Amber Schindeldecker is the Public Information Officer for the Emergency Communication Networks division and the Homeland Security and Emergency Management division of the Department of Public Safety. Prior to public service, Amber worked in TV news for 12 years at stations across the nation in various roles. She ended her TV news career as the 10 p.m. news producer at KARE-11 in Golden Valley. Amber is a creative storyteller and a strategic communicator. She facilitates regular training opportunities on topics such as: effective communication, social media strategies and media management.

Kathy Jorgensen graduated from North Dakota State University in 1991 with a B.S. in microbiology and from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine in 1995. In 2011, she completed a master’s degree in public health from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Jorgensen achieved Diplomate status in the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine in 2011. She is the coordinator of the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps. She has been active in agricultural disaster preparedness and response and the state’s Radiologic Emergency Preparedness Program. She is a certified FEMA trainer for four radiologic/nuclear hazards courses and is ProBoard certified at the Hazardous Materials, Operations Level. She is a current member of the National Animal Decon Working Group. She serves as a Planning Section Chief in the Minnesota Board of Animal Health incident management team. She and her husband run a beef farm in central Minnesota, and she enjoys spending time with their Border Collie, Alice, four cats and numerous chickens.

Blain Johnson Paramount Planning Blain Johnson is the owner of Paramount Planning, an emergency management consulting business started in 2015. He currently serves as the Lac qui Parle County Emergency Management Director and works with the Arrowhead Region Emergency Management Association (AREMA) in Northeast MN and other clients on selected Homeland Security projects. Blain formerly interned in the U.S. Senate, and holds a B.S. in Emergency Management from NDSU and an M.S. in Biodefense from George Mason University. He is also the current President of the Emerging Professionals Group under AMEM’s Professional Development Committee.

David Morrison is a Federal On scene Coordinator with the U.S. EPA in Region 5. He works in the Emergency Response Branch and has been involved in hazardous substance and oil spill incidents as well as natural disaster cleanup response and is located in St. Paul, MN.

Bob Jacobson is the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Bob Jacobson was appointed the 15th commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety by Gov. Tim Walz in January 2023. Prior to his appointment, Jacobson served as the interim deputy assistant commissioner in the Department of Human Services. Previously, he served for more than 33 years in active law enforcement including 16 years as the director of public safety/chief of police for the City of New Brighton where he led their police, fire, and emergency management operations. He also served as interim police chief for the City of Stillwater during a leadership transition. Jacobson also served as the interim inspector general for the Department of Human Services. He served as the professional development director for the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, coordinating and implementing statewide and regional training and conferences for the Association. Jacobson has a B.A. from Bethel University in Organizational Leadership and attended the Senior Management Institute for Police conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum.

Blain Johnson Paramount Planning Blain Johnson is the owner of Paramount Planning, an emergency management consulting business started in 2015. He currently serves as the Lac qui Parle County Emergency Management Director and works with the Arrowhead Region Emergency Management Association (AREMA) in Northeast MN and other clients on selected Homeland Security projects. Blain formerly interned in the U.S. Senate, and holds a B.S. in Emergency Management from NDSU and an M.S. in Biodefense from George Mason University. He is also the current President of the Emerging Professionals Group under AMEM’s Professional Development Committee.

Kristen Tschida has been the Emergency Management Director for Benton County since 2023. Prior to that she was an Emergency Management Specialist with Stearns County for 9 years. She is currently Chair of the Professional Development Committee, which also oversees the Emerging Professionals Group. Kristen has been actively involved with AMEM for the past six years and has also served as Vice Chair of the Central MN Emergency Management Advisory Committee (CM EMAC) as well as Chair of the Training and Exercise Committee for CM EMAC. Kristen is a graduate of the College of Saint Benedict with a degree in Business Management.

Dan Anderson is Senior Coordinator for Public Warning and Communications for Hennepin County Emergency Management where he oversees Hennepin County’s Public Warning program and ensures that the Hennepin County Emergency Operations Center maintains and operates voice and data communications pathways. He is a Minnesota-certified Emergency Manager, State-recognized Communications Unit Leader, a member of the MESB Communications Response Task Force (CRTF) and MN-1 All-Hazard Incident Management Team (AHIMT). He authored the alternate and auxiliary communications plans for Super Bowl 52, coordinated and managed Hennepin County’s IPAWS alerting for the April 2021 Brooklyn Park civil unrest and was Situation Unit Leader for the Hennepin County Emergency Operations Center COVID-19 response.

