Tom, who holds a Bachelor of Science from Rutgers State University, was a member of the U.S. Coast Guard where he sailed on two, 378’ Cutters followed by tours at U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Headquarters in Washington D.C. & Marine Safety Office Philadelphia as a Port State Control Inspector. Upon departing the USCG, Tom entered into the Qualified Individual/Incident Management Team (QI/IMT) field where he has been for over 25 years of which over 20 have been with Gallagher Marine Systems (GMS). Tom has extensive project management & response experience having been involved in management of numerous incident responses in his QI & USCG careers. He has acted in many capacities such as Incident Commander (IC), Operations Section Chief, Logistics Section Chief & more for incidents in many locations throughout Canada and the U.S. East, Gulf and West coasts. He was most recently acting as IC for the M/V Golden Ray (vessel capsize – St. Simons, GA), Deputy IC for a pipeline release in the port of New York 2016-18, IC for a bunker spill in New Orleans along the Mississippi River (2018) & IC for a black oil spill in New York Harbor in April of 2019 leading up to the Golden Ray. Tom was promoted to President of GMS in June of 2022. He is currently leading the merger of recently acquired ECM Maritime Services with GMS forming the largest QI provider in the business. Tom has been published & has been invited to speak on several professional panels including:• Athens, Greece: "Regulatory Trends in the United States: A focus on prevention & preparedness for shipowners" at the British Hellenic/ Chamber of Shipping's "Shipping Today & Tomorrow" Conference. • Portland, Oregon: "Balancing Response Operations with Safety, the Environment, & Commerce" IOSC• Stamford, Connecticut: Connecticut Maritime Association (CMA) “A practical review of regulatory developments in China, the Panama Canal & Argentina and how they affect and apply to shipowners trading there” at the Connecticut Maritime Association’s North American Shipping & Trade Exposition.• Washington, D.C.: “The PREP program and its effect on SMFF in the US” at the American Salvage Association’s National Maritime Salvage Conference & Expo – Weathering the Storm”.• Jekyll Island, Georgia: Georgia Environmental Conference. “Emergency Response: Managing Liabilities During the Initial Response To A Hazardous Material Release”• Yorktown, Virginia: Tom regularly provides lectures to Senior USCG personnel at the U.S. Coast Guard’s leadership course (OSC Crisis Management Course – USCG Marine Safety School).