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.

Jennifer Lindberg is the Exercise/Training Officer at HSEM. She previously worked as a Minneapolis Firefighter/EMT, a state inspector for the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, and as a Deputy State Fire Marshal for the South Dakota Fire Marshal Office. She is a Minnesota Certified Emergency Manager, a University of Minnesota alumna, and a graduate of EMI’s Master Exercise Practitioner Program.

Randy W. Johnson is Director of the MN School Safety Center (MnSSC), MN HSEM. Johnson served 32 years as a law enforcement officer and emergency manager. The MnSSC annually trains 1600 school officials and their public safety partners in a wide range of school safety topics. The MnSSC also trains state School Resource Officers and provides Multi-Hazard Emergency Operations Planning for Schools. In addition, the MnSSC provides Safe School Facility Assessment services to all MN K-12 schools; public, private, charter and tribal.

Garry has 25 years of public service and 10 years of private sector experience. His current responsibilities as Norman County’s Environmental Services Director include the duties of Emergency Management, Solid Waste, Planning & Zoning, Flood Plain Management, Public Safety, Courthouse Safety and Buffer Management. Garry also serves on the AMEM (Association of Minnesota Emergency Managers) Board of Directors. He was the Former Region 3 Representative and currently holds the office of AMEM 2nd Vice President position. He serves as the Budget Chair, Government Affairs Committee, and Conference Committee. Garry is a Former MACPZA (Minnesota Association of County Planning & Zoning Administrators) Board of Directors member

Joe Kelly was named as the director of HSEM in January 2015. He has the overall responsibility to ensure coordination of state agency preparedness and emergency response to all types of natural and other emergencies and disasters in Minnesota. A native of Olivia, Minn., Joe served previously as the HSEM deputy director for the past four years. Before joining HSEM, he served 31 years in the United States Army and Minnesota National Guard and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He achieved the rank of Brigadier General and his last military assignment was as the Assistant Adjutant General for the state of Minnesota. Joe was involved in planning, coordinating, and executing military operations in support of civil authorities for more than 17 years, including serving as the joint military task force commander during the 2008 Republican National Convention. He holds a bachelor's degree from Saint John’s University, a master’s degree from the United States Army War College and is a Minnesota certified emergency manager.

John Harrington, MN Commissioner of Public Safety Prior to his appointment, Harrington served as the Metro Transit Chief of Police for the Twin Cities area, overseeing significant growth of the agency and increasing diversity of the department from 5 to 50 percent. In 1977, Harrington began at the St. Paul Police Department as a patrol officer, working his way up the chain of command. He was selected chief of police in 2004 and served in that role until 2010. As chief, he addressed some of St. Paul’s most difficult problems. This resulted in numerous successes, including the development of innovative programs that have greatly reduced domestic violence and gang involvement. He served as a Minnesota state senator from the east side of St. Paul from 2010 to 2012. Harrington has been on the faculty at Metropolitan State University, Saint Mary’s University, and the University of St. Thomas, where he has taught Leadership, Demographics, Community Oriented Policing, and Gangs. Harrington is a founding member of the Asian-American and black police officer associations. He helped launch and currently chairs the board at Ujamaa Place, a non-profit agency that works with African-American men to transition them out of prison and gangs to become productive community members. Harrington was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He received his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth University and master’s degree from the University of St. Thomas. He is the father of five adult children and has 16 grandchildren, and currently resides in the Twin Cities.

Garry has 25 years of public service and 10 years of private sector experience. His current responsibilities as Norman County’s Environmental Services Director include the duties of Emergency Management, Solid Waste, Planning & Zoning, Flood Plain Management, Public Safety, Courthouse Safety and Buffer Management. Garry also serves on the AMEM (Association of Minnesota Emergency Managers) Board of Directors. He was the Former Region 3 Representative and currently holds the office of AMEM 2nd Vice President position. He serves as the Budget Chair, Government Affairs Committee, and Conference Committee. Garry is a Former MACPZA (Minnesota Association of County Planning & Zoning Administrators) Board of Directors member

Jenny Kane works for the Minnesota State Patrol as the Emergency Manager at the State Capitol Complex. Her responsibilities are to coordinate with Ramsey County and the City of Saint Paul to plan and respond to natural disaster, man-made disasters, and technological accidents that occur on the State Capitol Complex. Jenny worked as the All Hazard Planning Coordinator at Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM). She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Corrections and Sociology, and a Master of Arts Degree in Sociology from the University of Minnesota-Mankato. Jenny is a Certified Emergency Manager in the state of Minnesota.