Gwen Martin has been with Cottage Grove’s Department of Public Safety since 2000 having previously worked as a community mental health social worker for 10 years. She is a licensed peace officer and a paramedic and holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology and graduate degrees in Police Leadership and Emergency Management. While obtaining her National Emergency Management Advanced Academy certificate from FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute in 2022, she published a paper examining the phenomenon of posttraumatic growth and how it could be integrated into the disaster recovery process. Additionally, Gwen has deployed to wildfires, civil unrest, flooding, and other emergencies as a member of Minnesota’s Type 3 All Hazards Incident Management Team (MN-1 AHIMT) and of a MNICS Type 3 Incident Management Team. Gwen brings with her a wealth of background experience in social work, paramedicine, law enforcement, and emergency management.

Eric Athman is the full-time Operations Director for the Minnesota Department of Military Affairs. LTC Eric Athman also serves as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the 34th Infantry Division headquartered in Arden Hills, Minnesota. LTC Athman enlisted as a rifleman in Company A, 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry in April 2003. He was later commissioned as a Second Lieutenant through the Army ROTC program in 2006. LTC Athman served ten years with the 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment, which draws it regimental lineage from the 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment. He deployed as an infantry platoon leader to Kosovo in 2007-2008. LTC Athman later deployed as an Infantry Heavy Weapons Company Commander to Kuwait and Iraq in 2011-2012. He served as an operations planner at the Brigade and Division levels. LTC Athman was then selected to be the Executive Officer of the 2nd Battalion, 136th Infantry Regiment. He was promoted and assigned to the 34th Infantry Division as the Deputy Chief of Staff. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Expert Infantry, Airborne, and the Air Assault Badges. LTC Athman earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Saint Cloud State University and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas. He completed a Public Policy Fellowship at the University of Minnesota. LTC Athman is a graduate of the Infantry Officers’ Basic and Advanced courses, as well as the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Beyond his military service, LTC Athman volunteers for BestPrep, a non-profit that assists high schools in teaching financial literacy topics. He is a Certified Public Accountant and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants. LTC Athman is a life member of the National Guard Association of the United States and the Minnesota National Guard Officer Association. He is an active member in the Association of Minnesota Emergency Managers. LTC Athman maintains status as an Emergency Management Assistance Compact A-Team member and holds a Basic Emergency Management Certificate. LTC Athman resides in Lake Elmo, Minnesota with his wife, Mira and daughter, Asha.

Matt Pollmann is the Lake County Emergency Management Director since September 2020. He has a background in emergency management and public health and holds a Master’s in Emergency Management from Georgetown University.

I have been in the fire service for 40 years as a volunteer firefighter, 12 years as Fire Chief, 12 years as an EMT, 25 years as a fire instructor, and 10 years as Lyon County Emergency Management Coordinator.

Kristen Tschida has been the Emergency Management Director for Benton County since 2023. Prior to that she was an Emergency Management Specialist with Stearns County for 9 years. She is currently Chair of the Professional Development Committee, which also oversees the Emerging Professionals Group. Kristen has been actively involved with AMEM for the past six years and has also served as Vice Chair of the Central MN Emergency Management Advisory Committee (CM EMAC) as well as Chair of the Training and Exercise Committee for CM EMAC. Kristen is a graduate of the College of Saint Benedict with a degree in Business Management.

Dan Anderson is Senior Coordinator for Public Warning and Communications for Hennepin County Emergency Management where he oversees Hennepin County’s Public Warning program and ensures that the Hennepin County Emergency Operations Center maintains and operates voice and data communications pathways. He is a Minnesota-certified Emergency Manager, State-recognized Communications Unit Leader, a member of the MESB Communications Response Task Force (CRTF) and MN-1 All-Hazard Incident Management Team (AHIMT). He authored the alternate and auxiliary communications plans for Super Bowl 52, coordinated and managed Hennepin County’s IPAWS alerting for the April 2021 Brooklyn Park civil unrest and was Situation Unit Leader for the Hennepin County Emergency Operations Center COVID-19 response.

