Who We Are

804-304-4822
paul@em-partners.com

Paul is a respected and proven industry leader, management consultant, entrepreneur and community leader who has dedicated more than 25 years to assisting public and private sector clients plan for, and recover from natural and man-made disasters. He has supported some of the nation’s largest, most complex, and most successful recovery efforts including the 9/11 World Trade Center disaster, Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. He has led teams of multi-disciplined professionals, managing and directly supervising more than $8B in FEMA Public Assistance grants written by FEMA or contractor staff encompassing hazards including flood, hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms and terrorist attacks.

Since his first disaster deployment in 1998, through the subsequent 50+ disaster recovery operations he has supported, Paul has built a reputation as a conscientious problem-solver, strategic planner, sought after protégé…then mentor, process improvement and management consultant.

Paul is recognized as a national leader in debris management planning and operations. He has deployed as a Debris Advisor on numerous assignments in support of FEMA Public Assistance, including the attack on the World Trade Center, where he led a team responsible for capturing all debris-related costs associated with the removal and processing of 1.6M tons of debris. He has also served as a Debris Advisor to FEMA on the 2004 Hurricanes in FL, Hurricane Isabel in VA and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In 2013 following Superstorm Sandy in NJ, Paul served as the FEMA Compliance Manager for NJ Department of Environmental Protection, responsible for the management of waterway debris removal in NJ state waters, the largest waterway debris removal operation in our country’s history.

Paul has supported FEMA in developing doctrine and policies which are implemented across the US and its territories. Paul was the primary author for several FEMA documents, including FEMA 325, Debris Management Guide; FEMA 327 Debris Monitoring Guide and He is a FEMA-certified trainer and has developed and delivered disaster recovery training for jurisdictions across the country.

Paul lives in the Richmond, VA area. He thrives on spending time with his two children and supporting their activities and growth. In his “spare time”, he is a high school varsity soccer coach and volunteers his time and resources at several non-profits in the community, including a local food bank as well as the Goochland Education Foundation.

703-507-7001
shandi@em-partners.com

Shandi Treloar has had a successful career in emergency management working to empower clients and partners in building stronger emergency management programs, from recovery processes, and debris management planning to strategic comprehensive program development. Recently Shandi has been working to advance the growth of public-private partnerships through her work with the National Emergency Management Association serving as the Private Sector Chair and is one of the founders of the Private Sector Emergency Management Association. Shandi also sits on the Advisory Board for the Electric Infrastructure Security Council.

Shandi has experience across the entire spectrum of emergency management. Over the course of her career, she has supported FEMA’s NRCC after Hurricane Katrina, FEMA Region IX’s Catastrophic Planning, FEMA’s Technical Assistance Research Contract, and provided technical support to the Building Sciences Publications. She has extensive experience in debris management planning and has supported FEMA’s Debris Program through the development of guidance documents like FEMA 327 and 325 and was the Deputy Principal Investigator for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program’s TRB Report 781, Debris Management Handbook for local and state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and Public Works (DPWs). She has supported a myriad of state and local emergency management projects including training and exercise planning and support in New York, COVID-19 after-action reviews for the State of Oregon, strategic emergency management planning in Maryland, supporting CalOES’s Earthquake and Tsunami Program, and supporting private sector engagement during COVID-19 for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

Prior to emergency management, Shandi practiced social work. She was a Social Service Representative at DC Child and Family Services in Washington, DC, and was a Child Advocate at the Salvation Army’s West Women and Children’s Shelter in Portland, OR. Shandi holds a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from the University of Portland, was the recipient of the Dorothy Day Award for Outstanding Social Work Major, and spent a semester in Washington DC at American University as part of her undergraduate career. She also holds a Master of Arts in Political Management as well as a Graduate Certificate in Crisis and Emergency Management both from The George Washington University. Shandi lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, daughter, and two golden retrievers. They love games, movies, traveling, and hiking together whenever possible.

kendra@em-partners.com

Kendra is a dedicated and detail-oriented accounting professional. She has a proven track record of helping organizations meet their accounting and business needs for almost two decades.  Kendra is versatile, having worked in a variety of industries, including the real estate, industrial, and distribution sectors. Kendra is a creative problem-solver, multi-tasker and leader.  She is known for her accuracy, attention to detail, strategic thinking, and communication skills.

Kendra holds a BS degree in Accounting and a MBA.  During her almost 20 years of accounting and bookkeeping experience, Kendra has managed corporate accounting, performed financial analysis, and compiled and reviewed financial statements. Kendra also has experience with human resources and payroll management. She brings a critical eye to her review of financial transactions. Kendra supports EM Partners by managing accounting operations and human resources.

