Speaker/Instructor Biographies

This the list of 2012 speakers and instructors.
2013 list coming soon.

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Matt Baker

Matt Baker has been a volunteer at Marion County Search and Rescue Communications (SARCOM) for 3 years.  He has been working at Garmin in their aviation deviation for the last 5 years.  In his free time he enjoys flying and hiking.  More recently he has joined Mazamas and has become addicted to the joys of mountaineering.

David Billstrom

David Billstrom has 30+ years of experience in high technology and public safety, and speaks and teaches frequently on topics in interoperability, communications systems integration, and standard operating procedures for police, fire, EMS and emergency management. He began his public-safety career in 1978 at one of NASAR's first SAR schools, and works part-time as a Firefighter/EMT, wildland firefighter, SAR leader, and COM-L. In 1993, he founded Mountain Wave; in 2005 he founded National Interop.

Angelo Brewer

Angelo Brewer is an Oregon native who has hiked the Timberline trail, stood on the summit of Mt. Hood and can be found running the Hood to Coast relay. Angelo spent his first 3 years at FLIR traveling the country educating customers on thermal, conducting site specific planning and developing thermal solutions based on customer’s needs. Angelo is now in charge of FLIR’s commercial handheld division where he provides both classroom training on the physics of IR and hands on operation of the cameras. Have a question about Infrared? Don’t hesitate to ask, Angelo loves to talk about this technology!

Taneka Burwell-Means

Taneka Burwell-Means is a Paramedic working for American Medical Response NW as the coordinator for the River Rescue Program based in Clackamas and Multnomah County Oregon.  Her involvement in the River Rescue Program has led to a dramatic reduction in water based fatalities at the local recreation areas.  Taneka also works as an EMS Educator teaching a First Responder course for the local Law Enforcement agencies.

Martin Colwell

Martin Colwell is president of SAR Technology Inc. and has over 30 years of experience in managing search and rescue incidents. Martin has a scientific background and has published numerous papers on the theory and practice of search and rescue incidents. He combines scientific planning with extensive field experience, to conduct all SAR missions with a scientifically rigorous approach, with an emphasis on strategic planning and rapid mission response.

Shawn (Chick) Conley

Shawn Conley has been a member of the Worcester County Sheriff’s Department for 19 years, and a sworn part-time officer with the Town of Sutton Police Department for 20 years.

He is an honored graduate of the Worcester County Correctional Academy and the Massachusetts Criminal Justice Police Academy.

Shawn has served as a Criminal Deputy Sheriff in the K-9 Division for the past 17 years.  He is assigned to response and patrol duties and is also the division’s head bloodhound trainer. Shawn runs 2 bloodhounds at this time and has trained 5 K-9 partners during his career.

During Shawn’s tenure as a Deputy he has been involved in numerous tracking assignments and has had notable success in life saving events as well has evidence and suspect discoveries.  He has court experience and he and his partners have been certified as an expert witness.  In 2007 Shawn, having been honored as Deputy Sheriff of the Year, and his K-9 partner Hope, received the Massachusetts Governor’s Life Saving Award and the National Police Bloodhound Assoc. Life Saving Award.

Shawn has served on the Executive Board of the N.P.B.A. and is currently one of their certified trainers.  Shawn also is vice president of the Northeast Houndsman Group and involved in the training of tracking skills to local police department K-9 units.  He has conducted training seminars for handlers from around the U.S and Australia

When not at work, Shawn is an avid sportsman, involved in his local beagle club as a member and field trial judge.  He loves to fly fish and enjoys riding his Harley Davidson.

Ben Corrado

Ben Corrado is a former Garmin engineer who designed outdoor GPS units.   He is a volunteer with Marion County Search and Rescue in Oregon and has taught a number of GPS related courses.  He lives in Salem, OR and spends most of his free time backpacking, skiing and camping.

Rob Cruickshank

Rob Cruickshank has been a search volunteer with Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue for 11 yrs. In addition to serving as the EMS Director and serving as a Board Member, Rob is the Co-Director of the PNW Rope Support Team. He works full time as a Cadillac Service Technician and enjoys spending time camping with his wife.