Gwen Martin has been with Cottage Grove’s Department of Public Safety since 2000 having previously worked as a community mental health social worker for 10 years. She is a licensed peace officer and a paramedic and holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology and graduate degrees in Police Leadership and Emergency Management. While obtaining her National Emergency Management Advanced Academy certificate from FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute in 2022, she published a paper examining the phenomenon of posttraumatic growth and how it could be integrated into the disaster recovery process. Additionally, Gwen has deployed to wildfires, civil unrest, flooding, and other emergencies as a member of Minnesota’s Type 3 All Hazards Incident Management Team (MN-1 AHIMT) and of a MNICS Type 3 Incident Management Team. Gwen brings with her a wealth of background experience in social work, paramedicine, law enforcement, and emergency management.

Eric Athman is the full-time Operations Director for the Minnesota Department of Military Affairs. LTC Eric Athman also serves as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the 34th Infantry Division headquartered in Arden Hills, Minnesota. LTC Athman enlisted as a rifleman in Company A, 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry in April 2003. He was later commissioned as a Second Lieutenant through the Army ROTC program in 2006. LTC Athman served ten years with the 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment, which draws it regimental lineage from the 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment. He deployed as an infantry platoon leader to Kosovo in 2007-2008. LTC Athman later deployed as an Infantry Heavy Weapons Company Commander to Kuwait and Iraq in 2011-2012. He served as an operations planner at the Brigade and Division levels. LTC Athman was then selected to be the Executive Officer of the 2nd Battalion, 136th Infantry Regiment. He was promoted and assigned to the 34th Infantry Division as the Deputy Chief of Staff. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Expert Infantry, Airborne, and the Air Assault Badges. LTC Athman earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Saint Cloud State University and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas. He completed a Public Policy Fellowship at the University of Minnesota. LTC Athman is a graduate of the Infantry Officers’ Basic and Advanced courses, as well as the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Beyond his military service, LTC Athman volunteers for BestPrep, a non-profit that assists high schools in teaching financial literacy topics. He is a Certified Public Accountant and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants. LTC Athman is a life member of the National Guard Association of the United States and the Minnesota National Guard Officer Association. He is an active member in the Association of Minnesota Emergency Managers. LTC Athman maintains status as an Emergency Management Assistance Compact A-Team member and holds a Basic Emergency Management Certificate. LTC Athman resides in Lake Elmo, Minnesota with his wife, Mira and daughter, Asha.

Matt Pollmann is the Lake County Emergency Management Director since September 2020. He has a background in emergency management and public health and holds a Master’s in Emergency Management from Georgetown University.

I have been in the fire service for 40 years as a volunteer firefighter, 12 years as Fire Chief, 12 years as an EMT, 25 years as a fire instructor, and 10 years as Lyon County Emergency Management Coordinator.

Blain Johnson Paramount Planning Blain Johnson is the owner of Paramount Planning, an emergency management consulting business started in 2015. He currently serves as the Lac qui Parle County Emergency Management Director and works with the Arrowhead Region Emergency Management Association (AREMA) in Northeast MN and other clients on selected Homeland Security projects. Blain formerly interned in the U.S. Senate, and holds a B.S. in Emergency Management from NDSU and an M.S. in Biodefense from George Mason University. He is also the current President of the Emerging Professionals Group under AMEM’s Professional Development Committee.

Dr. Kenneth (“Kenny”) Blumenfeld is a climate scientist who grew up in Minnesota with a love for storms, blizzards, and being outside. He works for the Minnesota State Climatology Office (Department of Natural Resources), where he provides the state’s agencies, communities, and citizens with up-to-date scientific information about Minnesota’s changing and variable climate. He also works in a separate capacity with Hennepin County Emergency Management, and is a member of AMEM. Kenny enjoys telling and hearing weather stories, and often does it long after the workday is done.

Eric Waage is the Director of Emergency Management for Hennepin County, Minnesota, a metropolitan jurisdiction of over 1.2 million people. He leads the county’s continuity, readiness, disaster response and recovery efforts. Since becoming director in 2011 he helped navigate Hennepin County through three federally-declared disasters (and one Super Bowl). Waage also provided planning assistance to the State of Alabama after the 2011 Tornado Outbreak; helped coordinate air operations for the State of New York after Superstorm Sandy in 2012; and established several food and water distribution points on the Florida Keys after Hurricane Irma in 2017. He holds a Bachelor of Science in geography as well as a masters in strategic studies from the United States Army War College.