Paul VanVoorhis is a lieutenant with the MN State Patrol. Paul has been a state trooper for 25 years. In addition to patrol operations, Paul serves as a liaison in the State Emergency Operations Center, Liaison to Nuclear Power Generating Plant Emergency Response, and other special projects. Paul has extensive experience with civil disobedience preparedness, large scale response, and Incident Command Structure (ICS) systems.

Kelly Haffield is a Sex Trafficking Investigator for the Fond du Lac Police Department where she has worked for the past 6 years, and is also the Commander of the statewide TRUST (TRibes United against Sex Trafficking) Task Force.

Matt Goodman has been a Public Safety GIS professional since 2008. His experience includes private sector work at GeoComm, Inc., supporting customers across the country, and his current position in the public sector as a dedicated GIS Specialist for the Sheriff’s Office in St. Louis County. Matt has recently worked with the Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan team to identify and validate pertinent GIS datasets.

Stacey Stark is the Associate Director of U-Spatial at UMN. Her team has developed Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan updates for counties and tribal governments across Minnesota, in addition to various Hazus flood hazard analyses. U-Spatial serves a fast-growing need for expertise in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing, and spatial computing across the University System

Matt Maas is the PSAP/Emergency Management Director for Dodge County. Matt’s responsibilities include the management of the Dodge County 911 communications center as well as working with all public safety responders as the Emergency Management Director. In his 10+ years as Emergency Management Director, Matt has been Incident Commander and/or managed an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for multiple incidents, to include tornados, floods, industrial explosions, hazardous material spills, missing person searches and many others. In January of 2018, Matt took on responsibility for the 911 communications center. He has lead this to becoming a certified National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) dispatch center. Matt has helped develop the Hostile Event Response Training (HERT) and curriculum. Matt also serves as an Assistant Fire Chief for the Dodge Center Fire Department, sits on the City Council, and is a member of the Dodge Center Ambulance Service.

Lt. Benz is the chief pilot for the MSP Aviation Division.

Saint Paul fire captain assigned to Rescue Squad 3 on the A shift. 20 year paramedic, 15 year firefighter, and MART team member since 2011. I am the MART coordinator and the representative for SPFD for the program management group for Minnesota Task Force 1.

Judy Seaberg, RN, PHN, MS, MNCEM has worked in public health emergency preparedness for several years and is currently the Health Care Preparedness Program Manager at the Minnesota department of Health. She supervises programs and staff in areas of health care preparedness and medical surge. Prior to working for MDH, Judy’s experience included medical, surgical and critical care nursing in a hospital setting, occupational and industrial hygiene program supervision, and local public health preparedness. Ms. Seaberg is also a retired United States Air Force reservist.

Tom Crossmon owner of Crossmon Consulting, LLC. Tom along with others pioneered the use of Side Scan Sonar and Remotely Operated Vehicles together to conduct safe underwater searches for evidence and drowning victims. Tom now teaches public safety personnel on these techniques worldwide and is a speaker and public safety conferences. He also conducts searches for families and public safety agencies. Tom has now recovered just over 100 victims in the past 15 years and has been doing this work for over 35 years.

Jenny Kane works for the Minnesota State Patrol as the Emergency Manager at the State Capitol Complex. Her responsibilities are to coordinate with Ramsey County and the City of Saint Paul to plan and respond to natural disaster, man-made disasters, and technological accidents that occur on the State Capitol Complex. Jenny worked as the All Hazard Planning Coordinator at Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM). She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Corrections and Sociology, and a Master of Arts Degree in Sociology from the University of Minnesota-Mankato. Jenny is a Certified Emergency Manager in the state of Minnesota.

Paul VanVoorhis is a lieutenant with the MN State Patrol. Paul has been a state trooper for 25 years. In addition to patrol operations, Paul serves as a liaison in the State Emergency Operations Center, Liaison to Nuclear Power Generating Plant Emergency Response, and other special projects. Paul has extensive experience with civil disobedience preparedness, large scale response, and Incident Command Structure (ICS) systems.