Jorene Downs

Jorene Downs has been active as a trained volunteer in emergency and disaster response in California for over 3 decades. This includes about 14 years active in SAR, specializing in Mounted SAR, while assigned to the incident command post. Other training and experience includes CERT Program Coordinator and instructor, CERT and Citizen Corps representative to region and state level, ham radio emergency communications (ARRL/ARES Assistant Emergency Coordinator), animal shelter and evacuation in disaster, developing international standards through ASTM for SAR and Homeland Security application, NASAR Mounted SAR task group chair, collaborating on emergency planning for OES, Red Cross disaster action team, Reserve Police Officer, and more. She is a Paint horse breeder and a member of Backcountry Horsemen. Jorene Downs is an internationally recognized published author, clinician and speaker regarding effective use of the Mounted SAR resource in SAR and disaster.

David Elle

A certified firefighter, apparatus engineer and swift water response technician, David Elle has served for the past 13 years with Clackamas County Fire District #1.  He worked previously for American Medical Response.

Carrie Friend

Carrie Friend works primarily as a Paramedic with American Medical Response NW in Multnomah County Oregon, but she has also been a member of the AMR Reach and Treat Team for several years.  She is very active with special events and has been deployed to assist with natural disasters, local search and rescue incidents, wildfire incidents, and extreme sporting races.

Tyler J. Gaenzle

Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Tyler Gaenzle attended the University of Texas at Tyler, where he also played college baseball. In December of 2007, he joined the United States Coast Guard. After completing boot camp, he set off to the USCG Cutter Mellon, a ship stationed out of Seattle, WA.  After some 2 years of preparing, he received orders to Air Station Port Angeles to begin a 4-month Aviation Survival Technician (Helicopter Rescue Swimmer) indoctrination. Once the physical and written syllabus was complete, he was then was sent to AST "A" school (rescue swimmer school) in Elizabeth City, NC where he learned various rescue techniques in various rescue scenarios. Post Rescue Swimmer school he attended EMT school in Petaluma, CA, and is now stationed out of Astoria, OR.

Jeff Hall

Dr. Jeff Hall graduated from North Carolina State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, in 2001.  He completed an equine medicine and surgery internship at NCSU in 2002 and then moved to Oregon where he has practiced at Equus Veterinary Service for 10 years.  His special interests include internal medicine, emergency care and surgery.  Knowledge of equine emergency care is essential to anyone riding or working with horses in the field.  

Jessica Harned

Jessica Harned began her diving career by plunging into Scientific Diving in northern California at Humboldt State University in 1999. She began teaching a myriad of dive classes in 2004 including marine sciences and scientific diving, water rescue, emergency first response for diving injuries, drysuit diving, and basic and advanced open water to a variety of ages. Jessica became a technical and heliox diver in 2006. Jessica's extensive knowledge of diving and dive equipment coupled with her experience in law enforcement as a park ranger for Humboldt County Parks brought her to her current position of Public Safety Specialist for Diving Unlimited International.
Jessica holds a B.S. in Wildlife Biology and Conservation and a Minor in Scientific Diving and Underwater Research.

Walt “Butch” Hendrick

Walt “Butch” Hendrick has trained thousands of divers and water rescues for over 45 years in over 15 countries, and is a major innovator, international award winner, and contributor to the water rescue community. Butch began his dive career in the late 1950’s in his family’s watersport resort in Puerto Rico, where he started the main San Juan offshore rescue team and where his family installed and ran the only civilian hyperbaric chamber in the Caribbean. Creator of the rescue throw rope bag, the diver do-si-do and in-water ventilation procedures, thin ice dive SAR, and much more. He has hundreds of published articles, plus several videos and books, including Public Safety Diving, Ice Diving Operations, Homicidal Drowning Investigation, and Surface Ice Rescue. With RIPTIDE performs Aquatic Death Investigations, and volunteers as a consultant for National Center for Missing and Exploited children.

