ALEXANDRIA, VA., — The Infrastructure Security Partnership (TISP) recognized three individuals for their distinguished leadership in critical infrastructure resilience and volunteer service during an awards luncheon as part of the TISP Annual Infrastructure and Regional Resilience (AIRR) 2009 Conference in Grapevine, Texas.
Todd R. White, Homeland Defense Bureau, City of Phoenix, Ariz., is the recipient of the TISP Annual Award for Distinguished Leadership in Critical Infrastructure Resilience, 2009 Public Sector Award. As a founding member of the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Program for Arizona and an active member of the Prevention Subcommittee, White led the development and implementation of a series of programs that influenced significant change in the response community in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. These programs were developed under a single Terrorism Prevention Incentive known as GABRIEL, or Geospatial Antiterrorism Buffering, Response and Intervention System Providing Education and Logistical Support. The system organizes and combines the efforts of law enforcement representatives, fire personnel, state planners, National Guard representatives and regional government representatives into a unified system to compile data and critical information on sites that have beenentified as critical infrastructure and potential targets of terrorism.
Jami S. Haberl, MPH, MHA, Safeguard Iowa Partnership, Des Moines, Iowa, is the recipient of the TISP Annual Award for Distinguished Leadership in Critical Infrastructure Resilience, 2009 Private Industry Award. As co-founder of the Safeguard Iowa Partnership (SIP), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit including government, private-sector, higher education and nonprofit organizations, Haberl has helped strengthen the capacity of Iowa to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters through public-private collaboration. As a public-private partnership covering all 99 counties in the state, SIP has achieved a number of activities in the last three years as an organization. Recently Iowa was struck by a series of disasters that have created the most costly and challenging situation on the state's history. SIP staff and partners worked hundreds of hours to assist in coordinating emergency response and recovery throughout Iowa. SIP provided State of Iowa situation reports to the partners and coordinated the donation of key resources such as bottled water and plastic sheeting for sandbagging and the transportation to deliver the materials to affected areas. The two-way communication between public and private organizations set a new standard for effective collaboration in the state.
Edward J. Hecker, Chief, Office of Homeland Security, and Provost Marshal, Directorate of Civil Works, Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is the recipient of the first annual TISP Annual Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service. Bill Anderson, TISP Director and Chief Operating Officer, nominated Hecker for the award, and the selection was made by the Membership and Awards Committee, led by Jay Manik, Vice President at CDM. “Ed Hecker’s commitment, energy and leadership have been instrumental in keeping TISP a dynamic and relevant organization. Every member of TISP has benefited from his efforts and vision, and we collectively applaud him for being awarded the TISP Volunteer Service Award,” Manik said of Hecker’s service and leadership.
TISP is a not-for-profit, public-private partnership facilitating dialogue and coordinating technical expertise for the development of policy and practice advancing the resilience and security of critical infrastructure. Each year TISP members and partners submit award applications nominating candidates who have made a significant and lasting contribution to critical infrastructure resilience.
Manik chairs the TISP Membership and Awards Committee, which coordinated the review of candidate applications and selected the winners. “These awards highlights the key efforts underway in both the public and private sectors that are critically important to increasing the ability of our nation’s infrastructure to withstand the impact of any manmade or natural disasters,” said Manik.
Anderson created the TISP Annual Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service in 2009 to recognize leading volunteers within the TISP partnership. “We rely on members and partners to achieve TISP goals and objectives. Those members who go above and beyond expectations deserve our thanks and recognition,” said Anderson.
For more information about The Infrastructure Security Partnership and its award program for 2010, visit www.tisp.org or contact Bill Anderson at wanderson@tisp.org.
The TISP Annual Infrastructure and Regional Resilience (AIRR) 2010 Conference will be held December 8-9 at the Gaylord Texan Hotel and Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas.
About The Infrastructure Security Partnership (TISP) The Infrastructure Security Partnership (TISP) is a non-profit partnership serving as a national asset facilitating dialogue on domestic infrastructure security and offering sources of technical support and sources for comment on public policy related to the security of the nation’s built environment. TISP is a national leader in infrastructure security and resiliency with a diverse membership supporting the nation’s economy and well being of its people. TISP pledges to lead public- and private-sector collaboration that advances the practice and policies of infrastructure security and resiliency to sustain the nation’s resources and its ability to efficiently restore infrastructure when disrupted by any hazard.
TISP membership includes local, regional, state, federal, and foreign agencies, professional associations and industry trade groups, engineering, architecture, and construction firms, codes and standards organizations, educational institutions and universities, planners and economic developers, infrastructure owners and operators, manufacturers, and service providers whose main purpose is related to security and resiliency of the nation’s built environment. Collectively, TISP represents nearly two million individuals and firms involved in the planning, design, construction, and operation of infrastructure. Our primary objective is to create a collaborative and coordinated environment enabling secure and resilient infrastructure, which will raise awareness and will support the nation’s economy and well being of its people.
The Society of American Military Engineers serves as the Secretariat of TISP.
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