Session Bio
Ron Anderson, BS
Industrial Hygienist, Minnesota OSHA
Ron Anderson has been an Industrial Hygienist with Minnesota OSHA for
over 11 years. Prior to that Ron worked in Environmental, Health and Safety
at a private consulting firm in the Twin Cities area
Bill Becker
St. Cloud Hospital, Centra Care Health System
Bill Becker is the director of security and safety for St Cloud Hospital
and the Centra Care Health system. He is also a retired deputy sheriff
from Stearns County.
Kristin Brandt, RN, BSN, PHN
Educator, Centra Care Health System- St Cloud Hospital
Kristin Brandt has been working in healthcare for 10 years, four years as
a Nursing Assistant and six years as a Registered Nurse. She is
passionate about her work and life in general. Kristin is a mother to
a beautiful little girl, Bella, and wife to an amazing husband, Jeremy.
She has experienced a life changing event two years ago and lives every day
to its fullest potential!
Joan Cook, RN CIC
Infection Prevention and Control Manager, Sanford Health – Fargo Region
Joan Cook is certified in infection control by the Certification Board of
Infection Control of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control
and Epidemiology. She has been employed at Sanford since 1974 and has
33 years of infection control experience. Prior she was a Clinical
Assistant Professor of Medicine at the UND School of Medicine.
Bob Dablow
Physical Plant/Safety Director, Golden Living Center—Moorhead
Bob Dablow has been a Health Care Engineer for almost 25 years with
Golden Living in Moorhead. He is active with West Central LTC Disaster
Preparedness Group, serving as a member and a presenter. Bob has
worked as a part time Sheriff’s Deputy with Clay County for over 28 year and
is also an Amateur “Ham” Radio Operator and has been active as one for over
40 years. He has been involved with Amateur Radio Emergency Services
(ARES) communications for many years and was part of the ARES communications
team in Wadena last June. Bob has also served as the Amateur Radio
Relay League Emergency Coordinator doe communications for Richland, Wilkin
and Clay Counties as well as District Emergency Coordinator for North West
District in Minnesota. He serves as Assistant Emergency Communications
for Clay County at this time. Bob was part of the group that started
the Skywarn Program with the National Weather Service in Fargo in 1980 and
still enjoys chasing a good storm. Since the National Weather Service
move to Grand forks, Bob has been a Cooperative Weather Observer sending
daily reports at 5:15 a.m. from Sabin. Bob is Vice Mayor and council
member with the City of Sabin and has served as Sabin-Elmwood Fire District
Commissioner for the past 10 years. He is an Eagle Scout with the Boy
Scouts of America and has dedicated his life to the Boy Scout Motto, “Be
Prepared.”
Sherrie Flaherty, MHP, DC
Radioactive Materials Supervisor, Minnesota Department of Health
Sherrie Flaherty is the Supervisor for the Radioactive Materials Unit at
the Minnesota Department of Health. Sherrie oversees the program for
licensing and inspections and radiation incident response for radioactive
materials users in the State of Minnesota. She has a Masters of Health
Physics degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology and A Doctorate of
Chiropractic from Northwestern Chiropractic College.
Lt. Bryan Green
Emergency Manager, Clay County Emergency Management
For the past three years, Bryan Green has served as the current Clay
County Emergency Manager and Administrative Lieutenant for Clay County
Sheriff’s Office. Previously in Bryan’ career, he served for 13 years
as a detective in property and personal crimes, two years as a Deputy for
the Sheriff’s Office; seven years with the Fargo Police Department and four
years in active duty with the U.S. Air Force. He also served 21 years
with the North Dakota Air National Guard. Brian attended Minnesota State
University—Moorhead and is a graduate from the North Dakota Police Academy.
Howard Gwon, MS, CHEC
Senior Director, Office of Emergency Management (OEM) for Johns Hopkins
Medicine
Howard Gwon has been very active in emergency management since July 1,
1988 as the Chair of the Hospital’s Emergency Management Committee. On
August 1, 2006, the Hospital and the School of Medicine established the OEM
and named him as its first full time Administrator. This
responsibility provides consistent communication and standardized processes
to organizational leaders, department leadership, over 250 departmental
disaster coordinators and external liaisons to plan, prepare and respond to
the various types of disasters that may impact the community, Hopkins’
facilities and the region. On January 6, 2011 he was promoted to a
Senior Director to oversee preparedness for the rest of the Health System
organizations. He holds an adjunct faculty position, as Lecturer, in
the Department of Environmental Sciences in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health.
