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Gaston Boisson, CBCP, MBCI
(Email)
Director, Business Resilience Services Mr. Boisson manages the Business Resilience Services Division of BDA Global and assists as a project manager and Subject Matter Expert on consulting engagements. He is a Certified Business Continuity Professional with the Disaster Recovery Institute International and has developed robust Continuity of Operations Plans for numerous federal, state, and local government organizations, as well as private sector clients. Mr. Boisson has led multiple successful organizational improvement engagements, and has developed Business Continuity Plans for a number of reputable organizations including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, American Psychological Association, and the Department of Veterans' Affairs. He has spoken to numerous business and community groups about the importance of effective business continuity planning and is recognized as one of the nation's leaders in the field of business continuity. Mr. Boisson serves on the Association of Contingency Planners (ACP) corporate board as Director of International Chapters and was formerly a two-term President of the DC and Mid Atlantic Chapter of the ACP, the largest and most prominent of organizations for professionals involved in Emergency Preparedness and Continuity of Operations Planning in the United States. Mr. Boisson worked directly with the Pan American Development Foundation in performing trainings to improve Disaster Management outcomes over the past 4 years. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from the George Washington University. |
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Linda Kleckner, Esq.
(Email)
Director, Process Improvement Services Ms. Kleckner serves as Director of Process Improvement Services for BDA Global and is an experienced government contracting professional with over 30 years of experience. Ms. Kleckner manages process-reengineering projects and has significant expertise in E-Government, Customer Relations, Human Resource Planning, and Business Resilience Planning. She is an attorney by training with two law degrees, including a Masters in contracts law. Ms. Kleckner has worked as Senior Executive at two fortune 500 companies and also as a member of the Senior Executive Service in the US Federal Government. Ms. Kleckner's experience includes serving as a Senior Vice President at American Express, where she headed the top-rated credit card call center in the US. She also has in-depth knowledge of the consumer financial services industry, having served as a top regulator of a Federal financial regulatory agency. Ms. Kleckner has also served as an appointed advisor to the Consumer Advisory Council to the Federal Reserve Board, wherein she directly advised the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Prior to this, Ms. Kleckner served as Chief of Staff at Citigroup where she maintained responsibility for day-to day operations and headed all event planning for Citigroup's Western Division. Ms. Kleckner has been involved in developing internal controls and policies and procedures for the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Asset Sales Office. She reengineered the Student Financial Aid process for the Department of Education, has developed marketing plans for a range of clients, and has run programs that include meeting planning functions for her corporate clients. Ms. Kleckner has an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Anthropology from the State University of New York, a law degree from the American University Washington College of Law, and a government contracts law degree from George Washington University. |
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Ron French, CBCP
(Email)
Director, Governmental Resilience Services Mr. French has vast experience in developing, implementing, and testing emergency management plans, for public and private organizations. Over the past 20 years he has developed dozens of emergency management and contingency plans, for a number of agencies within the US Department of Defense and for the White House. His experience includes developing Department of Defense (DoD) business continuity and disaster recovery program and policies, and overseeing worldwide emergency management planning for Defense Department human resource operations, staff, facilities, equipment, and associated automated data systems. He also regularly trained White House security and contingency management personnel on details and objectives of prescribed Federal, DoD, and private industry contingency management practices. Mr. French is a Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) with the Disaster Recovery Institute International and has had a successful career at brining his clients to the point of effective preparedness. Mr. French earned his Bachelor of Business and Administration in Personnel Management, Saint Mary's University. Mr. French speaks Spanish. |
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Adam Boltz, MSc., CISSP, PMP
(Email)
Director, Technical Services Mr. Boltz is the Technical Director for BDA Global, and manages the Continuum BCP software application while serving as a senior IT consultant for multiple clients. Mr. Boltz has supported risk assessments and Business Impact Analyses (BIAs) for federal, state, and local government organizations as well as for the private sector. Recent clients have included the City of Red Deer, Workforce West Virginia, UNIBANK Haiti, and others. For the Alberta Solicitor General, Mr. Boltz developed a custom risk tracking and management tool, Continuum Risk. Mr. Boltz has served as Lead Software Developer on Department of Justice and Department of Defense contracts with work including web application development and cutting-edge cloud computing technologies. Mr. Boltz is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and a certified Project Management Professional. He received a Bachelors degree with honors in Computer Science and Psychology from Pennsylvania State University and received a Masters degree in Computer Science from George Mason University. |
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William Brandt, AMBCI
(Email)
