All posts in Disaster Preparedness

David Rivkin

David Rivkin

Attorney David B. Rivkin, Jr. has studied the U.S. Constitution and related historical documents with scholarly rigor, and has authored incisive commentary on the critical constitutional issues of our day. Now in private practice, Rivkin’s lengthy career has been distinguished by service in the White House during two presidential terms, in both the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Energy. He is a well-known writer and media commentator on matters of constitutional and international law, as well as on foreign and defense policy. Read more…

Nick Halley

Nick Halley

Brigadier General Nick Halley (U.S. Army, Retired) is a recognized expert on leadership and terrorism. He has commanded thousands of our soldiers in combat in three conflicts – Vietnam, Grenada, and Desert Storm. He is an army paratrooper, army ranger and special operations veteran. He has been awarded many significant decorations, including two Silver Stars for bravery in combat actions, four Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts for wounds in combat operations. Read more…

Tom Ridge

Tom Ridge

A decorated Vietnam veteran, former governor, Cabinet official and international statesman, Tom Ridge understands what and where the threats are today – and how they will affect the United States and its allies in the future. As America’s first head of homeland security, he successfully achieved the biggest change management challenge of all time – quickly integrating 180,000 people from nearly two-dozen agencies, creating a culture of change within the new department and leading a national effort to make America more secure. Read more…

Joe Ruffini

Joe Ruffini -

Joseph Ruffini brings more than 25 years of experience from a broad array of fields including infrastructure security, counter-terrorist operations, risk management, and more to the private and civil sectors. Formerly an army lieutenant colonel charged with defending the United States and Canada against cyber intrusions, international terrorist plots, and nuclear, biological, and chemical attacks, Ruffini is currently an executive strategic information operations consultant supporting US Strategic Command, the Interagency, and the National Security Council, and US Central Command in Qatar and Iraq. Ruffini is a featured government, corporate, and personal security theorist, keynote speaker, and subject matter expert. His role in infrastructure security, counter-terrorist operations, operations security, information warfare and operations, command and operations, logistics management, training and education, and risk management combine to form a motivating “how-to” management presentation. Ruffini authored When Terror Comes to Main Street, an informative, straightforward, hard-hitting book for everyday people that boils down Ruffini’s lifetime of knowledge and operational experience into one all-inclusive read. Read more…

Michael Colopy

Michael Colopy-

Michael Colopy’s presentation method is brain-stretching, enlightening and memorable. Colopy addresses corporate and association audiences on global trends and the challenges US business faces around the world, especially in dealings with China, a country he knows well. In a bracing narrative style, incorporating new developments – including the morning’s news – he conveys deep and broad knowledge, navigating, analyzing and forecasting world currents since 1988. The lively and unrehearsed Q & A portion of his presentations engages audience members directly, customizing the session to the interests of participants. Educated at Princeton, Michael Colopy’s research projects have taken him to Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Ukraine, El Salvador, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, the PRC, France, the UK and Venezuela. Colopy learned through firsthand experience how the attitudes and agendas of other nations can affect the American brand. He understands US government policy processes well, having served as staff in both the US House and Senate, partner in a major DC lobbying firm, consultant to foreign governments and advisor to Fortune One Hundred corporations and trade associations of every stripe. Colopy’s record of accurate predictions stands out; he has anticipated and tracked global trends, regional developments (especially in East Asia), leadership choices, political agendas, economic shifts and currency policies, connecting the dots among such distinct factors as the re-emergence of China’s reformers under Prime Minister Wen Jia-bao, transformation of the labor market, competition for commodity resources, pollution, alarming pressures on US corporations (forced transfers of IP, for example), the Google confrontation, skewing state investments to favor populist programs, the evolving “hostage capital” dilemma and the changing face of internal discontent. Colopy deftly unbraids the intricacies of Japan’s foreign policy, its trade and political disputes with China, the collapse of its economic renewal agenda, the lethargic response of ministries, rising security anxieties and the fundamental crisis of its aging population. He also reviews positive prospects in Vietnam and the Philippines, political re-stabilizing in Thailand and Malaysia, resurgence in Indonesia and the strategically crucial regional role of Australia. Colopy’s dynamic style, recently described as “the antidote to jet lag”, is articulate, clear and directly responsive to his audience. He is especially known for his humorous asides – he offers no feel-good “happy talk” but practical, highly specific and insightful assessments. Michael Colopy readily challenges old orthodoxies when evidence and patterns warrant or to test the validity of a plan or policy. His combination of wit, broad knowledge, practical information and energetic style has impressed hundreds of audiences and earned him among the highest rates of repeat appearance in America. Read more…