Meet the Team
Our Founders
Art Kirkland
Co-Founder
Art Kirkland spent 25 years as US Army Aviation Officer and as a plans, operations and training specialist. During this time, he served as a course designer, writer, instructor and professor at the United States Military Academy, the United States Army Command and Staff College and Tulane University.
Art has served as Director of Emergency Management at Tulane University and the University of California at Los Angeles. He has designed emergency management programs from the ground up as well as evaluating programs at all levels.
In addition to classic emergency management, Art has served as a subject matter expert and trainer in hazardous materials and business continuity.
Art has a Master of Science degree in Engineering Psychology and Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech as well as a Master of Business Administration from Tulane University.
Arpen Shadkamyan
Co-Founder
Arpen Shadkamyan, a highly-motivated emergency manager with over ten years of experience in emergency response and management, obtained her Master’s in Emergency Management from the American Military University after conferring a B.S. in Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Arpen has implemented leading concepts in emergency management and business continuity for one of the nation’s top Universities. Arpen contributed to the development of a modern approach to continuity planning for institutions of higher education, which was implemented at all ten University of California campuses.
With vast knowledge in emergency management and business continuity, she serves as an adjunct instructor with Cal OES and instructs throughout the nation. With extensive knowledge and experience in Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Arpen is able to effectively serve your needs in helping to ensure a safer world.
Lorraine Schneider
Co-Founder
Lorraine Schneider is an emergency manager with extensive experience in the public sector. Through her work as a training specialist, she has developed, facilitated and implemented rigorous training and exercise programs serving the University of California, Los Angeles, as well as local nonprofits and jurisdictions. Her expertise lies in community engagement and mobilization (e.g. CERT & Building Warden Program).
Previous work at the City of Los Angeles Emergency Management Department included multifaceted projects, such as a review of the City's Terrorism Prevention & Protection Annex and involvement in the Senior Leaders Seminar & Tabletop Exercise with the Department of Defense during LA’s 2016 Fleet Week. Her contributions to the city's pilot project on Supply Chain Resiliency earned her a Certificate of Recognition by LA City Mayor, Eric Garcetti.
Lorraine currently serves on the board of Women in Homeland Security – Southern California. She earned a certificate degree in Emergency Management & Homeland Security from UCLA Extension and a Bachelor of Arts degree in North American Studies with a focus on U.S. foreign policy and war studies from the Freie Universität Berlin.
Our Associates
Lorianne Bundick
Local Hazard Mitigation
EOP Planning
Hazard-Specific Annexes
Chris Kellett
Animal Evacuations
Enterprise Risk Management
Travel Risk Management
Rockne Harmon
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Aviation & Maritime Operations