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
Gary Breuer is a police officer at the Raritan Township Police Department in New Jersey and is currently assigned to the Emergency Service Unit, providing response to EMS, rescue, and fire-related emergencies. Mr. Breuer is also a chief rescue instructor at the Hunterdon County, New Jersey Emergency Services Training Center, a rescue technician at the Flemington-Raritan First Aid and Rescue Squad, and a firefighter at the West Amwell, New Jersey Township Fire Company.
Stephanie Brown is the Local Information Network and Communication System (LINCS) Coordinator at Middlesex County, New Jersey where she collaborates with public health nurses, other healthcare partners, and the NJDHSS to investigate and document all disease outbreaks in Middlesex. In 2006, Ms. Brown was chosen as one of 12 MRC Leaders from across the nation to work with the Surgeon General’s Office and NACCHO to develop the MRC Core Competencies for healthcare professionals and other volunteers. Ms Brown holds a degree in Public Health from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in health administration from New Jersey City University.
Howard “Bucky” Buchanan is a Senior Program Coordinator for Workplace Safety and Security at the National Transit Institute at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey where he assists in facilitating the Connecting Communities Workshop. Mr. Buchanan is a lifetime member of the Branchburg Rescue Squad and the Whitehouse Rescue Squad, both of New Jersey, and the State Lead Staging Officer with the New Jersey EMS Task Force. In 2007, he was appointed to the State of NJ's EMS Advisory Council, where he represents the 21 county EMS coordinators as a delegate. His certifications include: EMT-B, Vehicle Rescue Technician, Rope Rescue Technician, Confined Space Technician, Swiftwater Rescue Technician, Rescue Boat Operator, Trench Rescue Operator, along with multiple other incident command, awareness, FEMA and technique classifications.
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.
Laurene Fleming has been a Salvation Army team leader for deployments to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, the Bound Brook flooding, and the Delaware River flooding as a member of the Salvation Army’s New Jersey Emergency Disaster Services. She is also a member of the Hunterdon County OEM Council.
Bill Hines has over 27 years of experience in emergency response. He is a retired member of the FDNY where he served as battalion chief, and as a member of the FDNY Incident Management Team, and the FDNY Division 1 Safety Committee. Mr. Hines was also the liaison to Penn Station and all its associated agencies, establishing interagency communication with Amtrak, NJ Transit, LIRR, and MTA, and coordinating training programs for each agency.
Thomas Hoffman is a paramedic and EMS educator at the Hunterdon Medical Center in New Jersey. He currently holds instructor positions at the National FARMEDIC Training Center, the Hunterdon Emergency Services Training Center, Emergency Training Consultants, and Capital Health Systems in the areas of emergency medicine, fire, and rescue. He holds a fire science certificate from Texas A&M University, a bachelor’s degree in business management from LaSalle University, and a certificate in EMS management from the National Fire Academy.
Marc Kadushin has served in various management positions of the New York City government including Assistant Commissioner of Emergency Response and Communications for The New York City Department of Transportation, Assistant Director of EMS for Investigations, and Chief of Staff for the Commissioner of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. Mr. Kadushin also managed the NYC-DOT’s 24/7 emergency response and communications division, including the agency’s response to infrastructure emergencies and coordinating the restoration of transportation movement.
Chris Kozub is the Associate Director for Workplace Safety and Security (WPSS) at the National Transit Institute (NTI) where he manages the development and implementation of safety and security training programs for front-line employees and supervisors in the public transit, highway, rail, and maritime modes. Funded largely through the FTA, and working collaboratively with key stakeholders, trade associations, and labor organizations, Mr. Kozub has been instrumental in the training of over 125,000 employees within in the areas of system security awareness and terrorist activity recognition and reaction at more than 550 different agencies nationally, including ABQ Ride, Amarillo Transit, Charlotte Area Transit System, MTBA, and Washington State DOT. He is the principle investigator on several research, training, and outreach projects for NTI including system safety, incident management, system security, and terrorist awareness and response training projects for the FTA, FMCSA, NCHRP and TSA. In July 2005 Mr. Kozub testified before the Congressional Homeland Security Committee’s Research, Technology and Training Subcommittee, providing a broad industry perspective on current issues in operational and infrastructure security.
