2020 SPEAKER RECAP
Below is a list of the speakers from the 2020 ALERRT Virtual Conference.
Session Speakers
Pre/Post Trauma Survival: Building Mental Resiliency Through Training and Awareness
Dr. David Andrews served over 21 years on active duty with the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. David deployed to combat four times, including with Joint Special Operations, before being badly wounded-in-action while serving as a combat advisor in Afghanistan. After medically retiring from active duty due to his wounds, David worked as a Senior Intelligence Officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). David’s assignments with DIA included the Joint Staff and NORAD-US Northern Command, and he was named the 2015 Department of Defense Outstanding Civilian Employee with a Disability. Dr. Andrews currently serves as the President of the Remount Foundation – a non-profit organization that helps military veterans and their families heal through the use of equine assisted learning. David is the Founder and President of Purple Heart Consulting - a management consulting firm specializing in resilience, authentic leadership, and organizational culture. David also served two terms as Colorado’s elected state commander for the Military Order of the Purple Heart, one of the most revered veterans’ service organizations in the United States. David has met with US government leaders - including the President, Congress, and the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs - on the challenges facing Wounded Warriors. Dr. Andrews holds a Doctorate in Management, is an award-winning author on leadership, and is a frequent keynote speaker on resilience, suicide awareness and prevention, and overcoming adversity. Dr. Andrews’ academic work includes serving as a university adjunct professor in management and strategy. Very low key and humble about his service to the United States, Dr. Andrews credits his successful recovery to his wife and their four children for supporting and pushing him every day to get better and adjust to life with injuries. David’s military awards and decorations include the Purple Heart medal and other awards and accolades consistent with combat veterans fortunate enough to return home.
Fire Department Response to Active Shooter Events
Chad is a Lieutenant at Tinker Air Force Base Fire Department, where he's worked the last 18 years. He has worked over 26 years in fire service and has completed multiple combat tours in both his 12 years active-duty in the Marine Corps and 14 years in the Army National Guard. In the Oklahoma Army National Guard he taught the 68W (Health Specialist) course, Combat Lifesaver(CLS) course, and CPR. At Tinker Air Force Base Fire Dept. he helped develop a Tactical Rescue Task Force and implemented the Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) certification training program.
High Consequence Events: A Multidisciplinary Counterterrorism Approach for Protecting the Homeland
Christopher J. Biddle, Ph.D. is a recently retired counter-terrorism specialist from the New York City Police Department. During his twenty-two years in law enforcement, he was a co-founder of the NYPD Counter-terrorism Division Regional Training Center and has trained over 20,000 military, federal, state, and local law enforcement personnel in counter-terrorism training programs.
Christopher introduced, implemented, and coordinated the citywide Hostile Surveillance Detection (HSD) teams since 2006. HSD operations focus on target vulnerabilities, area analysis, intelligence collection, and other investigatory approaches to identify and prevent a terrorist attack during the terrorist pre-operational and operational attack phases. He led operations to provide real-time intelligence and provide the skills necessary to protect critical infrastructure and key resources during elevated threats.
He was a senior training leader and educator offering over 27 years of experience in law enforcement, counter-terrorism, and homeland security.
Christopher also served as a founding Board Member and Publisher of the International Counter-Terrorism Officers Association where he assisted in development of organization strategy, engaged in business development projects, afforded guidance in educational publications and training issues, and provided marketing concepts and designs to promote organizational mission and values.
Being Human. Your Greatest Asset to Ensure Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
Dr. Tau Braun is the Executive Director of the Violence Prevention Agency, a consortium of expert researchers, advisors and educators in the security and safety industry. Dr. Braun is a South African registered Clinical Psychologist and Violence Prevention Specialist.
Dr. Braun earned his Doctorate in Education with a concentration in Organizational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. His dissertation explored the relationship between organizational culture and the implementation of strategies for Workplace Violence Prevention. Dr. Braun is a graduate of the Advanced Threat Assessment and Threat Management Academy of Gavin De Becker and Associates. He has trained with Lt. Col. Grossman, Capt. Robert Martin, Dr. Reid Meloy and Lt. Tom Taylor in Advanced Threat Assessment and Threat Management and with Dr. Stephen White and Dr. Reid Meloy in Workplace Assessment for Violence Risk.