In addition to working at EM Partners, Kendra loves spending time with her sons and having get-togethers with her extended family as much as possible. Kendra also volunteers her time with the Special Olympics. She is a huge sports fan and enjoys traveling, music, great acting, cooking, and finding new recipes.

Kirby@em-partners.com

Kirby Felts has over 20 years professional experience in emergency management serving public, private, and higher education organizations. Her career has involved the management of people, relationships, projects, information, proposals, financials, and technology. Kirby is driven to support clients with compassion, creativity, originality, and open-mindedness in pursuit of project goal.

Most recently, Kirby has led a team in supporting the Virginia Department of Emergency Management on hurricane contingency planning and hurricane sheltering projects.  She is also managing EM Partner’s contract with the State of Oregon in developing a COVID-19 After-Action Report.  Prior to EM-Partners, Kirby was the Emergency Management Coordinator for the City of Charlottesville, University of Virginia (UVA), and Albemarle County, Virginia. She ran the regional emergency management program and acted as liaison between local, state and federal resources during disasters. With only a few weeks at the helm, she coordinated the regional response to the 2012 Derecho, a federally declared incident involving a severe thunderstorm with straight-line winds that left much of the area without power for multiple days during an extreme heat wave. Kirby was selected as the Emergency Management Professional of the Year for 2014 by the Virginia Emergency Management Association for logistics and communication support to the search for missing UVA student Hannah Graham, an effort that garnered national attention.

Kirby’s formal education has had useful applicability to her emergency management experiences. She has an undergraduate degree in psychology from the College of William and Mary and a graduate degree in journalism with a focus on public relations from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is married with two teenage young men.  She lives with them and two ridiculous dogs, a cat, and 10 chickens near Crozet, VA.

Ashleigh Makuch is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) with over 9 years of experience in emergency management, having held positions in state, higher education, and county agencies. Her background includes emergency operations planning, continuity planning, training and exercise development, and emergency operations center activations. She is also experienced in human services, including mass care, community recovery and Individual Assistance, and voluntary agency and private sector coordination. Ashleigh’s significant achievements include, rewriting the Arizona State Emergency Response and Recovery Plan, working Arizona’s COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery, providing technical review of federal and gubernatorial declaration documents, and supporting wildfires, flooding, and other disasters in Arizona. She is an instructor for continuity of operations planning courses and FEMA National Emergency Management Basic Academy courses. Ashleigh also serves as an assessor for the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) in support of professionalization and implementation of national standards for the emergency management industry.

Ashleigh holds a Master of Arts in Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Homeland Defense and Security (NPS CHDS). She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Criminology/Criminal Justice from Northern Arizona University. She is passionate about leadership, learning, and her Master’s thesis, “Finding a Path for Future Leaders: Improving Leadership in Homeland Security,” highlights the qualities and practices of good leadership to contribute to the development of emerging leaders in the industry. Ashleigh lives in Scottsdale, Arizona and enjoys travel, reading, and spending time with family.

Stephanie is an enthusiastic and highly organized EM Partners team member with extensive experience in training and program coordination.  She works best when armed with a strong cup of coffee and a deadline. No deadline? No problem. She’ll help realistically navigate deliverables using her extensive project management skills.

Stephanie’s career spans more than a decade managing and planning training conferences, most recently for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). She’s also worked with Federal disaster response initiatives and response training, including time at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during Hurricane Katrina.

Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from Michigan State University, with a concentration in Homeland Security. She maintains a Real Estate license in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

A competitor to her core, Stephanie enjoys running, reading, and trying to keep her (many) indoor plants alive. She resides in Northern Virginia with her Hokie-loving (Virginia Tech) husband and two young children.

Andrew is a committed emergency services executive with extensive leadership and management experience in the modern, all-hazards emergency planning and response environment. He possesses strong collaborative skills with a consistent track record of success in leading multi-disciplinary teams in developing solutions to complex adaptive challenges in high-risk environments. 

After a 20-year career with the Henrico County Division of Fire, Andrew served as the Fire Chief for the Charlottesville Fire Department from 2015 – 2020. As fire chief, Andrew spearheaded efforts to transform and modernize the City’s approach to emergency management, adding Emergency Management Coordinator functions to the fire chief job duties and developing and providing oversight for the City’s first Committee on Safety and Emergency Preparedness.  

Andrew provided key leadership as an incident commander in the regional emergency operations center during the 2017 civil unrest in Charlottesville. He also served as a member of the Unified Command Team for the one-year anniversary of the August 2017 civil disturbance and provided strategic direction for local, regional, and state executives and elected officials. The Charlottesville Fire Department received the 2017 Governor’s Award for Outstanding Fire Department Response to the August 12, 2017, Unite the Right Rally.

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Virginia, is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program, and the International Association of Fire Chiefs Fire Service Executive Development Institute. In 2015, Andrew received an Outstanding Applied Research Award from the National Fire Academy for his research on psychological resilience in firefighters. Andrew is licensed as a Registered Nurse and is a Nationally Registered Paramedic.