Kimberly R. Kelly

Kimberly R. Kelly is a retired reserve lieutenant and SAR specialist with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.  Ms. Kelly is assigned as Lieutenant of the Training Unit and Search and Rescue Academy, San Diego County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team. She also served as training sergeant for the mounted, training and underwater search and recovery units, acting lieutenant for the training unit, as well as certified as a technical rescue specialist and medical unit support personnel.
Ms. Kelly continues her field work as a canine handler for Dolores, Colorado, K9 Search and Rescue, www.k9team.org, as well as the commander and an operational field specialist with 1SRG: 1st Special Response Group, www.1SRG.org, an international, non-governmental (NGO) non-profit search and rescue team that specializes in rescue and recovery in harsh or extreme locations globally.
Ms. Kelly is the founder and executive director of Project Far From Home, a national law enforcement educational program designed to teach law enforcement and search and rescue teams about missing at risk Alzheimer's and dementia subjects.
Ms. Kelly is the author of "Project Far From Home: Understanding and Managing the Search for the Missing at Risk Alzheimer's Subject", as well as contributing author to "In Search of the Wanderer: A Workbook to Protect Your Loved One", Mark Warner et al, Purdue University, and "Urban Search: Managing Missing Person Searches in the Urban Environment", Chris Young, John Wehbring, et al, dBS Productions.
Ms. Kelly is also the executive co-producer of an educational DVD series, "Plain Talk about Alzheimer's Disease: Alzheimer's Related Dementia and Wandering", and "Search is an Emergency: Alzheimer's Disease and Wandering", produced by The Truro Group, and distributed by Vision Video. This two part series was recognized as a semi-finalist in the International Health, seniors/geriatric division "Freddy" Awards and was awarded a "Gold Remy" at the 2010 International-Houston Film Festival.
Ms. Kelly was recently honored as the St. Richard Pampuri award selection by the Saint John of God's and the Hospitaller Foundation for her compassionate work on behalf of at risk seniors and persons with Alzheimer's disease. Ms. Kelly and her work have been recognized by President George Bush for her volunteer work, education, and training; California Office of Emergency Services (OES) for SAR education and training; Placer County Sheriff's Department; New Mexico State Search and Rescue Council;  the Thousand Oaks, California, Disaster Response Teams; Oregon's Marion County Sheriff's Department; the Alzheimer's Association chapters of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho; San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, "Reserve Deputy of the Year" and Distinguished Service Medal, San Diego Union Tribune ("Making a Search a Success"); the Do Something Foundation and Blockbuster’s "Brick Award Finalist"; Channel 10 "Leadership Award"; North County Times "Woman of Merit"; Palomar Pomerado Health Systems "Unity Award Finalist", among other recognitions.

Garrett Lang

Garrett Lang has been involved in communications since the late sixties.  An amateur radio operator since 1981, now amateur Extra Class license holder.  Lang is a former ambulance dispatcher and currently the lead electrician for Multnomah County Bridge Section.  He is involved with Multnomah County Emergency Management communications planning, Assistant Emergency Coordinator (AEC) of Multnomah County ARES, FEMA COM-L, COM-T and Oregon EMT.

Jeff McLennan

As the Clackamas County Medical Examiner Program Coordinator, Jeff McLennan heads a team of nationally certified medicolegal death investigators who respond, day or night, to every death that requires investigation throughout the county. He joined the agency as a deputy medical examiner in 1988, after working as a paramedic in the Portland area.  He also worked as a security specialist and paramedic on the federal reservation that surrounds the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. McLennan and his team have twice been recognized with awards from the National Association of Counties for their program innovations. He is the author of a textbook entitled “The Silent Science” on the subject of medicolegal death investigation.

Iain Morris

Iain Morris has had an active role in the Oregon mountain rescue community since 1999.  He is a rescue team leader for Portland Mountain Rescue and member of the Corvallis Mountain Rescue Unit.  He is an AIARE avalanche instructor and guides for Timberline Mountain Guides.  He has an AIARE level III certification.