He has worked for and consulted with a wide range of organizations, including educational institutions, shelters, rural and city clinics, hospitals, psychiatric facilities, and maximum-security correctional facilities. He advises and trains individuals, for profit and not-for-profit organizations, and government organizations, in Violence Prevention Strategies, including Threat Assessment and Threat Management.
Dr. Braun serves as an adviser to Safe and Sound Schools (A Sandy Hook Initiative) and Firestorm's Crisis and Emergency Management Expert Council.
4/30/2019: A Debrief of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Active Shooter Event
Steven Brochu is a Major with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and is assigned as the commander of the Special Operations Division where he oversees SWAT, the bomb squad, K-9, and other full-time Special Operations teams. Throughout his 27-year career in law enforcement, he has worked in patrol, street crimes unit, and investigations. Steven has worked in Special Operations since 1997.
In 2005, Steven was selected as a fellow for the Department of Justice. He worked out of the International Association of Chiefs of Police headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia from 2005-2006. As a Department of Justice fellow, he managed the Department of Justice’s Victims of Crime grant program. Steve has been a principal member of the Charlotte Active Shooter Taskforce since the founding in 2013. Steven has two undergraduate degrees and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Long Island University. Steven holds multiple law enforcement instructor certifications.
Community Approach to Prevention, Response, and Resiliency to Acts of Mass Violence
Kevin Burd began his law enforcement career in 1998 with the Hunterdon County (NJ) Department of Corrections and retired as Detective Lieutenant with the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office in 2019. In 2001 he became an operator with the Hunterdon County SWAT Team and transferred to the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office in 2006. During his time with the Prosecutor’s Office he was promoted to Detective Sergeant of the Major Crimes Unit in 2007 and Detective Lieutenant of the Special Operations unit in 2014. The Special Operations Unit consisted of SWAT where Kevin served as County SWAT Commander, Homeland Security where Kevin served as County Counterterrorism Coordinator, Emergency Management, Active Threat Response and School Safety. Between 2012 and 2019, Kevin coordinated the Hunterdon County Safe Campus initiative which included implementation of the I Love U Guys Foundation Standard Response Protocol and Standard Reunification Method along with other nationally recognized grant funded programs and trainings. This initiative was led through partnerships with schools, first responders, businesses, houses of worship and the general public to bring common terminology, actions and plans for a coordinated and integrated response during an active threat incident. During this initiative, Kevin was responsible for training and coordinating trainings for thousands of first responders, educators and students, businesses, houses of worship and civilians. Post retirement, Kevin now serves as an Instructor with the I Love U Guys Foundation, C3 Pathways, the National Center of Biomedical Research Training (NCBRT) at Louisiana State University (LSU) and is the owner of Priority of Life Training and Consulting.
Development of a Comprehensive Active Shooter Program; "The Memphis Model"
Officer Robert Carlson has been with the Memphis TN Police Department since 2009 and is assigned as a Firearms Instructor with the Firearms Training Unit and has been the departments Active Shooter Program Coordinator since the program's inception in 2014. He oversees a cadre of approximately 20 ALERRT Lv1 instructors and over 30 ALERRT CRASE instructors to provide Active Shooter Training to regional Law Enforcement officers, recruits, and local community. He uses his near 20 years’ experience in anti-terrorism, physical security, and exercise development to prepare his community in preventing Active Shooter Events. Serving as the police department’s expert in Active Shooter events, Officer Carlson advises agency and city leadership on Active Shooter response, policy implementation, and multi-agency coordination. Additionally, he is the lead instructor for the Memphis Police Departments Patrol Rifle Program and has developed his agencies Counter Ambush Training. Holding numerous certifications in Active Shooter Instructing from multiple training organizations and government agencies, including ALERRT, NTOA, FLETC, Dept. Army, Dept. Airforce, MO Highway Patrol, TN Dept Safety, among others, he has trained nearly 5,000 officers in Active Shooter over the past 15 years. Robert has worked with numerous international corporations developing their workplace safety protocols relating to Active Threats in the workplace and presented at several international conferences as an expert on Active Shooter Response.
