For over 36 years John has been actively involved in the delivery of Disaster and Preparedness programs throughout the Greater Los Angeles Area. As a recently retired Red Cross CEO, John oversaw a dramatic increase in the delivery of services and disaster response capability in west side jurisdictions. Over the last ten years while serving as the Chapters’ CEO, John increased the annual revenue by over $900,000 with two consecutive years of surplus that now amounts to a strategic reserve of over $1.2 Million dollars.

 

     In 2012, following his retirement from active service with the Red Cross, John launched an independent consulting firm to provide innovative and cost effective risk management and disaster planning services to area businesses. The new company, “Innovative Solutions Network” leverages the experience and expertise of disaster and risk management professionals from both the Red Cross and the private sector to offer affordable disaster and risk management plans, solutions and training for small and mid-size businesses.

 

     During his Red Cross career, John has gained considerable experience in managing disaster response programs across the country. As an administrator level National Disaster staff, John has provided supervision and management oversight for a variety of disasters over the last 34 years, from earthquakes and wildfires in California to tornado and floods in the Midwest to hurricanes on the Gulf Coast and Florida. John is a National Red Cross Instructor and Instructor trainer in a variety of management and disaster programs including Business Continuity Planning programs that help businesses prepare for a disaster.

 

     John has created a variety of new partnerships in the community through the SMOAID (Santa Monica Organizations Active in Disaster). Founded three years ago in the wake of Hurricane Katrina wherein the chapter provided services to over 350 evacuees who came to the west side, the organization now boasts over 50 member agencies. The organization includes non-profits, faith based organizations and local business. Over the last three year the group has launched preparedness programs that reach over 20,000 residents annually and expanded partnerships with faith based organizations to double the amount of emergency disaster shelter capability in the city.

 

     Prior to his appointment as the Executive Director for the Santa Monica Chapter, John served as the Associate Chapter Manager for the Greater Los Angeles Chapter and oversaw the delivery of services and preparedness training programs to over 500,000 residents of Los Angeles each year. Helping the Chapter to enhance outreach and diversify its revenue stream, John was responsible for the creation of a variety of partnerships that brought services t over 500,000 underserved populations across the five county area including “Kids Care Fair”, an immunization program with ABC7 and the ABC’s of A Safe Summer, a Southern California summer program that promoted First Aid/CPR Disaster, and Water Safety Training. John also created the largest Class registration call center that provides service to chapters in Southern California that has dramatically reduced costs while increasing class attendance and revenues for participating chapters. During his career in Los Angeles the Chapter increased Health and Safety outreach by over 50 thousand residents annually and increased income from $2.5 to $4.2 million.

 

     John has a Bachelors and Masters degree in Clinical and Community Psychology from Cal State University, Northridge and attended a postgraduate Business Program at the UCLA Anderson School of Business. John is very active in statewide Health and Safety and Preparedness programs both as past Chairman for the Statewide Health and Safety Committee and former Lead Chapter for those services. John directed the revision of the national Nurse Assistant Training Program and is a national instructor in a variety of management training programs. John is a recipient of the Tiffany Award from the Red Cross for Excellence in Management.

 

     His most recent Red Cross assignment in Santa Monica demonstrated those leadership skills. Santa Monica, while covering a small geographic area, provides service to a workday population of over 250,000, (overnight population 92,000). Service Delivery has grown considerably in the last several years and the Chapter and has recently created a variety of new community outreach programs to increase preparedness and response capability here in Santa Monica. Those new programs include the, “I’ve Got Seven” campaign that reached over 20,000 area residents last year with basic preparedness messages, our “Senior Ready” project that gets seniors ready to act in an emergency, as well as our new Santa Monica Organizations Active in Disaster (SMOAID) consortium that is coordinating preparedness activities with over 30 other non-profits in the west side. Response capabilities have been increased dramatically as has the delivery of First Aid and CPR training programs in Santa Monica. In addition to his role as Red Cross Director, John also provided consultation to other non-profits on a variety of preparedness, management and development issues.