Joe Rabinowitz

Joe Rabinowitz currently works for American Medical Response NW within Clackamas County Oregon on the Reach and Treat Team.  He has been extensively involved in outdoor recreation for many years.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Major General Raymond F. Rees, Adjutant General, Oregon National Guard

Major General Raymond F. Rees assumed duties as The Adjutant General for Oregon on July 1, 2005. He is responsible for providing the State of Oregon and the United States with a ready force of citizen soldiers and airmen, equipped and trained to respond to any contingency, natural or manmade. He directs, manages, and supervises the administration, discipline, organization, training and mobilization of the Oregon National Guard, the Oregon State Defense Force, and the Joint Force Headquarters and the Office of Oregon Emergency Management. He is also assigned as the Governor’s Homeland Security Advisor. He develops and coordinates all policies, plans and programs of the Oregon National Guard in concert with the Governor and legislature of the State.
He began his military career in the United States Army as a West Point cadet in July 1962. Prior to his current assignment, Major General Rees had numerous active duty and Army National Guard assignments to include: service in the Republic of Vietnam as a cavalry troop commander; commander of the 116th Armored Calvary Regiment; nearly nine years as the Adjutant General of Oregon; Director of the Army National Guard, National Guard Bureau; over five years service as Vice Chief, National Guard Bureau; 14 months as Acting Chief, National Guard Bureau; Chief of Staff (dual-hatted), Headquarters North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). NORAD is a binational, Canada and United States command.

Michelle Renault

Michelle Renault is a 911 dispatcher for Hood River County. She has been employed at the agency for 14 years. Michelle is a certified 911 telecommunicator, EMD telecommunicator and FTEP instructor through DPSST. She is also an EMT-B and BLS Evaluator through the State of Washington, an American Heart BLS Instructor and has her Associates Degree in Criminal Justice.  Michelle lives in the Columbia River Gorge with her husband Mike.  In their spare time they volunteer for Klickitat County Fire District #3.  Michelle enjoys teaching the communication classes and CPR/First Aid with the local fire departments, law enforcement and the 911 center.

Jerry Richert

Jerry Richert is a career firefighter with the Indianapolis Fire Department.  He has been in the fire service for 16 years.  He currently serves as a department dive instructor and works at one of the department tactical houses. In addition to his fire department career, Jerry works as a corporate trainer for Dive Rescue International.  He travels the country teaching public safety diving and top water rescue classes to police, fire and rescue squads.  Jerry attended the College Of Oceaneering in Wilmington, California where he earned his commercial diving license in 1983.  He received his recreational scuba instructor certification through PADI in 1989.  In 2001, after the drowning of a young boy in a retention pond, Jerry developed the W.A.R.N. (Water Awareness in Residential Neighborhoods) program to educate the public about water safety.

Justin Rigling

Justin Rigling has been a volunteer with Marion County Search and Rescue Communications (SARCOM) for the last 3 year.  He is currently employed with Garmin where he has been working for several years.

Marcel Rodriguez

Marcel Rodriguez is a volunteer Search & Rescue Team Member with Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue in Portland, Oregon.  Marcel currently holds qualifications as an EMT-B, WFR, Rope Rescue Technician, and Swiftwater Rescue Technician.  Marcel is also a trainer for Skedco, Inc., makers of the Sked rescue stretcher.  When not engaged in teaching and SAR activities, Marcel works in Mergers & Acquisitions for an international software company.

O'Brien Starr-Hollow

Raised in Helena, Montana, O'Brien Starr-Hollow enlisted in the United States Coast Guard August 2001.  Since his enlistment he has served aboard the USCGC Polar Star, completing one trip to Antarctica. He then entered the Rescue Swimmer Program.  From that point his interest increased in cold water immersion and the affects, signs, and symptoms of prolonged and short term immersion in cold water.  His interests were for his own safety and for the best possible rescue and care of persons in the water or on land exposed to cold wet conditions.  He has served as a Rescue Swimmer in Kodiak, Alaska and Astoria, Oregon. 

Lindsay Steele

Lindsay Steele is the customer service manager for Life Flight Network providing the point of contact for EMS providers, hospital staff, and other non-EMS personnel including search and rescue and law enforcement.  She has been with LFN for 5 years and continues to fly out of Longview and Aurora several times a month.

Brett Stoffel

Brett Stoffel graduated from the University of Washington and competed for Air Force pilot training in 1995, and then spent 10 years flying the B-52, and the Stealth Bomber (B-2) for the U.S. Air Force.  He was a Combat Life Support Officer, Combat Mission Commander, and Instructor Pilot in the Stealth Bomber program at Whiteman AFB, Missouri until late 2004.  He received basic survival training from the USAF in 1996, followed by specialized schools in water survival (Pensacola, Florida 1996), and management of aircrew SERE (Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape) training as a Combat Life Support Officer in 2001.  Stoffel then completed his tour in the Air Force in 2004 and attended Law School at Willamette University in Salem Oregon, where he studied intellectual property law, business law and contracts.  He graduated Law School, passed the WA state bar, and joined the family business as an owner, an instructor, a corporate officer and as General Counsel.