Peter LaPorte is a senior associate at The Olson Group, Ltd. He is a recognized leader in the emergency management field, with over 20 years of experience in state and local level public safety. The first co-chairman of the National Emergency Management Association’s Terrorism Committee, Mr. LaPorte has coordinated nine Presidential-declared disasters including floods, blizzards, Hurricane Isabel, and the Washington District’s response to the 9-11 events and subsequent anthrax threats.
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.
Kayla Pacan is a Program Coordinator at the National Transit Institute at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Ms. Pacan specializes in special events for NTI, and specifically focuses on the Connecting Communities program which streamlines training for emergency personnel and the transit community. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies and Communications from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey where she was recognized as a Union League of Philadelphia Scholar.
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.
John Quintanar has been a member of the Los Angeles Fire Department for the last 32 years and has held the rank of Firefighter, Engineer, Captain I, Captain II, and Battalion Chief. For the past three years, he has been assigned as the Fire Department Liaison Officer with the Metropolitan Transit Authority and oversees the training for firefighters and MTA personnel. Mr. Quintanar holds a bachelor of science in management from California State University at Los Angeles and served in the United States Marine Corps for two years.
Harry Shepherd holds a Doctor of Chiropractic from Palmer College, and served as chairman or the technique department of the Adio Institute of Straight Chiropractic. He has previously served as the Coordinator of Emergency Management and the Director of Homeland Security, both for Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Mr. Shepherd has been an active member of the Union Fire Company in Lambertville, New Jersey for over 35 years, and is a retired member of the Lambertville Rescue Squad.
James Titcomb is a 30 year veteran of the City of Newark Fire Department in New Jersey and holds the rank of Battalion Chief. From 1997 through 1999, Mr. Titcomb worked for Operation Respond, developing and instructing Amtrak's Safety and Security course. There, he trained 610 Fire Departments along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and criminal justice from the American University.
Gail Treglia is a retired first sergeant of the Maryland State Police Department, where she served for over 25 years. Sergeant Treglia facilitated and coordinated all training developed by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Community Policing Institute including the areas of police mediation, problem solving for citizens, senior safety, youth leadership, and police ethics. Sergeant Treglia’s extensive career with the Maryland State Police included 3 years road patrol, 5 years community policing acting as a resident trooper, 9 years youth prevention officer certified in DARE Core, High School and Parent Program, and 3 years acting as State DARE coordinator for the Maryland State Police.
Frank M. Veneziale is a Senior Program Coordinator for Workplace Safety and Security Program at the National Transit Institute. He is currently working on delivering the Connecting Communities workshop throughout the United States. This workshop brings Emergency Managers, Police and Fire Departments along with Transit and Public Transportation agencies together for a two-day workshop on how to improve interoperability and response, during and after times of disaster. Mr. Veneziale currently serves as a member on the Emergency Management Working Group of the APTA Security Standards Program. He assists with a variety of training and outreach projects within NTI. Mr. Veneziale is also the Deputy County Emergency Management Coordinator for the County of Hunterdon in central New Jersey. During his tenure with Hunterdon he has helped oversee response and recovery in four Presidential declared disasters. Prior to joining NTI, Frank worked as a 9-1-1 operator, then in County Emergency Management, and as the Coordinator of the Hunterdon County Emergency Services Training Center. In addition, he has 19 years volunteer experience in Emergency Services as an Emergency Medical Technician, Firefighter and later as Chief of a combination volunteer/career rescue squad in Flemington, New Jersey. Mr. Veneziale is a member of NEMA, NENA, and APCO.
Laynie Weaver is a Senior Program Coordinator at the National Transit Institute at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Ms. Weaver is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association and the Woman’s Transportation Seminar, and was the 2004 recipient of the Leonard Braun Memorial Graduate Scholarship. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Geography from Texas A&M University and a Master of City and Regional Planning from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.
John Young is a retired fire captain of the Honolulu Fire Department, where he served for nearly 30 years. Mr. Young has also served as the incident commander at major incidents, coordinating city, state, federal, private, and volunteer resources. He has been trained in many areas including first responder emergency medical care, incident command concerning weapons of mass destruction, and terrorism awareness and prevention.
