ABOUT US
Connecting Communities relies on the expertise and experience of our facilitators to ensure a comprehensive, valuable, and interactive workshop for all attendees. With backgrounds ranging from all areas of emergency service sand law enforcement, as well as transit agency and operational experience, Connecting Communities facilitators will knowledgeably help foster dialogue and planning efforts between your local transit systems, emergency service agencies, and other emergency management partners to make the day a success.
Please take this opportunity to "meet" our facilitation staff:
staff and FACILITATOR BIOS
Peter Albrecht provides safety and security planning, training, and safety program assessment to rural and small urban transit systems. He has worked as a Program Manager for Safety and Training for the North Carolina Department of Transportation Public Transportation Division (NCDOT/PTD) and has additional experience in both local government and as a member of various national level committees and working groups. As Program Manager of Safety and Training at NCDOT, Mr. Albrecht was instrumental in creating the System Safety Program Plan, a comprehensive safety program used by all of the Community Transportation systems in North Carolina. He was also responsible for the external and internal training programs for personnel at all levels of the local transit systems as well as NCDOT/PTD staff, and also managed the NCDOT/PTD Apprentice and Intern programs. Mr. Albrecht has served on the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Rural Transit Assistance Program (RTAP) National Program Review Board, the Safety and Security Task Force of the Standing Committee on Public Transportation of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). He was a member of the North Carolina State Emergency Response Team, and was the NCDOT/PTD point of contact with both state and federal officials during major disaster events such as hurricanes or other man made events with an impact on public transportation.
Andrew Ervin has recently retired from his capacity at the METRO Regional Transit Authority on Akron, Ohio, where he facilitated safety, security, training, and claims. He served as Chairman of METRO’s Safety Committee and the Employee Educational Assistance Program and was appointed to the Summit County Local Emergency Planning Committee in January of 2001 by former Ohio Governor Robert Taft. Mr. Ervin is a former member of the Ohio Public Transportation Association’s Security Committee, but is currently an Associate Staff Member of the United States Department of Transportations’ Transportation Safety Institute and a member of a Type 3 Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) for the State of Ohio.
Jim Franklin is a Lieutenant with the Metro Transit Police Department in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mr. Franklin possesses a Masters degree in Public Administration and is also a certified State of Minnesota Emergency Manager. He is experienced in transit organizational emergency management planning and strategic planning through his direction and management of various emergency preparedness plans and security contingency plans. Mr. Franklin acts as the police department liaison for both federal and state oversight agencies and is responsible for the procurement of federal funding through the Transit Security Grant Program. He conducts organizational threat and vulnerability assessments and directs regional drills and exercises. Mr. Franklin is a graduate of Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command.
Michael McMahon is a police officer with the West Windsor Police Department and is on staff with Mercer Community College as an adjunct professor. Mr. McMahon is also a level 2 fire instructor for Hunterdon County, New Jersey, as well as a Rescue Specialist with the State of New Jersey Urban Search and Rescue Team, New Jersey Task Force One. He is certified in many phases of emergency response including police, firefighting, emergency medical services, response to hazardous materials/weapons of mass destruction emergencies, and technical rescue including structural collapse, trench rescue, confined space, and swift water rescue.
Since retiring from the City and County of San Francisco in May 2008, Adrian Moy resumed his association with NTI as a Senior Instructor. His transit career began in 1977 as an operator with the San Francisco MUNI. He became a Division Dispatcher in 1981, and Transit Instructor in 1984. His next stop was TriMet in Portland, OR where he served as Manager of Operator Training, 1990-2000. From 2001-2006, Adrian worked with the National Transit Institute (NTI) at Rutgers University, initially as a consultant, and later as an adjunct Instructor. The project team he was part of developed courses for preventing workplace violence, crime, and terrorism on public transit systems, as well as preventing workplace illnesses and injuries. In September 2006 Adrian returned to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) as Deputy Director for Safety and Training.
Vincent Pellegrin is the chief operating officer of Metro Transit in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he leads bus and rail service operations. Mr. Pellegrin has over 20 years of experience in the transit industry and is formerly of MTA in New York and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Additionally, he is a member of the New Brighton Fire Department, and is the president of the North Suburban Hazardous Material Response Team.
James Titcomb is retired from the City of Newark, New Jersey Fire Department. Mr. Titcomb was a 30 year member of the Department, retiring November 1, 2008, with the rank of Battalion Chief. From 1997 through 1999, he worked for Operation Respond, developing and instructing Amtrak's Safety and Security course, preparing first responders for introduction of Amtrak’s Acela train. There, he assisted with the training of the 610 Fire Departments/emergency responders along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. Mr. Titcomb is also a Level II Fire Instructor for the State of New Jersey. He holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and criminal justice from the American University, Washington, DC.
