Founder & CEO of Simental Industries Ltd.
Mr. Arthur J. Simental, M.S., CEM
Mr. Arthur J. Simental is a Homeland Security & Emergency Management Professor, Certified Emergency Manager, Consultant, Disaster Resilience Researcher, Director of Emergency Management, and the Founder & CEO of Simental Industries Ltd.
Mr. Arthur J. Simental is a Homeland Security & Emergency Management Adjunct Instructor for the College of Security Studies at Colorado Technical University and the Director of Emergency Management and Director of the Emergency & Safety Services Division at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Mr. Simental is also the Founder of Simental Industries Ltd. Mr. Simental has over a fourteen years of service in Government, Homeland Security & Emergency Management and Emergency Services. Serving at the local, county, regional, state, federal level, and in the private and non-profit sectors in homeland security, emergency management, healthcare & public health emergency preparedness, space & defense, security, education and critical infrastructure. Mr. Simental is also a homeland security researcher, published author, former Department of Defense National Security Innovation Network – Hirethon Ambassador, Member of FEMA’s Science, Technology and Integration Special Interest Group and FEMA’s Resilient Nation Partnership Network, Member and Certified Emergency Manager with the International Association of Emergency Managers and other groups focused on science, technology, innovation and education in the homeland security enterprise.
Mr. Simental has held various positions including: Fire Fighter/Wildland Fire Fighter, Hazmat Team Member, Emergency Preparedness Specialist, Emergency Manager, Disaster Coordinator, Regional Homeland Security Analyst, Training & Exercise Coordinator, Facilities & Safety Coordinator, Tribal Assistant Liaison Officer and Public Health Advisor. Mr. Simental has served in multiple positions at incidents and exercises, including deploying to several Type 1 and Type 2 incidents to include initial attack (wildland fires) and Presidentially declared Major Disasters. Mr. Simental also notably supported the COVID-19 response, serving with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, Quarantine and Border Health Services Branch – Quarantine Service as a Public Health Advisor supporting the Los Angeles Quarantine Station and Epidemiology Field Team through multiple public health emergency responses including COVID-19, Operation Allies Welcome and Monkeypox Response 2022.
Mr. Simental earned a Master of Science in Homeland Security, Emergency Management and Public Health from Colorado Technical University, a Bachelor of Arts in Emergency and Disaster Management from American Military University, an Associate of Applied Science in Homeland Security/Emergency Management from Pikes Peak Community College, and an Undergraduate Certificate in Cybersecurity from Colorado State University. Presently, Mr. Simental is a second-year doctoral student, pursuing a Doctor of Management in Homeland Security from CTU.
Mr. Simental is has published on various topics spanning homeland security, emergency management, disaster resilience, climate adaptation, space technology & innovations, and systems science. Mr. Simental has published book chapter Space Security, in Masys, A., Handbook of Security Science (in press), and in the Inaugural Edition of Pracademic Affairs in the Homeland Security Affairs Journal, Implementing Space Technology and Innovations into Homeland Security and Emergency Management Operations and Activities.
Mr. Simental’s research interests include homeland security & emergency management, disaster & climate resilience research, systems science, smart cities, surveillance, intelligence and criminal justice, cyber-physical systems, geospatial intelligence, real-time multi-modal data analysis applications, space & defense, catastrophic incident planning, and holistic innovative research on addressing threats, hazards and risk from a systems perspective to achieve systematic resilience across the homeland security enterprise.
Chief Research Officer & SI Ltd. Senior Managing Consultant – Education, Training & Exercises
Ms. Tina Bynum, D.M., M.P.A.
Dr. Bynum is an Emergency Management and Homeland Security Researcher, Published Author, Dean, Professor, HSEEP Exercise Planner & Facilitator, & Higher Education Leader. Dr. Bynum provides leadership and oversees the Shield Initiative’s Research Program and emergency management education portfolio.
Dr. Bynum is the Associate Dean of Law, Public Safety, and Social Sciences with Pikes Peak State College and an Associate Editor with the Journal of Homeland Security & Emergency Management. She also serves as an emergency management program assessor with the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP). Dr. Bynum is the former University Program Director for the College of Security Studies at Colorado Technical University. She previously served on the editorial review board of the Journal for Homeland Security Education and is a member of the International Society for Preparedness, Resilience and Security (INSPRS).
Dr. Bynum graduated from Colorado Technical University with a Doctor of Management – Homeland Security, and from the University of Colorado with a Master of Public Administration and a BA magna cum laude with High Distinction in Psychology.
Dr. Bynum previously served as the Associate Director of Operations and Educational Programs at the Center for Homeland Security, part of the National Institute of Science, Space and Security Centers at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. She also served as the Associate Director for the CU-Trauma, Health and Hazards Center at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, where she developed a peer support program for police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel to help them with building resilience, coping, and recovering from traumatic occupational experiences.