Shane Sheets is an experienced medicolegal death investigator and is the Director of the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office where he manages a team of forensic pathologists, medicolegal death investigators, forensic technicians, and support staff. He holds an MBA with an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice/Criminology. He is a diplomat of the American Board if Medicolegal Death Investigators and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners.

Julie Anderson, Douglas County Emergency Management Director and Public Information Office Julie Anderson currently serves as the Emergency Management Director and Public Information Officer for Douglas County. Previously she worked as the External Affairs Coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Her duties included public information for the divisions of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and Emergency Communication Networks. She was also a member of the IPAWS Committee. Anderson began her career as a journalist. She spent 13 years with metro area television stations working in investigative units.

Eric Waage is the Director of Emergency Management for Hennepin County, Minnesota, a metropolitan jurisdiction of over 1.2 million people. He leads the county’s continuity, readiness, disaster response and recovery efforts. Since becoming director in 2011 he helped navigate Hennepin County through three federally-declared disasters (and one Super Bowl). Waage also provided planning assistance to the State of Alabama after the 2011 Tornado Outbreak; helped coordinate air operations for the State of New York after Superstorm Sandy in 2012; and established several food and water distribution points on the Florida Keys after Hurricane Irma in 2017. He holds a Bachelor of Science in geography as well as a masters in strategic studies from the United States Army War College.

Shane Sheets is an experienced medicolegal death investigator and is the Director of the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office where he manages a team of forensic pathologists, medicolegal death investigators, forensic technicians, and support staff. He holds an MBA with an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice/Criminology. He is a diplomat of the American Board if Medicolegal Death Investigators and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners.

Julie Anderson, Douglas County Emergency Management Director and Public Information Office Julie Anderson currently serves as the Emergency Management Director and Public Information Officer for Douglas County. Previously she worked as the External Affairs Coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Her duties included public information for the divisions of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and Emergency Communication Networks. She was also a member of the IPAWS Committee. Anderson began her career as a journalist. She spent 13 years with metro area television stations working in investigative units.

Jeff T. Dyar, B.S. NREMT-P, EFO Not long after becoming an EMT he enlisted and served as a combat medic during the Vietnam war. Jeff describes himself as first a teacher and then a provider and has held positions in public, private, military, and federal capacities focusing on EMS. Known as the architect of EMS management programs at the National Fire Academy, he spent nearly twelve years in the post of Program Chair for EMS in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He also responded with FEMA to dozens of national emergencies and achieved the level of Chief of Operations at the National Interagency Operation Center in Washington, D.C. Over the years James O. Page mentored and tormented him to bring leadership and meaning to national EMS. In 1999 Jeff received the James O. Page Award for contributions to advancing EMS on a national level, given by the EMS Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. He has co-authored three books: Management of Emergency Medical Services, Prentiss Hall, Principals of Crew Resource Management, Jones and Bartlett and From Burnout to Balance, Pearson Publishing. Jeff and his wife Val, live in in a small rural town in Colorado, where he served as a Fire Commissioner of a fire protection district providing ALS level EMS services to a 258 square mile response area.

Alison Feigh, MS, is the Director of Jacob Wetterling Resource Center, a program of Zero Abuse Project. In her 20+ years of missing children advocacy, she works with students, parents, youth workers, faith leaders, law enforcement and the media to help prevent childhood abuse and abductions. Alison’s work also includes writing curriculum for youth- serving organizations, training professionals about online challenges kids face and advocating for families of the missing. She is the author of two children’s books and co-author of a textbook, Sex Crimes and Offenders: Exploring Questions of Character and Culture.

Blain Johnson Paramount Planning Blain Johnson is the owner of Paramount Planning, an emergency management consulting business started in 2015. He currently serves as the Lac qui Parle County Emergency Management Director and works with the Arrowhead Region Emergency Management Association (AREMA) in Northeast MN and other clients on selected Homeland Security projects. Blain formerly interned in the U.S. Senate, and holds a B.S. in Emergency Management from NDSU and an M.S. in Biodefense from George Mason University. He is also the current President of the Emerging Professionals Group under AMEM’s Professional Development Committee.