R. Skip Stoffel

R. Skip Stoffel has authored / co-authored 34 books on multiple aspects of emergency response, survival, and SAR.  One of the most popular of his books is entitled "The Textbook for Managing Land Search Operations," which was written for SAR coordinators and responders.  As an EMT, Skip responded as a sheriff’s department Hasty Team member and he also served as the Director of Emergency Management in Chelan and Douglas Counties in Washington State for over five years.  His experience base includes working in emergency response related functions at local, state and federal levels throughout all regions of the United States.  As the company's lead instructor and consultant for response training, Skip continues to build on twenty five years of training course and supportive material development throughout the U.S. and around the world.

Corey Stone

Corey Stone has been a SAR field team member for twenty years and a SAR Coordinator for sixteen years.  He has been instructing various SAR related skills for over a decade with a specialization in land navigation; high and low angle rope access and rope rescue, and managing land search operations.   Corey has taught land navigation classed to SAR organizations, narcotics enforcement, SWAT teams, fire command, wild land fire personnel and the public.  He has been an instructor at several MLSO courses in Oregon and a speaker at SARCon for several years

JD Storn

JD Storn is a Lead Reach and Treat Paramedic that has been working with American Medical Response for several years.  Prior to his employment with AMR he was heavily involved with Ski Patrol Operations in the Mt. Hood area.  Recreationally, JD is an avid whitewater boater and backcountry skier.  JD has taken part in several expeditions across the US and abroad which gives him rich experience in backcountry travel.

Al Tong

Al Tong is an active ground search volunteer with Pacific Northwest Search & Rescue.  During the past 5 years, he has served on the team’s board of directors, trained and certified as a technical rigger, and is currently serving as the team’s Director of Training.  Al’s teaching philosophy focuses on training core fundamentals, building repeatable skills and instilling a problem solving mindset. High skill and low tech beats low skill and high tech every time!  Al is a lifetime outdoors enthusiast and enjoys outdoor photography, hiking, fishing and bow hunting.  Al’s professional career includes experience in the construction, manufacturing and warehousing industries.  He currently works for a Portland based food products company as its VP of Finance.

USCG Sector Columbia River

Sector Columbia River’s Search and Rescue Mission Coordination responsibilities are among the broadest of any Coast Guard Unit.  The area of responsibility extends 50 nautical miles west of the coastline and includes all navigable waters within the state boundaries of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.  However, the unit routinely responds to distress beyond 50 nautical miles offshore and to distress inland within Oregon and Washington.  During an average year, Sector Columbia River will respond to 794 search and rescue calls for assistance, save 87 lives, and assist over 1773 lives and $160 million in property.

Scott Walker

A firefighter and swift-water rescue instructor with Clackamas County Fire District #1, Scott Walker is also a Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) rescue-boat operator and instructor. He has served as a member of the district's swift-water and high-angle rope rescue team for the past 14 years. Walker is also a S.W.I.F.T. member.

Kevin Walters, M.D.

Dr. Kevin Walters works as an occupational medicine at Kaiser Permanente in Salem, OR. He is a retired Navy Diving Medical Officer, and spent the majority of his medical career in the Navy's Special Operations Community. He was an enlisted SEAL for the first 7 years of his navy career, and currently volunteers as a medical advisor to the Clackamas County Dive Rescue and Recovery Team.

Andrea Zaferes

Andrea Zafares has been teaching dive teams how to find bodies and evidence with Lifeguard Systems since 1987, and co-founded with Butch Hendrick nonprofit RIPTIDE to assist law enforcement with body-found-in-water investigations. She is a medicolegal death investigator with Dutchess Cty M.E. Office, is a noted author, speaks at Rescue and Forensic conferences worldwide, and has received acknowledgements such as the DAN-Rolex and the Beneath The Sea Diver of the Year Awards, and has been published over 150 times, and presented in more than 100 conferences.