In addition to serving as a police officer, Carlson has spent over 24yrs in the US military, the past 4 years serving as a USAF Special Warfare JTAC, with a total of 6 combat deployments. He previously assisted in the creating of the Military Active Shooter Response training for Central Command and the TN Air National Guard Active Shooter Awareness training.
4/30/2019: A Debrief of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Active Shooter Event
Dr. Mike Clumpner is the President and Chief Executive Officer at Threat Suppression, Incorporated. He is a 28-year veteran of public safety, with 25 years’ experience as a career firefighter/paramedic. Mike currently serves as a full-time fire battalion chief with the Charlotte Fire Department. Mike is also a sworn law enforcement officer with South Carolina’s largest law enforcement agency and has spent the last 10 years assigned to the department’s full-time, Tier One SWAT team as an Operator/Senior Tactical Paramedic.
Mike has undergraduate degrees in fire science, paramedicine, and business administration. He has a master’s degree in business administration and a PhD in homeland security policy. Mike has researched active shooter and terrorist events since 2005, accumulating more than 20,000 hours of personal research. Mike currently serves as a counter-terrorism advisor for numerous federal agencies and NATO Tier One tactical teams.
This WAS NOT in the textbook: Making Contact in an Ever-Evolving World
A 17 year FF/Paramedic in Central Texas, I am currently employed by San Marcos Hays County EMS. Over the last three years, the majority of my public education efforts have centered on Stop The Bleed, which I have been able to present at the ALERRT Conference (2018/2019) and Texas School Safety Conference, among others. I am fortunate that my schedule allows me the ability to have secondary employment, while I teach full time with Austin Community College as a Lead Instructor in the EMT program. I also serve as Adjunct Faculty for the ALERRT Center at Texas State University, and alongside Odin Medical (Tulsa) and 911TacMed (TX) providing TCCC/TECC courses.
I hold Texas certifications in EMS/Fire, various AHA and NAEMT Instructor certifications, TP-C & CP-C through IBSC, and hold a BA in Disaster & Emergency Management. My most recent adventure has been the start-up of my own training company, Come And Take It CPR & Safety Training. I do not enjoy long walks on the beach; the beaches in Texas have jellyfish.
"After it Happens" Critical Incident Recovery: Management of Active Shooter and Mass Casualty Events
Captain Eric DiLorenzo has been with the Myrtle Beach Police Department for over 21 years and currently serves as the Patrol Division Commander and Police Department Liaison for Emergency Management. He has conducted extensive research and provided training related to Active Shooter related topics since 1999 to over 15,000 people. Capt. Di Lorenzo has created numerous Active Shooter plans for business and schools that includes protocols for before, during and after an incident. In 2008, Capt. Di Lorenzo became a member of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Assistance Program (SCLEAP) which remains very active in. SCLEAP recently deployed Capt. Di Lorenzo to Florence South Carolina to offer peer support after a Mass Shooting to which two Law Enforcement Officers were killed in the line of duty.
Captain Di Lorenzo is a graduate of Georgetown University’s (Washington DC) Executive Master’s Degree in Emergency and Disaster Management where his thesis was studying the impact on officers who have responded to Mass Shootings. In addition to recently been appointed as Adjunct Faculty at Georgetown University, he has attended the 268th Session of the FBI National Academy and serves as an instructor in multiple disciplines. He is certified by ALERRT in Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events and Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) as an Active Shooter Response instructor.
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High Consequence Events: A Multidisciplinary Counterterrorism Approach for Protecting the Homeland
Robert Eiler served twenty-two years with the New York City Police Department and retired in the rank of Sergeant. Among various assignments that included plain clothes and narcotics, he was an instructor at the Police Academy. Robert was involved in the rescue and recovery efforts at the World Trade center during 9/11. He went on to train with the Department of Homeland Security in numerous terrorism related classes including Weapons of Mass Destruction. Robert has also acquired vast experience in physical security assessments and Active Shooter Events.