Country Director, Haiti Mr. Brandt is the Country Director for BDA Global in Haiti. As a North American-trained Haitian National and executive with extensive knowledge of the social-economic, political, and business strata in Haiti, Mr. Brandt in collaboration with BDA Global, offers technical and operational risk management, emergency preparedness, disaster management, continuity of government, and business continuity planning services. Most recently, Mr. Brandt served as Business Continuity Planning Subject Matter Expert while engaged with UNIBANK Haiti to develop a continuity program and plans for Haiti's largest bank.Mr. Brandt has successfully completed with merit, the Certification Examination of the Business Continuity Institute, an internationally recognized Certification for Business Continuity Management practitioners. Mr. Brandt is the former Vice President of the Haitian Red Cross and former Risk Management Manager at Brasserie Nationale d'Haiti S.A, a beer & soft drink manufacturer and one of Haiti's largest companies. Mr. Brandt holds a Bachelor of Arts from University of Montreal and a Bachelor Of Chemical Engineering from McGill University. |
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Douglas Kinney, MPA
(Email)
Senior Manager, Emergency Management Subject Matter Expert Mr. Kinney is an experienced risk/threat/contingency planner, crisis manager, and program manager. He has extensive crisis management experience at the field and headquarters leadership levels and has performed crisis/emergency/disaster planning, training, exercises and response for the U.S. Government, the private sector, NGOs and foreign officials. Mr. Kinney has also performed crisis readiness/response/resilience/recovery work with civilian agencies, the military, FEMA, Embassies and Consulates General worldwide, the NATO Alliance, major facilities such as Manila's Ninoy Aquino Airport, and major events such as the Turin Winter Olympics and the Beijing Olympic Games. Mr. Kinney brings to crisis planning and exercises extensive experience with crisis response and contingency planning for continuity of operations including serving on five Embassy Emergency Action Committees (EAC), 32 crisis Task Forces, and NATO Civil Emergency Planning (CEP) interagency Delegations. He has served as EAC Chair, Task Force Coordinator, Chair of the Interagency Group on Civil Emergency Planning, and Head of Delegation to the NATO CEP Plenary at Brussels. Mr. Kinney has performed crisis management of earthquakes, tropical storms, epidemics, insurgency, mass civil disorder, ethnic strife, political repression, disputed elections, political killings, sabotage, skyjackings, diplomatic & consular kidnappings, Embassy evacuation under fire, UN peacekeeping, peace enforcement, protection zones, and expeditionary theatre warfare. He has extensive experience in emergency scenarios and has contributed to MIT's CASCON crisis management computer program and Harvard's crisis case studies series. Currently, Mr. Kinney serves as Manager (Life Safety) for the Red Cross national-level Disaster Services response effort DSHR for such responses as Hurricane Katrina; on the Red Cross/NTSB national Critical Response Team (CRT) for mass casualty contingencies such as major air crashes and WMD events; on the International Disaster Response Roster for deployment as an International Delegate in support of Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement (IFRC) disaster response operations overseas; and as Life Safety and Asset Protection (LSAP) safety and security Co-Lead for the Red Cross chapters of the National Capital Region (NCR) for major disasters such Hurricane Isabel and seasonal flooding, and for National Special Security Events (NSSE). |
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Erik Gaull, CBCP, CEM, CPP, PMP
(Email)
Senior Security and Emergency Management Subject Matter Expert Mr. Gaull has over a decade of experience as a consultant and educator specializing in corporate security and resilience, public safety, and homeland security. Mr. Gaull has worked on projects in the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East for the private sector and for key U.S. government national security agencies, several publishers, and numerous local governments. Mr. Gaull has been awarded three premier peer-conferred professional designations - Certified Emergency Manager®, Certified Protection Professional®, and Project Management Professional®. Additionally, he has earned both the Advanced Professional Series and the Professional Development Series recognitions from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He is a Nationally Registered EMT-Paramedic, a National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications-certified Fire Officer III and Fire Instructor III, a hazardous materials technician, and a law enforcement officer. Mr. Gaull served as head of the Operational Improvements Division in the mayor's office of one of the largest cities in the United States. On September 11, 2001, he played a key role in managing the city's emergency operations center. In the months following, Mr. Gaull was a key player in overhauling the city's emergency preparedness, and management framework and procedures. Prior to joining the mayor's office, Mr. Gaull spent over seven years in management consulting for public sector emergency services. In addition to completing the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Mr. Gaull has a Master of Business Administration from Georgetown University, a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University, and a B.A. in Urban Studies from Columbia University. |
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Bill Kmetz
(Email)
Senior Manager, Government Resilience Services Mr. Kmetz serves as a Senior Manager and Subject Matter Expert for BDA Global and has extensive experience in emergency preparedness, emergency management, continuity of operations plan development, and designing and implementing Training, Testing and Exercise (TT&E) events and programs. In recent years, Mr. Kmetz has led several business continuity planning projects and developed and conducted a series of BCP and emergency preparedness tabletop exercises for a range of governmental, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations in the United States and abroad. Mr. Kmetz is the former Assistant Director of the Division of Administration at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In this position for over a decade, he was responsible directing the FDIC's physical and personnel security programs as well as the business continuity/disaster preparedness and transportation management programs. Mr. Kmetz also previously served as the Chief of the Investigations and Inquiries Branch, Office of Contractor Oversight & Surveillance, at Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC). Mr. Kmetz holds an inactive Top Secret clearance. |
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Merri-Ann Cooper, PhD.
