He is a guest lecturer at the University of Georgia and the University of South Carolina. Thom is the 2012 recipient of the Michael Frank Award for Excellence in Public Information by the Palmetto Alliance of Public Information Officers.
A graduate of the University of South Carolina, Leadership South Carolina and the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy, he is certified as a law enforcement Basic and Specific Skills Instructor, and Training Manager. He served 14 years as a Reserve Deputy with Lexington County S.C. Sheriff’s Department, achieving the rank of Sergeant. He has been 40-Hour trained as a Hazardous Materials Technician.
A member of the S.C. Law Enforcement Officers Association and the National Information Officers Association, Thom is a member and former president of the National Public Health Information Coalition.
MEET
DAN VARNER
Dan Varner retired in 2008 from the positions of Chief of Police/ Borough Manager, 9-1-1 director and Ambulance administrator of Huntingdon. In 1985 He also co-founded the Huntingdon County Drug Task Force and served as the Director until his retirement in 2008. In 1996 Dan graduated from the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar (FBI – LEEDS) at Princeton University. Here he was immmersed in leadership, social issues, legal issues, labor relations, strategic planning, and other police programs. Throughout his entire Law Enforcement career Dan became well educated in several areas such as crime investigation, terrorism and civil disorder, and police management. His hard work and devotion was praised by many awards and commendations. For example American Legions PA Law Enforcement Officer of the Year and being included in Outstanding Young Men of America Publication. Mr. Varner is a Life member of Pennsylvania’s Chiefs of Police, South Central Chiefs of Police, Huntingdon Regional Fire Department and FBI LEEDA.
MEET VINNY DOHERTY
Vincent J. Doherty retired from the Fire Department of New York City after 25 years of service in September 2006, as the Executive Officer of HazMat Operations, Special Operations Command (SOC). He recently left the position of Director for Program Outreach for the Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), Monterey, CA., and is currently a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for the Homeland Security Affairs Journal, an academic publication dedicated to the advancement of Homeland Security as professional discipline. He is an Adjunct Professor at Long Island University’s Homeland Security Management Institute (LIU-HSMI) where he delivers graduate level courses in emergency management and weapons of mass destruction.
Mr. Doherty, during his fire service career served as the Captain/Commanding Officer of Hazardous Materials Company #1, the preeminent hazmat response unit dedicated to hazardous materials response for the City of New York and he also served with distinction after 9/11 as an Acting Battalion Chief for the newly established Haz Mat Battalion and performed the task of rebuilding the hazmat capability and preparedness of the Special Operations Command (SOC). Prior to his fire service career, Mr. Doherty was employed as a Quality Control and Research and Development Chemist for Fisher Diagnostics, Orangeburg, NY.
Mr. Doherty holds a Bachelor of Science degree from St. John's University, a Master of Arts degree in Security Studies from the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School and he was the CHDS 2005-2006 Senior Fellow/Practitioner at the Department of Homeland Security's Preparedness Directorate and was also a Senior Fellow with the Center for Naval Analysis.
Currently he is a consultant and a highly regarded person with subject matter experience in such fields as Hazardous Materials, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Emergency Management, first responder communications, and various fire service specialties. He is a Senior Consultant for Gryphon Scientific and for Innovative Emergency Management (IEM). He served on the Board of Advisors for ICx Technologies Corporation, Ahura Corporation and Bruker Corporation and is presently on the Board of Advisors for EdgeVelocity Corp. He is a member of LIU’s Homeland Security Management Institute's distinguished Board of Advisors and also serves as a member and former Co-Chair (eight years) of the Science and Technology Sub Group for the Interagency Board (IAB) for Equipment Standardization and Interoperability.
MEET BOB WINTERS
Since 2005, Bob Winters has been the United States Department of Homeland Security Pittsburgh, PA District Protective Security Advisor assigned to coordinate and facilitate critical infrastructure protection in 32 counties of Western Pennsylvania. Originally from Pittsburgh, Bob had a 23-year security career in the active duty Air Force. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in History, Masters Degree in Public Administration, is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, and an ASIS Certified Protection Professional.
MEET
KEVIN HOGAN
Kevin Hogan has spent 17 years in Emergency Services and the last 9 with Allegheny County Emergency Services. Currently tasked primarily with planning, training, and coordinating responses for the Hazardous Materials Response. Also work with other divisions and initiatives under the Operations & Training Section of the Department. Also maintain volunteer status and work with volunteers on training as a Local Level Instructor with the PA State Fire Academy and accredited with programs from the National Fire Academy and serves as one of the PA Advocates for the National Fallen Fighter Foundation.