Robert is currently a college professor at SUNY Sullivan Community College and served as the Criminal Justice and Emergency Management Coordinator. He was previously an instructor for the Department of Homeland Security where he provided counter-terrorism related training throughout the country.
Robert received a Master of Science degree at Long Island University.
Observations To a Controlled MCI Experiment and MCI Phases
Graduate of Appalachian State University, with a BSBA. During his time in college he began to enter the field of pre-hospital medicine. As both a Ski Patroller, and member of the Rescue Squad, Alan gained valuable experience in multiple facets of pre-hospital medicine. His experiences have made him indispensable to SOAR. Alan then moved to Charlotte, North Carolina and began working at Mecklenburg EMS Agency as a Paramedic. Then moving through the ranks as a Crew Chief and now as an Assistant Operations Supervisor. Alan has also been a member of the Civil Emergency unit, and a medic operating with the bomb squad. Alan also teaches as an adjunct faculty member in a National Registry accredited Paramedic Program. He also works as the Vice President of the North Carolina Tactical Medicine Association. Alan has brought his knowledge to SOAR, and heads product development.
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Santa Fe High School - A Medic's Perspective
Bridgett Enloe is a paramedic firefighter and former police officer, fire inspector, and arson investigator. Her time in public service spans over 30 years in fire and EMS, with numerous critical incidents adding to her years of experience. This includes responding to Ft. Hood in 2009 and the Santa Fe high School Shooting in May 2018. Her time as a police officer was spent both on patrol and in the Fire marshal's Office. She holds both EMS and Fire Instructor and has currently developed pre-hospital protocols for treating K-9 officers. She has been trained in Critical Incident Stress Management as well as participated in a Post Critical Incident Seminar through the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas. She brings both personal and professional experiences to engage audiences spanning a diverse range of public safety.
The National Fire Protection Association Standard, NFPA 3000TM, Standard for an Active Shooter / Hostile Event Response (ASHER) Program
Chief (retired) Floyd has been a member of the fire service for over 34 years retiring at the rank of Deputy Chief. He began his fire service career volunteering for several local departments in the Groton, Connecticut area. He held a firefighter position at Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics, in Groton, Connecticut, the largest builder of nuclear submarines in the world, for two years after working in the nuclear industry at the Millstone Nuclear Power Station. He was on the initial development team for the State of Connecticut Urban Search and Rescue Team, joined the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s, Urban Search and Rescue Team, MATF 1, and was a squad officer for the deployment to Hurricane Sandy. Chief Floyd began working for the NFPA as a staff liaison, where he was responsible for maintaining 21 documents, seven Technical Committees and several other projects, – some of the documents were specific to Fire Fighter Training, Technical Rescue and Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting. Currently Chief Floyd is the Technical Lead for Responders at NFPA where he is responsible for technical aspects of First Responder engagement and content and directs the NFPA Responder Forum program. Additionally, he has taught technical rescue for over 12 years, has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Fire Protection Engineering, and also has his Executive Fire Officer Program Certificate from the National Fire Academy.
Vernon Gresham has enjoyed forty-three years of public service response and educational services (EMS, Fire Service and Law Enforcement). Numerous regional, national, international, and keynote presentations in the Public Service and Special Events industries, on medical, safety, and security issues. Gresham has served as a police officer and investigator, deputy fire marshal, paramedic and tactical paramedic. Gresham has taught in EMS courses, tactical courses, police academies, hospitals, fire stations, and industrial complexes across North America and has lectured globally. Gresham holds multiple instructor certificates within public service. Gresham formed ‘Public Servant Solutions’ ten years ago to provide dynamic, innovative training to public servants.
RAMP Triage and Adapting Scene Methodologies in an Era of Increased Mass Shootings
Brad Keating currently serves as a Firemedic for Rocky Mountain Fire in Boulder, Colorado. Prior to his work there he served the previous two years as the Medical Program Coordinator for Colorado Springs Fire Department. Additionally, Brad had worked for a decade as a Firemedic for Clearwater Fire and Rescue in Florida where he spent numerous years as a SWAT Medic, Rescue Diver, and Flight Medic. He also has experience as a team leader for an international NGO and has responded to disasters in Haiti, Philippines, Japan, and Nepal.