(Email)
Senior Consultant, Business Process Improvement Dr. Cooper is a Business Process Improvement Senior Consultant with BDA Global and a highly accomplished researcher and consultant with over 20 years of experience. Dr. Cooper has conducted several projects for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, including projects for the Office of the Director, the Office of Science Management and Operations, three divisions and two laboratories. She consulted on a process analysis, and process and structure change project for the Division of Extramural Activities. Dr. Cooper consulted on an organizational assessment and change project for two offices in the Office of Science Management and Operations, including the Office of Communications and Government Relations. She managed a project for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, concerning the assessment of IT services. She facilitated a strategic planning workshop for a non-profit organization, where she guided the development of a vision for the organization and assisted stakeholders to identify the goals and strategies that would support the vision. Dr. Cooper also has extensive experience in conducting benchmarking studies to identify best practices in recruitment, administrative services, the grants process, policy development and communication. In addition, she managed projects for the World Bank, the FBI, the Navy, and the U.S. DOT. Dr. Cooper engages a highly collaborative approach in working with high-ranking executives to identify root causes of pervasive issues, and analyze organization structures, processes, and communications. |
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April Allison, Esq.
(Email)
Senior Consultant, Process Improvement Services Ms. Allison is a business process improvement consultant with specialties in international business and contracting and a background in business litigation, corporate analytics and organizational analysis. She has worked on multiple international contracts as well as special business research assignments. As an Associate at Martin & Drought and Blakeley & Reynolds she successfully represented large conglomerate firms through her expertise in corporate legal defense. As a consultant, Ms. Allison has advised clients in the infrastructure and manufacturing sectors, and served on large analytic projects. |
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Chris Shiplett, Esq.
(Email)
Technical Advisor Mr. Shiplett is the architect of the "CONTINUUM" Business Impact Analysis and Business Continuity Planning Software and manages the tool's operations and ongoing enhancements. As a software developer, he served as lead engineer for three large web-based software development projects for the Department of Defense over the last five years. These projects include the development of a Content Management Portal for the US Army and the design and development of a requirements management system for the US Marine Corps. In addition, he led development of a production system for the above mentioned pilot, expanding the scope of the user base to the entire Marine Corps. Mr. Shiplett received his undergraduate degree in English from Mary Washington College and his law degree from George Mason University. |
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Bert Figueroa
(Email)
Senior Bank Examiner Mr. Figueroa is a Financial Services professional with over 20 years experience encompassing a full range of banking assignments including Operations, Mortgages, Investments, Relationship Management & Commercial Lending. The diversity and breadth of Mr. Figueroa's career has honed his skills in the areas of business development, portfolio management, lending, and risk management. He served as Vice President and Senior Lending Specialist of the Citigroup Private Bank in Los Angeles, CA. Mr. Figueroa earned his bachelor's degree in Economics from Harvard University and has held Series 7 and 63 licenses. |
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Leona Osborne, Esq. MA, ABCP
(Email)
Senior Consultant, Business Continuity Planning Ms. Osborne is a certified Associate Business Continuity Professional and Senior Consultant with expertise in technical writing, documentation, and process review. Her experience includes serving as a key consultant on a number of high profile BDA projects, including serving as the lead writer on a project to develop an industry workbook for the American Bar Association, supporting projects to develop BCPs for the City of Raleigh and the State of West Virginia, and working on projects to review the continuity strategy for the International Monetary Fund and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Ms. Osborne holds a Master of Arts in International Relations and a Law Degree from Boston University. |
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Sarah Meghji, MSc.
(Email)
Consultant, Business Continuity Planning Ms. Meghji is a consultant with expertise in providing Business Continuity Planning (BCP) services including gap analyses and risk management assessments, business impact analyses, and effectiveness assessments to the public and private sectors. Ms. Meghji's role with BDA Global has included support on a number of local and state government projects including contracts with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), UNIBANK Haiti, Children's National Medical Center, and the City of Raleigh. Prior to her work with BDA, Ms. Meghji was working as Research Consultant and Project Manager for Fortune 500 companies to provide specialized research and analytics in the areas of organization development, business strategy, operations effectiveness and business process improvement. Ms. Meghji has conducted primary research by way of interviews, on-site visits, focus groups and survey administration and has experience gathering and collating large data sets to identify key trends, areas for improvement and best practices. Ms. Meghji is trained to use SPSS for predictive analytics forecasting and has managed international and remote project teams ranging from 4 to 25 people. Meghji has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Relations from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Science in Management from a top-ranking European Business School. |
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