In addition to his work with EM-Partners, Andrew enjoys spending time with his wife Barb and their two adult children, Kate, and Peter. Andrew and his wife are small business owners and volunteer in support of the Charlottesville Regional Autism Action Group, The Autism Sanctuary, and Special Olympics.

Sandra (Sandy) Heiss is a certified project manager (PMP) with over 30 years of experience in program management, business operations, and communications. Field experience with FEMA includes multiple deployments for hurricanes, floods, winter storms, and pandemics. Having written and submitted over 100 grant applications across all categories of permanent and emergency work, Sandy also performed closeouts, acted in policy advisory roles, wrote determination memos, composed briefing papers, and delivered situational reports for public officials and key decision makers. Her professional background includes significant experience managing, maintaining, and analyzing databases – including numerous FEMA applications – and performing quality assurance and compliance reviews. Her previous roles include almost a decade as the public information lead for a regional blood center and another 10 years in multi-national database marketing and CRM.

Jacinda is a hard-working, critical thinker who desires to never stop learning. She graduated from Regent University with her Doctorate in Strategic Leadership to learn how as a leader she can best serve her followers to bring success to any project she is a part of.

Jacinda graduated from the University of South Florida with her Master of Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology. She first began working in the public health field for the University of Michigan conducting diabetes research where she co-authored two publications about the relationship of diabetes and stress. She came to work for EM Partners 6 months ago to join the fight against Covid-19. Jacinda’s attention to detail, love for analytics and strategic planning skills were a huge asset to creating and managing the Virginia Volunteer Vaccinator
Registry. During this project EM Partners worked with the Virginia Department of Health to credential medical professionals to serve as volunteer vaccinators.

When Jacinda is not working she can be found trail running or lifting weights; she travels the country competing in Spartan races with her husband. She also volunteers at her church serving as a Sunday School teacher as well as a youth group leader.

Gary “Gator” Gaston has 15 years of emergency management experience, starting with Hurricane Ivan in 2005 as a Debris Monitor in Florida. He has also provided FEMA Public Assistance support following disasters in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, New York, Illinois, North and South Dakota. He has served as a CRC Specialist, Debris Monitor and Specialist, Mobile Home Inspector, Review Specialist and Project Specialist. He was also a foreman during the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf Coast in 2010.  Gator maintains a claims adjusters license, as well.

Since coming on board with EM Partners, he has written projects for every category of work. He is presently writing projects involving COVID-19 and vaccinations as a Document Validation Specialist at FEMA’s CRC East. Gator brings a great work ethic, experience, positive attitude, team mentality, and a smile.

Gator holds a BA degree in Sociology with a minor in Psychology. Prior to transitioning to a career in emergency management, Gator worked for the Florida Department of Corrections and taught high school social studies.

Gator loves to spend time with his family, play basketball, play music and travel. During his spare time, he enjoys construction work with his “carpenter” friends, doing renovations and interior decorations.

Derrick is an experienced emergency management specialist with almost 30 years of experience.  He holds an Associate’s degree in Architectural Engineering Technology as well as a Bachelor of Science in Management.  Derrick has had a diverse and successful career, covering a wide array of specialties.  Derrick has developed strategic leadership skillsets along with company’s best practices for safety standards, local/state/federal government codes and FEMA Public Assistance policies. Derrick has also utilized his skill set to focus on organizational growth and profitability along with leading and managing operational functions.  This included implementing processes to optimize workflow in the construction and health care arena, along with the government (including FEMA) clients.

Derrick has provided technical expertise to validate disaster-related damages, scopes of works, cost estimates, and proposals for the restoration of damaged facilities following federally declared disasters. Derrick is proficient in FEMA’s Grants Manager for processing Public Assistance projects, as well as with Cost Estimating Format using RS Means.  He has also conducted preliminary damage assessments.

Cody S. Hull J.D., Emergency Management Consultant, began working for the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office in the Consumer Protection Department in 2014 while attending Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson, Mississippi. At MC School of Law Cody became a founding member of the Diversity Coalition, a student/faculty committee dedicated to promoting diversity at the Law School and beyond. Additionally, Cody served as Vice-President of the Sports & Entertainment Law Society at MC Law. Cody was born and raised in Hattiesburg, Mississippi where he attended the University of Southern Mississippi and he earned a full scholarship as a Division-1 Running Back for the University of Southern Mississippi football team. Hull holds both the New Orleans Bowl record and Southern Miss bowl records with a career-high 37 carries for 161 yards. While attending Southern Miss Cody was elected by his teammates to serve as a team representative for SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee), a committee assembled to provide insight on the student-athletes experience and offer input on the rules, regulations and policies that affect student-athletes’ lives on campus. Additionally, Cody earned his BA in Mass Communications/ Broadcast Journalism. Cody made his entry into the disaster recovery world in 2017 as an IA Site Inspector with Hurricane Irma in Florida, he then was asked to help IA recovery efforts in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. He then transitioned into the PA recovery world as a PDMG following Hurricane Harvey’s destruction in Texas. The premise of helping someone in need is what brought Cody to the disaster world and it is what continues to be his daily focus. Cody resides in Houston, Texas with his beautiful wife and three beautiful daughters. Cody enjoys spending time with family, writing scripts, snow skiing, swimming, golfing, cycling, jet skiing, traveling and anything else that can get him outside and active.