Brad possesses a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of South Florida where he graduated with Phi Kappa Phi Honor, and is board certified in Public Health. He has spoken at numerous international conferences including the United Nations Disaster Relief Forum in Switzerland, the World Congress on Disaster Medicine in Toronto, has multiple publications in peer reviewed journals and authored a textbook chapter on RAMP Mass Casualty Triage.
THE NEXT STEP: Building upon the Standard Response Protocol foundation
For nearly a decade, Mr. Keyes has represented The "I Love U Guys" Foundation to districts, departments, agencies and organizations regarding school safety. Prior to that, his career has spanned graphic design, communications, writing, software and database development. The death of his daughter, Emily, at the hands of a gunman at Platte Canyon High School compelled Mr. Keyes to bring his professional expertise to the arena of school safety.
Today, Mr. Keyes is an internationally sought keynote speaker not just in the arena of school safety but often presents to law enforcement-only audiences.
Pre/Post Trauma Survival: Building Mental Resiliency Through Training and Awareness
Sean Lawler is a Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). SSA Lawler has conducted international narcotics investigations in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area and he currently is assigned as the DEA Aviation Division's Training Department Supervisor/Chief Instructor Pilot. SSA Lawler was selected as DEA’s Aviation Division 2019 Operational Support Supervisor of the Year. Additionally, SSA Lawler serves as DEA’s Aviation Division Primary Firearms Instructor, Tactical Instructor, Emergency Medical Technician, and Active Shooter Defense Instructor. Prior to joining the DEA, SSA Lawler was a Major in the US Air Force, where he served as an Instructor Pilot providing primary flight instruction for US Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and allied foreign national student pilots. Major Lawler participated in numerous deployments to European, Asian, and Middle Eastern areas of operation where he served as a KC-10A Aircraft Commander providing combat support for enforcement of Iraqi no-fly zones, humanitarian relief missions, and the first-ever combat air-refueling of the B-2 stealth bomber during the Kosovo Campaign. Prior to that, Sean Lawler was a USAF Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Case Officer and Combat Interrogator. While serving in HUMINT collections, Sean Lawler was a recipient of the Director of Central Intelligence National Exceptional Intelligence Collector’s Award.
Dr. Sean Lawler earned his Doctor of Management degree from Colorado Technical University where he concentrated in Homeland Security Studies. Dr. Lawler's doctoral research focused on methods by which school administrators may disrupt an active shooter event or terrorist attack upon an American school. Dr. Lawler graduated from Strayer University in 1994 with a Master of Science Degree in Business Administration and he is a 1992 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, where he studied engineering, counterterrorism, and national security and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science. Dr. Lawler currently serves as an Academy Liaison Officer for the US Air Force Academy, where he mentors and interviews USAFA candidates as part of their application process.
Supporting Training Through Grants
Proudly a Mississippian, Joel’s formal education includes both career/technical programs as an EMT and MS Certified Law Enforcement Officer as well as degrees (AA, BS, MEd and a PhD) with study in the fields of Mathematics, Forensics and Education. Having served as a Police Officer, EMT, Teacher, Administrator, and statewide active shooter training coordinator, he now serves as an Instructor of the Walthall County Law and Public Safety Program and part time as a grant and training consultant, utilizing his various areas of knowledge for the benefit of all stakeholders across the United States. Educating tomorrow’s first responders while working to provide grant assistance, training support and equipment products throughout the nation, Joel strives to continue making a difference and fostering positive change.
Improving Your Personal Resiliency for Active Threat Response
Matt is currently the Assistant Chief of Training & Special Operations for the North Charleston Fire Department where he is the Program Director of the TECC, RTF and TEMS programs, is Infrastructure Protection and Homeland Security Exercise & Evaluation Program (HSEEP) certified and serves on the Area Maritime Security Committee-Active Threat Subcommittee and Berkeley County Active Threat Workgroup. He is also a Maritime Enforcement Specialist in the US Coast Guard Reserves where has served as a Boarding Officer, Agency Representative (Emergency Management), use of force instructor and TCCC instructor and is currently assigned to the Shoreside Security Division of USCG Port Security Unit 305 in Fort Eustis, Virginia. Matt is the president of Kinetic Development Group – leadership, resilience and response consulting, has been an EMT since 2002, is a certified personal fitness trainer and holds degrees in business and occupational safety & health. During his career he has been either directly or indirectly involved in four active threat events, making entry as an ad-hoc RTF in one and considering himself a survivor of another.