Kelly Haffield is a Sex Trafficking Investigator for the Fond du Lac Police Department where she has worked for the past 6 years, and is also the Commander of the statewide TRUST (TRibes United against Sex Trafficking) Task Force.

Matt Goodman has been a Public Safety GIS professional since 2008. His experience includes private sector work at GeoComm, Inc., supporting customers across the country, and his current position in the public sector as a dedicated GIS Specialist for the Sheriff’s Office in St. Louis County. Matt has recently worked with the Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan team to identify and validate pertinent GIS datasets.

Stacey Stark is the Associate Director of U-Spatial at UMN. Her team has developed Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan updates for counties and tribal governments across Minnesota, in addition to various Hazus flood hazard analyses. U-Spatial serves a fast-growing need for expertise in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing, and spatial computing across the University System

Matt Maas is the PSAP/Emergency Management Director for Dodge County. Matt’s responsibilities include the management of the Dodge County 911 communications center as well as working with all public safety responders as the Emergency Management Director. In his 10+ years as Emergency Management Director, Matt has been Incident Commander and/or managed an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for multiple incidents, to include tornados, floods, industrial explosions, hazardous material spills, missing person searches and many others. In January of 2018, Matt took on responsibility for the 911 communications center. He has lead this to becoming a certified National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) dispatch center. Matt has helped develop the Hostile Event Response Training (HERT) and curriculum. Matt also serves as an Assistant Fire Chief for the Dodge Center Fire Department, sits on the City Council, and is a member of the Dodge Center Ambulance Service.

Lt. Benz is the chief pilot for the MSP Aviation Division.

Saint Paul fire captain assigned to Rescue Squad 3 on the A shift. 20 year paramedic, 15 year firefighter, and MART team member since 2011. I am the MART coordinator and the representative for SPFD for the program management group for Minnesota Task Force 1.

Judy Seaberg, RN, PHN, MS, MNCEM has worked in public health emergency preparedness for several years and is currently the Health Care Preparedness Program Manager at the Minnesota department of Health. She supervises programs and staff in areas of health care preparedness and medical surge. Prior to working for MDH, Judy’s experience included medical, surgical and critical care nursing in a hospital setting, occupational and industrial hygiene program supervision, and local public health preparedness. Ms. Seaberg is also a retired United States Air Force reservist.

Tom Crossmon owner of Crossmon Consulting, LLC. Tom along with others pioneered the use of Side Scan Sonar and Remotely Operated Vehicles together to conduct safe underwater searches for evidence and drowning victims. Tom now teaches public safety personnel on these techniques worldwide and is a speaker and public safety conferences. He also conducts searches for families and public safety agencies. Tom has now recovered just over 100 victims in the past 15 years and has been doing this work for over 35 years.

Garry has 25 years of public service and 10 years of private sector experience. His current responsibilities as Norman County’s Environmental Services Director include the duties of Emergency Management, Solid Waste, Planning & Zoning, Flood Plain Management, Public Safety, Courthouse Safety and Buffer Management. Garry also serves on the AMEM (Association of Minnesota Emergency Managers) Board of Directors. He was the Former Region 3 Representative and currently holds the office of AMEM 2nd Vice President position. He serves as the Budget Chair, Government Affairs Committee, and Conference Committee. Garry is a Former MACPZA (Minnesota Association of County Planning & Zoning Administrators) Board of Directors member

Regan Smith has been the Emergency Manager for the City of Sioux Falls for 20 years. Prior to this, Regan worked at the South Dakota Office of Emergency Management and the South Dakota Department of Corrections. He has been involved with fifteen (15) presidentially declared disasters, five tornado responses, multiple aircraft incidents, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and a Hells Angel murder trial. Smith is also member of the South Dakota Incident Management Assistance Team and the Coroners Assist Support Team. He has served as President of the SD Emergency Management Association and President of the Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota Public Risk Management Association. Regan served in the US Army in the First Calvary Division and with the South Dakota National Guard.