Sam is a dedicated and organized EM Partners team member with experience having held positions in state, healthcare, and private sector emergency management. Sam’s background has included training, exercise, disaster recovery, and preparedness as well as extensive experience managing disaster recovery programs for multiple federally declared disasters.

Sam’s career has included working at the South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD) as the state’s Individual Assistance (IA) Officer. During this time Sam deployed via the Emergency Management Assistance Compact to support disaster response efforts in multiple states. Sam has also worked in private sector emergency management for an international retail company where he supported the development of the company’s first emergency coordination center. Most recently, he has worked with healthcare facilities throughout the country to design and deliver exercises and plans that meet federal regulatory requirements.

Sam holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Radford University. He also holds a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Liberty University with a concentration in Homeland Security.

Sam enjoys golfing, fishing, and hunting throughout his home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

Aaron Walker is a dedicated emergency management professional with experience in higher education, county agencies as well as business continuity. With his passion for ensuring the safety and the resilience of communities, he has gained valuable experience through various roles in emergency management and business resilience. During his time at the University of Richmond, Aaron played a pivotal role in enhancing campus-wide preparedness by leading the update of Continuity of Operations Plans for over 40 campus departments. He ensures seamless operations during unforeseen disruptions through effective communication and outreach efforts. 

Driven by a passion for emergency management, Taylor is a dedicated professional with experience at the city, county, and federal levels. With a Bachelors of Science in Global Security and Intelligence Studies paired with a minor in Emergency Management and Planning, she brings a unique blend of knowledge and innovation to every project.

Taylor’s passion for this field started at Coconino County Emergency Management where Taylor assumed an essential role in the COVID-19 Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Here she orchestrated the design and execution of COVID-19 testing and vaccine sites as well as managing the strategic distribution of Personal Protective Equipment for the county. Simultaneously, Taylor also participated in the Rafael Fire EOC, and the Museum Fire Flood EOC, adapting efficiently to diverse daily operations.

While fulfilling investigative duties at the Prescott Valley Police Department, Taylor redesigned Prescott Valley’s EOC to ensure maximum efficiency for both Emergency Management and Law Enforcement needs. Subsequently, Taylor then spent two years with federal law enforcement, where her expertise proved to be instrumental in redesigning dynamic crisis management procedures to be adopted agency wide during daily tactical operations and critical response incidents.

As a homegrown Arizonan, Taylor loves to spend her free time in the mountains hiking, skiing, or reading a good book. When taking time off from work she enjoys traveling and using her Spanish speaking proficiency. Taylor also volunteers her time with Girls on The Run, an organization she grew up with.

Vincent Liotto is a seasoned professional with over 13 years of dedicated experience in the fields of Individual Assistance (IA) and Public Assistance (PA). Throughout his career, Vincent has been instrumental in managing and coordinating disaster recovery efforts across various regions, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to supporting communities in times of crisis, working on a wide range of natural disasters.

Beginning his career in 2011, Vincent quickly rose through the ranks, showcasing his expertise in assessing and addressing the needs of individuals and communities affected by Hurricane Katrina.  His comprehensive understanding of FEMA IA enables him to efficiently navigate the complexities of disaster relief programs, ensuring timely and effective support for those in need.

In addition to his proficiency in IA, Vincent has also excelled in PA, where he has played a pivotal role in facilitating the recovery of public infrastructure and services. His strategic approach and ability to collaborate with diverse stakeholders, including government agencies and municipalities affected by Hurricane Laura and Delta, have consistently yielded successful outcomes in rebuilding communities and enhancing resilience.

Vincent is an alumnus of Nichol State University, which has provided him with a solid foundation in emergency management and disaster response. His leadership skills and dedication to service have earned him recognition for his contributions to disaster recovery efforts throughout his career.

Currently as the Disaster Recovery Program Manager for Emergency Management Partners, Vincent continues to leverage his expertise to make a meaningful impact in the field of disaster recovery, ensuring that communities receive the support they need to recover and thrive in the aftermath of disasters.  Vincent is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and enjoys traveling, cooking and spending time with his daughter.