Integrating Active Shooter Training through a Community-Based Approach
Glenn Norling is a recently-retired FBI Special Agent, and the Principal at TBR Consulting LLC, providing world-class emergency planning, crisis management, investigation, and active shooter preparation consultation and training.
Glenn is a certified FBI crisis manager, an FBI instructor, and FBI adjunct faculty. Throughout his 20-year career, he worked as a field investigator, a field supervisory special agent, as well as a supervisory special agent at the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group in Quantico, Virginia.
Glenn has trained over 10,000 people in active shooter awareness and preparation since 2014. Glenn has a passion for preparedness. He has extensive experience in national-level training exercises, as well as local critical incident and special event planning, training, preparation and response.
Prior to the FBI, Glenn served for ten years in the United States Air Force as an acquisition program manager, managing both multimillion-dollar weapon systems and state-of-the-art modeling and simulation training systems, separating at the rank of Captain.
Glenn holds a BA in physics from Ohio University, and a MA in organizational management from the University of Phoenix. He is a proud Eagle Scout and Vigil Honor member of the Order of the Arrow.
He is a member of the National Tactical Officers Association, the Pararescue Association, and the Society of Retired Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Glenn is an avid outdoorsman and shooter, and currently serves as a Search and Rescue volunteer. He and his family live in beautiful Lake Tahoe, California.
Anticipating the Unthinkable
Carly Posey is a national speaker and advocate for school safety. Two of her four children were inside Sandy Hook Elementary School when an armed man entered the building on December 14, 2012. The shooter made his way to her son’s first grade classroom, killing his teacher and a classmate. When he stopped to re-load, her son escaped, running to a nearby fire station. Her daughter, who remained hidden inside an art room office, also survived, but the lessons learned were significant. Carly’s other two children were at the intermediate school in Newtown where they were in lockdown the entire school day. The lack of preparedness within the community to respond and recover to such an incident left a lasting impression.
Today, as Mission Director for the “I Love U Guys” Foundation, Carly travels the country sharing her story to promote school safety and preparedness. Her experiences as a parent and a community member provide a compelling, often heartbreaking, case study for the need to prepare for the unthinkable. Carly has previously served as the Executive Director for the Safe2Tell Nonprofit and as Program Director for Anderson Software. She now lives in Colorado with her husband, Dave, and their four children.
Borderline Bar mass shooting, Hill Fire, and Woolsey Fire. Three disasters in 24 hours
J. Scott Quirarte is a Battalion Chief with the Ventura County Fire Department. He is a lead member of the Ventura County Interagency Active Shooter Hostile Event Response Workgroup. This workgroup developed coordinated response procedures including rescue task force operations, fire as a weapon, and Stop the Bleed. Chief Quirarte is the board chair for the International Public Safety Association (IPSA) and member of the RTF and TEMS committee. As vice-chair of the RTF committee he helped developed the IPSA RTF Best Practices Guide. He is the IPSA representative on the NFPA 3000 Technical Committee. Chief Quirarte is an Master Exercise Practitioner (MEP). He has developed and delivered numerous training programs/exercises across the country to a wide array of audiences and disciplines public, private and military.
High Consequence Events: A Multidisciplinary Counterterrorism Approach for Protecting the Homeland
Louis J. Rapoli was a career law enforcement officer for twenty-one years with the New York City Police Department. Louis retired in the rank of Sergeant and was assigned to a citywide counter-terrorism unit where he supervised police officers & detectives in investigatory assignments. His unit also provided ALERRT active shooter response training to school officers and patrol.
