I’m a risk management and organizational resilience professional with 25 years of public safety, homeland security, and emergency management experience; over a decade teaching graduate-level crisis, emergency, and risk management courses; and more than four years privately advising organizations in various industries on business continuity, security, and risk management, including defense manufacturing firms, Fortune 500 companies, and large universities.I began my career as a frontline firefighter and paramedic, but after graduate school shifted my focus to emergency management. As Director of the Howard County (Maryland) Office of Emergency Management, I directed teams in developing plans and capabilities and coordinated response and recovery efforts following numerous emergencies and disasters—including the 2016 and 2018 catastrophic flash floods in Ellicott City, Maryland. Because of our pre-disaster planning and capacity-building, my team was able to immediately initiate response and recovery, which lessened the impacts on residents and businesses. These efforts led to very high business recovery rates and national recognition by FEMA, which authored a white paper detailing lessons learned.When I retired from public service, I made the jump to business continuity and enterprise risk management. I’m passionate about my work because I find it rewarding to see leaders' confidence soar in the face of uncertainty when they have a firm grip on their organization’s enterprise objectives and how to protect them.I’m also an adjunct professor at The George Washington University, where I teach graduate students in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Outside academia, I enjoy the opportunity to guide and mentor others in the field, with the success of former students and staff being one of my proudest achievements.If we have a common interest in any of the above, I’d love to hear from you.