Jon Rosenlund was appointed Emergency Management Director for the Grand Island- Hall County, NE, Department of Emergency Management and Communications in 2007. Jon has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Russian, both from Brigham Young University. Jon’s career in 9-1-1 communications began in 1996 as a public safety dispatcher, and expanded into the field of emergency management in 2003 in Sterling, Colorado. Jon and his wife, Becky, have five children. Jon has served as President of the Nebraska Association of Emergency Managers (2019- 2020), as well as holding positions on various statewide and regional committees such as the Nebraska Public Safety Communications Committee, Nebraska Regional Interoperability Network (Vice Chair), Nebraska State Citizen Corps (Chair), and the Nebraska 911 Service System Advisory Committee.

Alexandra Waterman is the Medical Surge Coordinator in the Center for Preparedness and Response at the Minnesota Department of Health. She is the overall project manager for Minnesota's Crisis Standards of Care (CSC) Planning Project. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Maryland Baltimore, Alex has worked in scarce resource situations abroad in Haiti, after the 2010 earthquake and in Rwanda as a nurse educator. She was also a member of an NDMS response team for five years. While receiving her Master of Public Health at the George Washington University, Alex volunteered in Disaster Services at the American Red Cross headquarters in Washington, D.C. and completed her thesis work, a retrospective review of the Haiti response, with HHS/ASPR which was published in 2014 in PLOS Current Disasters.

Judy Seaberg, RN, PHN, MS, MNCEM has worked in public health emergency preparedness for several years and is currently the Health Care Preparedness Program Manager at the Minnesota department of Health. She supervises programs and staff in areas of health care preparedness and medical surge. Prior to working for MDH, Judy’s experience included medical, surgical and critical care nursing in a hospital setting, occupational and industrial hygiene program supervision, and local public health preparedness. Ms. Seaberg is also a retired United States Air Force reservist.

Mike Starkey has been with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture for 30 years, recently accepting the position of Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response. His main responsibilities have centered on collaborating with local, state, federal government and private industry in emergency preparedness and response planning for food and agricultural emergencies, particularly Minnesota’s Secure Milk and Pork Supply Programs. Most recently Mike has been coordinating the development of the Minnesota Agriculture All-Hazards Incident Management Team where he holds the position of Incident Commander. Mike served as State Incident Commander throughout the 2015 HPAI outbreak.

Brian Hubbard serves as a Deputy Police Chief for the Crystal Police Department. Brian also serves as the President of the Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association for two years and eight years as a Board member. Brian has directed and/or assisted in the coordination of over 20 law enforcement funerals.

Joe Neuberger is the Operations Branch Director at MN Homeland Security and Emergency Management since 2015. His most recent special assignment with DPS HSEM was to assist with the HSEM SEOC State to County/City liaison for Super Bowl 52, this included planning and deployment of HSEM personnel. Joe has over forty years of public safety experience. As the Op’s Branch Director, he oversees HSEM Regional Program Coordinators, HAZMAT specialists (Minnesota Special teams CAT/ERT and Bomb Squads), SEOC physical operations, EPCRA program and the LESO Programs. Prior to this, he served for 35 years with the Saint Paul Police Department, retiring at the rank of Senior Commander and overseeing the Eastern Patrol District. While with the SPPD, he had the major leadership role with the planning and operations of the 2008 RNC, and he later commanded the mobile field forces, he has deployed to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, planned and supervised numerous special events such as Taste of Minnesota, Red Bull Flugtag, and Irish Fest as well as many smaller events. He is committed to making special events safer and is focused on improving public safety response to both planned events and unplanned incidents. He is a board member with the Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association, East Side YMCA and Metro State Foundation. He is married and has two adult children both of whom are involved in public safety agencies in Minnesota.

Shane Olsen is a FirstNet Solutions Consultant with the FirstNet Built with AT&T team. Shane serves as the lead consultant for the State of Minnesota, state agencies, and immediate surrounding counties in the Metro area. Shane brings vast experience and technical knowledge from the cellular industry. His wireless career spans several carriers while working in Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Florida and Minnesota. During his career he has helped agencies implement solutions like smartphones, IoT, Smart Cities, SCADA, Situational Awareness and Fleet services. He also has experience in Public Safety with the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office in New York State and both his father and brother retired from the New York State Police.

