Joseph
A. Barbera, M.D. is Co-Director of the George Washington University
Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management. Dr. Barbera is an
Associate Professor of Engineering and Clinical Associate Professor of
Emergency Medicine at The George Washington University. He is residency
trained in emergency medicine and family medicine and has been involved
in disaster response and emergency management since 1986. He has
participated in responses to hurricanes, the Oklahoma City Bombing,
mine disasters, earthquakes (Baguio City Philippines, Northridge
California, Tou-Liu Taiwan), and biological terrorism threats. He has
been the lead medical consultant for the Federal Emergency Management
Agency in the development of the National Urban Search & Rescue
Response System, and has provided extensive consultation to the U.S.
Public Health Service and the Veterans Administration in the
development of the National Disaster Medical System.
He is a
medical officer for the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance
International Search & Rescue Program, and has conducted national
and international educational programs on medical response to
collapsed-structure incidents. As chair of the emergency preparedness
committee for the George Washington University Hospital, Dr. Barbera
oversaw implementation of a mass patient decontamination and treatment
facility and, at the request of the U.S. Public Health Service, is
developing a national hospital preparedness model for chemical
terrorism. As founder and chair of the District of Columbia Hospital
Association (DCHA) Emergency Preparedness Committee, Dr. Barbera led
the implementation of a comprehensive Hospital Mutual Aid System for
Washington, D.C. The DCHA forum has been instrumental in regional
emergency planning and in coordinating disaster response exercises,
including the medical participation in the federal Domestic
Preparedness Program's regional chemical and biological terrorism
exercises.
Dr. Barbera provides emergency management and
medical preparedness consultation to the U.S. Capitol Office of the
Attending Physician, including contingency planning for the
Presidential Inauguration and State of the Union Addresses. He
participated in medical contingency planning and established the
on-site medical capability for the recent NATO 50th Anniversary Summit
in Washington, D.C. Dr. Barbera has provided emergency management
expertise to multiple other organizations, including the White House
Medical Staff, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and the Washington D.C.
Veterans Administration Medical Center. He is a national and
international lecturer on emergency management and medical contingency
planning subjects.
Mr. Robert M. Blitzer
Associate Director
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
McLean, VA
Topic: Domestic Intelligence
Robert
M. Blitzer is Associate Director of SAIC's Center for Counterterrorism
Technology and Analysis (CCTA). Blitzer is responsible for helping lead
SAIC's efforts to assist federal, state and local authorities respond
to the increased threat of domestic and international terrorism.
Blitzer
came to SAIC from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) where he
was chief of the Domestic Terrorism/Counterterrorism Planning Section
(DTCPS), National Security Division (NSD), at FBI Headquarters. In this
role, he focused on criminal and intelligence investigations aimed at
countering domestic terrorism. A significant aspect of his duties
involved domestic preparedness operations aimed at preventing and, when
necessary, responding to the use of weapons of mass destruction against
the nation's population and critical infrastructure. At the FBI,
Blitzer was responsible for the domestic first responder training
initiative and the foreign training initiative at the International Law
Enforcement Academy at Budapest, Hungary. Additionally, he has
expertise in counter proliferation and was directly involved in both
the cyber and physical infrastructure protection.
>From
1993 to 1996, Blitzer served as chief of the Radical Fundamentalist
Unit, Counterterrorism and Middle East Section at FBI Headquarters. As
the leader of this unit, he was responsible for overall national
coordination, oversight and direction of all criminal and intelligence
operations against the international terrorists who bombed the World
Trade Center and who attempted to conduct a wave of bombings in and
around New York City in early 1993. Blitzer was honored with the 1995
Attorney General's Distinguished Service Award and the Central
Intelligence Agency's 1995 National Intelligence Medal of Achievement
in connection with this assignment. Earlier in his career, Blitzer held
various FBI and headquarters positions in which he investigated and
managed issues related to violent crime, organized crime, property
crime, white-collar crime, counterintelligence and counterterrorism.
Mr. Joel Feldschuh
Chairman & CEO
Ganden Security Services Solutions (GS-3)
Arlington, VA
Topic: Air Transportation Security
Considered
an international expert in the field of aviation security, Brigadier
General Joel Feldschuh serves concurrently as the CEO of Ganden
Technologies and the CEO and Chairman of GS-3, a leading international
security services solutions firm. With offices in Tel Aviv and
Virginia, GS-3 provides risk assessment, crisis management, training,
recovery planning, and advanced technology solutions to airports,
airlines, corporations, energy plants and public facilities worldwide.
Prior to forming GS-3, Mr. Feldschuh served as the President and CEO of
El Al Airlines where he was instrumental in leveraging security as a
method to increase customer service, satisfaction and profitability. In
addition to the aviation industry, Mr. Feldschuh has lead several major
corporations in the automotive, software and real estate industries.
Before
entering the private sector, Brigadier General Feldschuh served for
twenty-six years in the Israeli Air Force holding key positions
including Chief of the Intelligence Division, where he advised the U.S.
and Israeli Air Forces during the 1991 Gulf War, and served as Chief of
Personnel and Administration and as a fighter pilot. He holds a B.A. in
Economics from Haifa University (Israel) and an MBA from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Feldschuh has been the
recipient of numerous awards in the air travel and service sectors and
is a widely sought after source on matters of national, corporate and
aviation security.
Dr. Paula D. Gordon
Director of Special Projects, Research Program in Social and Organizational Learning
George Washington University
Washington, D.C.
Topic: Infrastructure Protection
Paula
Gordon is a Fellow with the Research Program in Social and
Organizational Learning at the George Washington University. She is
also an independent consultant and contractor, a policy strategist,
writer, speaker, and a researcher. She has taught as a Faculty
Associate or Adjunct Professor at a wide range of universities,
including Johns Hopkins U