Dr. Bynum teaches courses in criminal justice, emergency and fire management services, public administration, and homeland security. A retired firefighter and emergency medical technician, she also volunteers as a senior emergency response planner, facilitator, and evaluator for her local community and the state. Dr. Bynum also has over 30 years of business administration, operations and finance management, accounting, and grant-writing experience from her positions in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, as well as having a distinguished history of volunteer work with emergency services, military veterans, and youth programs in her community. Dr. Bynum’s research interests include exploring the social, governmental and economic implications of homeland security, emergency management, and criminal justice issues on public policy.
Dr. Bynum has published on various topics spanning homeland security, emergency management, disaster resilience, climate adaptation, space technology & innovations, and systems science including book chapters in Space Security, in Masys, A., Handbook of Security Science (2022); Whistleblower or Traitor? in Logan, K. G., Homeland Security and Intelligence (2 Ed, 2017), a peer reviewed article in the Inaugural Edition of Pracademic Affairs in the Homeland Security Affairs Journal, Implementing Space Technology and Innovations into Homeland Security and Emergency Management Operations and Activities, and two books, Homeland Security: Safeguarding the U.S. from Domestic Catastrophic Destruction, and The United States Department of Homeland Security: An Overview, 2nd Edition. Dr. Bynum has book chapters in press on Voluntary Organizations Assisting in Disaster: The role and impact of nonprofit organizations in disaster management and The Role of Public Health & Healthcare in Emergency Management: Preparedness, Pandemics, Present & Future Challenges post-COVID19.
Chief Space & Defense Research Partner
Mr. John Holst
Mr. Holst is the Chief Analyst of Ill-Defined Space: https://illdefined.space/
John Holst’s analysis of the space industry has been a definitive source for national lawmakers and departments, news outlets such as Bloomberg and the San Francisco Chronicle, publications like National Geographic, and National Public Radio.
Mr. Holst’s research and analysis of the global space industry have been published in The Space Report: The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity from 2014-2019. You can also see Mr. Holst’s work in Quilty Analytic’s series of LEO Broadband Reports. Mr. Holst has worked in the United States Air Force, Missile Defense Agency, Cobham, Space Dynamics Laboratory, the Space Foundation, and Quilty Analytics. Mr. Holst focused on space operations in the first few and conducted space industry research and analysis with the last two. Mr. Holst was an undergrad at the University of Washington in Seattle and graduated with a degree in Journalism. Mr. Holst is currently finishing his final courses for his Masters of Science in Commercial Enterprise in Space at the Florida Institute of Technology.
Chief Public Health & Emergency Management Research Partner
Sinan Khan, MBA, MPH, MA, MEP, CEM
Sinan Khan is the Associate Director, for the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management.
In this capacity, Mr. Khan is responsible for overseeing Readiness of the County Emergency Operations Center (CEOC), Emergency Operations for OEM, Training and Exercises for the Operational Area (OA), Management of Emergency Management Grants and Integration of Plans with OA Partners. Mr. Khan previously served as the Operational Integration Supervisor and the Access and Functional Needs (AFN) Coordinator for OEM focusing on integration of the needs of people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs (DAFN) and the needs of people experiencing homelessness into emergency planning and response. Prior to his appointment at OEM, Mr. Khan worked as the Medical Countermeasures Manager for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health overseeing mass prophylaxis and points of dispensing planning.
Mr. Khan also serves as an Adjunct Instructor for the California State University, Long Beach and the California Specialized Training Institute (CSTI). During COVID – 19 Mr. Khan served as the Operations Section Chief for Los Angeles County and also led the Reconstitution and Recovery working group.
Mr. Khan is an alumnus of California State University, Fullerton, graduating with a Bachelors in Biological Sciences and a minor in Anthropology. Mr. Khan holds a Master’s degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in Security Studies (Homeland Security and Defense) and a Master’s degree from the University of Southern California in Public Health (Epidemiology and Statistics). In 2021, he completed his Masters in Business Administration and became a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM).
Mr. Khan is an alumni National Emergency Management Advanced Academy, completing the training in 2018. Throughout his career, Mr. Khan has been published several times in various peer review journals and books related to emergency management, public health and operations research. Mr. Khan has also served on several national committees and planning groups at the American Public Health Association and the Association for State and Territorial Health Officials that develop frameworks, guidelines and strategies for emergency planning.
Lead Security Engineer & Chief Research Partner
Richard White, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor, Retired Air Force Officer, DHS-Sponsored Researcher, Former Interim Director of UCCS Cybersecurity Programs and Associate Director for UCCS Center for Homeland Security.
Dr. White is a retired Air Force officer and semi-retired university professor living in Colorado Springs. During his twenty-year Air Force career he served as a programmer analyst, network engineer, software engineer, Communications Director for Operation Provide Comfort, Deputy Communications Commander for Cheyenne Mountain, and professor of military studies at the Air Force Academy. He earned his Ph.D. in Engineering Security and conducted research for the Department of Homeland Security while advancing game-based teaching techniques at UCCS. He also spent three-years as an exercise developer for USNORTHCOM. He now consults and teaches emergency planning for Tulane.