With over 20 years experience managing incidents for the U.S. Coast Guard, Justin brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the EMSI cadre. His diversity is reflected in the myriad of Coast Guard assignments he served, including search and rescue boat coxswain, law enforcement officer, Federal Search and Rescue coordinator, and Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) member. In addition, his collateral assignments as Public Affairs Officer at various levels in the organization have made him a well spoken representative, able to distill complex issues into easily understood concepts.
In his current role with industry, Justin manages the Environmental, Health, and Safety programs for a large plant with two manufacturing activities employing over 1,300 wage and salary members. As a member of the plant’s senior management team, he is responsible for making key decisions on direction of the facility and its employees, as well as ensuring the safety of all.
Indicative of his response operations acumen, Justin deployed to Miami in 2009 to support the Haiti earthquake operations, serving as a Resource Unit Leader and Planning Section Chief directing incident management operations for response and recovery and the interagency activation of the DHS Homeland Security Task Force-Southeast (HSTF-SE). His experience and expertise was most recently tested during a major fire at the St. Clair (MI) Power Plant in 2016, where as a volunteer, he served as the Public Information Officer and the Deputy Operations Section Chief, assisting in the management of media messaging and deployment of critical resources.
Demonstrating expertise across the wide spectrum of command staff responsibilities, Justin has served in varying on-scene roles, from initial Public Information Officer to spokesman, media escort, and liaison. As a Special Assistant to Admiral Thad Allen, the National Incident Commander for the Deepwater Horizon, his public affairs and liaison talents were evident as he meticulously coordinated all logistics, security, and movement planning for Admiral Allen and staff, as well as coordinating with Presidential, Vice-Presidential, and cabinet Secretary visits in the gulf region. As the advance liaison, Justin prepared staff and media representatives for daily press briefings ensuring national and international news cycles were appropriately serviced around the clock at the senior staff level during this high-vis incident.
Recognized as a training subject matter expert, Justin was assigned as the Deputy Administrator for the Coast Guard’s prestigious National Search and Rescue (SAR) School. As a nationally accredited instructor in maritime search and rescue planning and risk management, he was responsible for the oversight, improvement, and delivery of seven SAR-related courses as they were offered in the US and internationally. Reflective of his expertise, Justin served as one of only four Federal Search and Rescue coordinators in the Coast Guard. In addition to his day jobs, Justin voluntarily served as member of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area’s Incident Management Assistance Team.
Justin holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Phoenix and is a certified Incident Commander, Public Information Officer, Liaison Officer, Operations Section Chief, Planning Section Chief, and Agency Representative.