Thomas Phelan

Thomas Phelan, Associate Professor, American Public University School of Public Safety and Health

Tom Phelan, Ed.D., Associate Professor at American Public University’s School of Public Safety and Health, is also an adjunct instructor in the Elmira College, Emergency Management Concentration, M.S. Degree program. Tom is President of Strategic Teaching Associates, Inc. and the author of Emergency Management and Tactical Response Operations: Bridging the Gap (2008, Butterworth-Heinemann).

Tom was named a Founding Member of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security by Secretary Tom Ridge,and is a member of the IBM Crisis Response Team, responding to Katrina, and the Indian Ocean Tsunami. He serves on the Advisory Board for Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness, on the Editorial Advisory Board for Disaster Recovery Journal, and is a member of IAEM.

He has taught EM courses at Onondaga Community College, Empire State College, and is a consultant to Clearview Management, IT Crisis, Virtual Corporation, the American Institutes for Research, and Vantage HRS. Clients he has served are FDIC, USDA/APHIS, Boeing, Disney, Verizon, States of California and Missouri, City of New York, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Sanofi Pasteur, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Pearson Technologies, the Department of the Army, and several municipalities.

Tom served with DMORT in St. Gabriel, Louisiana (2005), at the World Trade Center (2001), and received the New York State Senate Liberty Award for his service at Ground Zero.

Tom earned a Doctorate from Syracuse University, and has consulted and presented in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, India, Sri Lanka, and Singapore.

Past Employment

• Associate Professor – School of Public Safety and Health,American Public University System, Charles Town, WV
• Manager, Emergency Planning,Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, Syracuse, NY

Qualification

• Ed.D., Syracuse University, Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation (1996)
• Professional Certificate in Education, Harvard University (1985)
• M.S. & University Certificate of Specialist (Communications), SUNY Albany (1973 & 1976)
• Bachelor of Science, State University College at New Paltz (1969)

Specialized Emergency Management and Response Training

• Oil Pollution Act 90/OSHA HAZWOPER Operations Refresher, 6/01/1995.
• Public Safety Critical Incident Management, Onondaga Public Safety Institute, 2/22/1996.
• Incident Command System – ICS 100, NYS SEMO, 1996.
• Oil Pollution Act 90/OSHA HAZWOPER Refresher, 29CFR 1910.120, Response Management Associates, Oswego, 9/18-19/1996.
• Command Post Operations, Public Safety Training Center, Syracuse, 4/7/1998.
• Incident Command System – ICS 200, Public Safety Training Center and SEMO, Syracuse, 4/7/1998.
• Emergency Response to Terrorism, U.S. Department of Justice and Public Safety Training Center, 6/19/1998.
• Title VII Family Assistance Act Informational Seminar, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT), Syracuse, 7/25/1998.
• Incident Command System – ICS 300, SEMO, 4/15/1999.
• Oil Pollution Act 90/OSHA HAZWOPER Refresher, 29CFR 1910.120, Response Management Associates, Oswego, 6/2/1999.
• Incident Command System – ICS 400, SEMO, 3/30/2000.
• NBC Domestic Preparedness Training, Jacksonville State University, 9/28/2000.
• Domestic Preparedness: Chemical Weapons Tabletop Exercise, U.S. Department of Justice, 9/29/2000.
• Title VII Family Assistance Act Informational Seminar, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT), New York State Police Academy, Albany, 2/10-11/2001.
• Tactical Considerations for Terrorist Incidents, Public Safety Training Center, 2/15/2001.
• Adult CPR, American Red Cross, Syracuse, 4/23/2001.
• Infant & Child CPR, American Red Cross, 4/25/2001.
• Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Management and Operations, Emergency Management Institute, Federal Emergency Management * Agency (FEMA), 6/6/2001.
• ICS National Training Curriculum, ICS Basic (I-200) Instructor Hand-off Course, Public Safety Training Center and SEMO, 9/6/2001.
• Domestic Preparedness Biological Weapons Tabletop Exercise, U.S. Department of Justice, 11/27/2001.
• Crisis & Emergency Risks Communications, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Atlanta, GA, 12/7/2005.
• Myers Briggs Type Indicator Qualifying Workshop, Otto Kroeger & Associates, Fairfax, VA, 1994

Publications

• Phelan, Thomas. (2008). Emergency Management and Tactical Response Operations: Bridging the Gap, Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN-13: 978-0-7506-8712-6.

• Ladd-de Graff, V., & Phelan, T.D. (2001, Summer). Are you prepared to have your people not show up? Disaster planning for work stoppages. Disaster Recovery Journal, 80.

• Lathrop, R., & Phelan, T. (2008 Spring). Prepared and Preparedness. Disaster Recovery Journal.

• Hiemstra, R., & Phelan, T. (2007, August). Pandemic planning: Faculty and students will save the day – from a distance. Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness Newsletter, Retrieved August 29, 2007 from http://www.ccep.ca/hiemstra-phelan.html.

Presentations

• Scheduled: “Can you hear me now?” Capital District Region Association of Contingency Planners (ACP). Albany, New York, April 14, 2010

• “The Intersection of IT, Emergency Management and Humanitarian Agencies,” DRJ Conference, Orlando, FL, March 22, 2010.

• “Starting Your Own EM/BCP Consulting Firm,” Association of Contingency Planners (ACP), Syracuse, NY, November 30, 2009.

• “Emergency Management and Tactical Response Operations,” Herkimer County Fire Chief’s Association Annual Banquet, Dolgeville, NY. January 31, 2009.

• “Emergency Management and Tactical Response Operations: Bridging the Gap,” Puget Sound-Tacoma (PS-TAC), MicroSoft, February 25, 2009.

• “Are BCP and EM Merging?” Webinar. Disaster Recovery Journal, September 25, 2008.

• DRJ Mock Disaster. DRJ Fall World. San Diego. September 14, 2008.

• “Emergency Management and Tactical Response Operations,” World Conference on Disaster Management (WCDM), Toronto, June 16.

• “Higher Education for Business Continuity Planners,” Association of Contingency Planners, Liberty Valley Chapter, Collegeville, Pennsylvania, March 13.