Tim Pierce is a Senior Public Safety Advisor with the First Responder Network Authority. After joining in March 2015 Tim was originally responsible for both Region V and Region VII states working through Consultation and the Opt-in process. He currently supports Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois agencies and serves on the Emergency Management Functional Community within the FirstNet Authority. Prior to being with the FirstNet Authority Tim served as the Statewide Interoperability Coordinator (SWIC) and State Point of Contact (SPOC) for the State of Wisconsin. He began his public safety career as a volunteer firefighter and EMT and worked for Dane County Emergency Management as the Warning and Communications Officer.

Matt Goodman has been a Public Safety GIS professional since 2008. His experience includes private sector work at GeoComm, Inc., supporting customers across the country, and his current position in the public sector as a dedicated GIS Specialist for the Sheriff’s Office in St. Louis County. Matt has recently worked with the Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan team to identify and validate pertinent GIS datasets.

Matt Maas is the PSAP/Emergency Management Director for Dodge County. Matt’s responsibilities include the management of the Dodge County 911 communications center as well as working with all public safety responders as the Emergency Management Director. In his 10+ years as Emergency Management Director, Matt has been Incident Commander and/or managed an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for multiple incidents, to include tornados, floods, industrial explosions, hazardous material spills, missing person searches and many others. In January of 2018, Matt took on responsibility for the 911 communications center. He has lead this to becoming a certified National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) dispatch center. Matt has helped develop the Hostile Event Response Training (HERT) and curriculum. Matt also serves as an Assistant Fire Chief for the Dodge Center Fire Department, sits on the City Council, and is a member of the Dodge Center Ambulance Service.

Rich Hall is currently serving with the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office as the Emergency Management Director. He has assisted Freeborn County through four Federal Disasters and two State Disasters. In conjunction with his colleagues at Region One, Rich has helped plan and develop the Hostile Event Response Training (HERT) Rich brings years of service and experience to Freeborn County and Region 1. After graduating from the United States Army Infantry School at Fort Benning Georgia. Rich spent the next 22 years of his life as a soldier with the United States Army and the Minnesota Army National Guard. During his service with the military Rich spent time as a Medical Platoon Sergeant. This is where he learned the importance of rapid treatment of injuries and casualty collection points. Rich also served his community for thirty years as a Volunteer Firefighter, working Incident Command on several large scale disasters. As Ambulance Director Rich put his leadership skills to use providing care to those in need. Rich has responded to several mass casualty incidents, including, when a pickup truck collided with a tractor pulling a wagon during a hayride. There was one fatality and eighteen injured.

Ryc Lyden is the current President of MNVOAD and represents the Amateur Radio Relay League/Amateur Radio Emergency Services as the ASEC (Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator) Liaison. He has been involved in disaster services since 1972 with the American Red Cross where he currently serves in External Relations – Community Partnerships, Disaster Services Technology. In addition, he works with Minnesota Canine Search Rescue & Tracking, and Bloomington AuxComm – Deputy Director for Training and Compliance. Ryc is a former Senior Planner for Minnesota Division of Emergency Management where he worked with the REP program and Hazardous Materials. He has over 25 years in public safety and is a veteran of the USAF.

Trainer, speaker, conference facilitator...Jody Janati has a Doctoral degree in Organizational Leadership, and a Masters degree in Speech Communication. She has taught in higher education for over 20 years and offers a variety of public and professional workshops on conflict reduction tactics and effective communication skills. During her academic career she worked in various leadership roles, taught for over a decade at both the University of Minnesota and the MN state prison system. She currently trains for numerous organizations throughout the US. Dr. Janati is also the author of six books and DailyOm’s best-selling class, Protect Yourself from Control Dramas. Create Your “MasterPeace” with Dr. Janati!

Garry has 25 years of public service and 10 years of private sector experience. His current responsibilities as Norman County’s Environmental Services Director include the duties of Emergency Management, Solid Waste, Planning & Zoning, Flood Plain Management, Public Safety, Courthouse Safety and Buffer Management. Garry also serves on the AMEM (Association of Minnesota Emergency Managers) Board of Directors. He was the Former Region 3 Representative and currently holds the office of AMEM 2nd Vice President position. He serves as the Budget Chair, Government Affairs Committee, and Conference Committee. Garry is a Former MACPZA (Minnesota Association of County Planning & Zoning Administrators) Board of Directors member