Christopher Bell - Chris has over fourteen years of domestic and international program management and resource development experience, including seven years at the American Red Cross. He has Disaster Operations Management experience and ESF 6 Mass Care Government Liaison experience. He currently holds the FEMA Professional Development Series (PDS) Certificate and is currently completing the Master Exercise Practitioner (MEP) series at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute. He is also an International Disaster Response roster member of the American Red Cross with deployment experience in South Africa. Chris also served as the part-time Executive Director of the All For One Foundation from 2006 to 2008. He holds degrees from DePaulUniversity, International Public Services Management, M.S., and AugustanaCollege, Geography, B.A.
Paul Brenner - Paul is a management and technology consultant known for his skills in using technology to improve business profitability. He has experience in general management, information management, communications, meeting facilitation, board development, and performance coaching. His consulting clients include large Chicago area corporations and local not-for-profit organizations. For 2 years after 9/11, he led Baxter International emergency preparedness and business continuity initiatives. For the past five years, Brenner has been a volunteer in Disaster Services Technology for the American Red Cross. He is an Emergency Communications Response Vehicle (ECRV) operator and has deployed on a number of occasions, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Greensburg, KS tornadoes. He is leading teams that are developing national training curricula, including “DST-101” and a national ECRV training syllabus. Brenner has an MBA from the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at NorthwesternUniversity with an emphasis in organization behavior and management information systems. He received his BS in Computer Science from IowaStateUniversity.
Craig Dieckman - is a technical consultant with nearly 30 years of information technology (IT) experience. He began his career serving for nine years as a full-time firefighter/paramedic in the northwest suburbs of Chicago before an injury forced him to leave a job he loved. He then turned his focus to developing what had been his second passion, computer systems, into a series of successful senior positions in information technology. He worked with organizations which ranged in size and type from small start-up companies to large national corporations, always with complete IT responsibility. A few times his responsibilities have included developing the IT infrastructure for a company or organization from scratch. In late-2004, Craig decided to leave a job as the chief information officer for a publicly-traded company so he could start his own business. His goal was to help small and mid-size companies apply information technology efficiently and professionally, just as he had done for companies of larger size. Today, the Dieckman Group, LLC, is successfully helping its clients with specific IT projects, and more often, to simply handle all of their IT-related needs. The company also consults in areas of business continuity and emergency preparedness. Soon after starting his own business, Craig learned of opportunities to use his technical skills in the Red Cross. He became active in the Greater Chicago chapter and for a couple of years, led Disaster Services Technology for the seven-county chapter, the second largest chapter in the country. He was also an Emergency Communications Response Vehicle (ECRV) instructor/coordinator, and led the national ECRV Deployment Team. Craig has deployed nationally to multiple hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods, and to fires and other disasters in the greater Chicago area.
Scott Doniger - Scott is an expert in the area of disaster technology planning and implementation. Since retiring as CTO from his networking firm, he has utilized his skills in the non-profit area. Since 2004, Scott has taken a leadership Position in the ARC . He also functions as a trainer for the ECRV and NSC programs, also authoring numerous technology protocols. His interests are primarily in VSAT technology, as well as large scale rapid implementations of infrastructure.Network SupportCenter
John Mitchell - Jack is a seasoned consultant and project manager with over 30 years of experience in facilities planning and design, productivity improvement and corporate turnarounds. His diversified background incorporates manufacturing, engineering, warehousing, telemarketing, construction, logistics and administrative problem solving for a broad range of industries. His functional expertise ranges from strategic planning and concept development to implementation of plant consolidations, relocations, acquisitions, productivity improvement, and product design. Mr. Mitchell also has extensive expertise in machine and fixture design, preventive maintenance, and operational analysis.
Mike Mitchell - Mike is an expert in the area of mobile technology for disaster response. From early 2003 through the end of 2008 Mike was responsible for the ECRV (Emergency Communications Response Vehicle) program for the American Red Cross. Mike managed the fleet of all 12 ECRV’s, developed a team of coordinators and support staff across the country, oversaw the deployment of all vehicles, developed a training program and trained staff across the country in the operation and management of the ECRV’s. He further coordinated the enhancement of the program and the ECRV itself through research, recommendation and acquisition of additional equipment to further the utilization of the vehicles.
Rob Orr - is a 30 year video communication veteran, and has experience in ham radio and emergency communication. He has been associated with the American Red Cross for 6 years, primarily serving as a coordinator for the National Emergency Communication Response Vehicle housed in Chicago. He has also served as an ARC volunteer for Disaster Relief Operations in Kansas and for the floods in Chicago and Rockford. He is president of the North Shore Radio Club, representing 160 amateur radio operators on Chicago’s NorthShore.
Professionally, Rob Orr has diverse film and video production experience as producer, director, cameraman, and editor. He has had substantial international work in Canada, Europe, Russia, South America, Mexico, Cuba, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand and Korea; He served as a Lecturer in Film Studies at Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Illinois for 10 years; Awarded Fulbright-Hays Fellowship for studies in feature film production in West Germany, 1979; President of Rob Orr Productions, Ltd., makers of quality films, videos, and multimedia for corporations, associations, and public television.