Louis has been engaged in a many law enforcement debriefs and lessons learned of both domestic and international High Consequence Events. He has vast expertise in an array of critical areas to include: active attacks; preparation, response and recovery, terrorism, and target hardening. Louis was the recipient of the NYC Police Foundations Hemmerdinger Award in 2013 for his contributions to active shooter response and school-based emergency preparedness.
He graduated from SUNY Empire State College where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with a focus in Emergency Management.
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Santa Fe High School - A Medic's Perspective
Ray Santos M.D. is an Orthopedic Surgeon in Clear Lake Texas. He is currently the Tactical Medical Physician for the Pasadena Texas Police Department SWAT Team and the Combined Area Response Team (SWAT- League City, Pearland and Alvin Police Departments). He also provides medical coverage for the Bay Area Regional Bomb Squad. Dr Santos responded to the Santa Fe High School Shooting in May 2018 as a member of the C.A.R.T Team. Dr Santos also spent 26 years in the United States Navy, both active duty and Reserve. He has served in various Billets in the United States Navy ranging from Undersea Medical Officer for the U.S.Naval Special Warfare Command, Battalion Surgeon for U.S. Marine Corps Infantry and Reconnaissance Battalions, to staff surgeon at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. He has multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan from 2003 to 2012 as a Battalion Surgeon to various U.S. Marine Corps ground combat.
Community Approach to Prevention, Response, and Resiliency to Acts of Mass Violence
James Sellers is currently a Lieutenant with the New Braunfels Fire Department in New Braunfels Texas. He serves in the operations division and is assigned to Special Operations Station #1. Lt. Sellers has been in public safety for 25 years. He is a Master Firefighter, Advanced Peace Officer and Paramedic. He is an adjunct instructor with the ALERRT Program delivering curriculum that is focused on responding to active threats and integrating law enforcement with fire and EMS to provide for better outcomes after acts of mass violence. Lt. Sellers is the chair for the Comal County Active Threat Committee which focuses on better preparing the community through working with all partners private and public to be better prepared to respond. Lt. Sellers also serves as the vice-chair for the Alamo Area Council of Governments steering committee for active threats. As well as helping coordinate better responses within the 22 county region of the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC).
Active Shooters, Media Reporting, and Gun Control: What really influences mortality rate?
Mr. Swift, Ph.D. is a husband, father, and a law enforcement veteran of 22 years. Mr. Swift is a certified TCOLE Peace Officer and currently serves as the Fort Worth City Marshal. Prior to becoming the City Marshal, Mr. Swift rose to the rank of Captain in the Denver Sheriff Department. During his law enforcement career Mr. Swift has served as a City Marshal, Director of Security, Watch Commander, FTO Commander, Gang/Intelligence Unit Commander, K-9 Unit Commander, Internal Affairs Bureau Investigator, Conduct Review Office Sergeant, Emergency Response Unit member and Sergeant, Court Services Sergeant, and as Adjunct Training Academy Instructor. Mr. Swift holds a Ph.D. in Forensic Psychology from Walden University and has also received dual MBA and a BS in Criminal Justice from American International University. Mr. Swift is a published author (Gangs, Outlaw Bikers, Organized Crime & Extremists; Looseleaf Law Publishing), a contributor to Inside Police Psychology: policepsychologyblog.com, and is frequently asked to speak locally and nationally on topics related to gang, criminal, inmate, and law enforcement culture, forensic psychology, and jail gang investigations. Mr. Swift areas of interest included the psychological development of offenders, community psychology, social justice, and the impacts of individual, group, and community isolation on offenders.
Active Shooter Incidents: A Twenty Year Review
Management and Program Analyst Lauren Taflinger has worked five years at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). She started her career at the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center, drafting international information agreements with foreign partners and monitoring the no-fly list. Ms.
Taflinger then transitioned to Headquarters’ Arabic and Kurdish Translation and Deployment Unit, assisting with national program management of field office, legal attaché and headquarters language assets for two (2) years. For the next two (2) years she worked for the Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate’s Intelligence Coordination and Program Management Unit, where she assisted with managing, drafting and overseeing a red-team exercise program, coordinated intelligence products and provided executive briefings.
Ms. Taflinger currently works for the Office of Partner Engagement, Violence Reduction Unit, Active Shooter Program. In that role she collects, tracks and analyzes active shooter incidents and data, as well as providing active shooter presentations to civilian, law enforcement and
military audiences.
Ms. Taflinger graduated from the University of Richmond in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts with majors in both Political Science and Leadership studies, and received her Master’s Certificate of Strategic Warning Analysis from the National Intelligence University in 2017.
Handling Special Needs Students During Active Threat Incidents
Timothy is an active, full-time sworn police lieutenant with the Upper Moreland Township Police Department. He has been with the UMPD for twenty-five years, where he has served as a patrol officer, detective, patrol sergeant and now lieutenant of police. As a lieutenant, he is a member of the command staff for the department, consisting of the chief of police and two lieutenants. He was also a member of the Montgomery County SWAT Team – East Region for 22 years, where he served as an entry team member, entry team leader, and the deputy team commander. He served as a combat medic in the US Army National Guard for 10 years, and am a PA certified EMT and NAEMT TCCC instructor. He holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice and a M.S. in Public Safety Management (concentration in Law Enforcement), both from Saint Joseph’s University. He has been a police instructor for 22 years, and has presented at the ILEETA, IACP, and PA Chief's conferences, and is an NTOA certified Active Shooter instructor.
Borderline Bar mass shooting, Hill Fire, and Woolsey Fire. Three disasters in 24 hours
Chris Walker is a Firefighter/Paramedic with the Ventura County Fire Department. He is the cadre lead of the VCFD TEMS group. Chris has been an integral part of the Ventura Interagency Response group which developed coordinated response procedures including rescue task force operations, fire as a weapon, and Stop the Bleed. Chris is a certified State Fire Training instructor. He has developed and delivered numerous training programs/exercises across the county to a wide array of audiences and disciplines public, private and military.
THE NEXT STEP: Building upon the Standard Response Protocol foundation
A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Dan Weber served with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment from 2008-2012.During his service, Weber deployed twice in combat operations to Helmand Province, Afghanistan as a Fire Team Leader, Designated Marksman, and Combat Lifesaver.
Following his enlistment with the Marine Corps, Weber moved to Texas and was hired as a Deputy Sheriff by the Hays County Sheriff’s Office. He has since worked in patrol and courthouse security before transitioning to his current assignment as the School Resource Officer for the San Marcos Academy.
Weber is also a certified EMT-B, and an Adjunct instructor for the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center in San Marcos, Texas. He has traveled across the country assisting in the training of local Law Enforcement agencies, as well as Fire, EMS, and military.
Daniel has worked with Broaddus Defense as a Physical Penetration tester and Site Security Auditor for school campuses in Texas.
A Portpourri of Thoughts on Leadership and Other Stuff
Craig’s leadership journey began as an Eagle Scout at age 14. Thirty years later, he was the youngest General in the United States Army.
Combined with another nine years as a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES) with the U.S. Marine Corps, he has led thousands of Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Civilians… while serving 10 years in Europe and another 12 in the Pacific. In 2011, he was inducted into the Purdue University Tri-Service ROTC Hall of Fame.
In March 2019, he published a book entitled Leadership: The Art of Inspiring People to Be Their Best, winning three book awards and attaining #1 international bestseller status on Amazon.
Craig is now a Global Fortune 500 Speaker and lives in Bluffton, South Carolina.
Guardian Program in Public School from the Beginning
I was born and raised in Odessa, Texas and graduated from UTPB in December of 1993. Upon graduation, I went to work as a biology teacher and coach. As a teacher and coach, I spent time all over the state of Texas – Odessa, Giddings, Conroe, Athens, San Angelo, and currently in Big Spring. Once in Big Spring, I went into campus administration. I was asked to head up our district guardian program in the spring of 2018 and our school board approved the program in May of 2018. In the spring of 2020, I was hired as the Director of Safety and Security for the school district. I have been married to Carman since 2000. She is an elementary principal in BSISD. We have two daughters – Jordan (18) is a BSISD Graduate and currently a junior at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, Texas and Carter (10) attends Big Spring Intermediate.