Kristina Hansen, BS
Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Clay County Public Health
Since December 2008, Kristina Hansen has served in the role of Emergency
Preparedness Coordinator for Clay County Public Health. Kristina has
worked in public health emergency preparedness and epidemiology for over 10
years. Prior to public health, she owned a massage therapy business in
Washington State for six years. Kris holds a Bachelors of Science in
Community Health, worksite program from Western Washington University and a
massage therapy certificate from Alexandar’s School of Natural Therapeutics.
Erin Hausauer
Emergency Management Planner, Stearns County Emergency Management
Erin Hausauer is a social work graduate from St. Cloud State University.
She has been a planner with Stearns County Emergency Management since
October of 2004. Here primary responsibilities include developing and
updating of the Emergency Operations Plan and Continuity of Operations Plan,
for Stearns County and the City of St. Cloud. Additionally, Erin also
coordinates the planning of disaster exercises to test and evaluate the
effectiveness of their emergency plans. She received her certification
as an emergency manager from the State of Minnesota in September of 2007.
Greg Hayes
Instructor/ Emergency Planner, Emergency Preparedness Resource Group
Greg Hayes has been involved in emergency response and emergency
management for almost 19 years. Emergency Management and hazardous
materials preparedness are two areas in which he has focused his knowledge
and skills. He focuses his presentations on what "reality" is in the
street. Greg combines educational theory with street smarts for a given
topic. In addition, he utilizes actual incident information as well as
videos to illustrate his points.
Mikenzi Hebel, LNHA
Administrator, New Richland Care Center
Mikenzi Hebel is from a small town in rural Southern Minnesota. She
achieved her Bachelor’s Degree from Minnesota State University, Mankato and
completed her Nursing Home Administrator’s internship through the Good
Samaritan Society. Mikenzi earned her Nursing Home Administrator’s
license in the spring of 2008 and has been with the New Richland Care Center
since June of 2010. She enjoys every opportunity she gets to visit
with a resident at the Care Center.
Cynthia Heltunen, BS
Public Health Education, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Benton County
Human Services
Cynthia Heltunen is the Benton County MN Responds MRC Coordinator.
Cynthia represents the Unit at national conference each year and is also in
the Federal MRC Deployment Cadre. She is the Public Health Educator
for Benton County.
Nathan Kendrick, MS, M(ASCP)
State Laboratory Training Coordinator, Minnesota Department of Health Public
Health Laboratory Division
After receiving his Masters degree in microbiology from the University of
Iowa in 2001, Nathan spent over seven years working in clinical microbiology
laboratories at Mid-America Clinical Laboratories in Indianapolis and at
Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. While at HCMC, Nathan was
the Laboratory Safety Officer as well as the laboratory specialist for
bioterrorism and emergency preparedness. In 2009, Nathan began working for
the Minnesota Department of Health in the Public Health Laboratory’s
Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit. As the State Laboratory Training
Coordinator, he organizes and delivers laboratory education and training,
including laboratory preparedness, both within MDH and to clinical
laboratories across Minnesota. Nathan has been and continues to be
directly involved with planning and implementation of laboratory activities
for the Minnesota Mobile Medical Unit, Alternate Care Sites, and Hospital
Response Teams.
Mike Kutzke, MS, BA
Training Consultant, Professional Training Services
Mike Kutzke operates Professional Training Services, a
training/consulting company committed to improving performance and enhancing
employee growth. He has a M.S. Degree in Social Sciences from North Dakota
State University and a B.A. Degree in Criminal Justice from Minnesota State
University Moorhead. He is currently the Law Enforcement Coordinator at
Ridgewater College in Willmar, MN and previously worked as a police officer
for 17-years. Michael has been professionally presenting for over a decade
in a wide-range of topic areas and takes pride in his ability to blend
humor, information, and adult learning principles in his training events.
Barbara Lundgren, BAA
Healthcare Systems Preparedness Planner, Minnesota Department of Health
Barbara Lundgren holds a BAA in Education from University of Minnesota,
Duluth, an Adult Education Certificate from the University of Minnesota, and
a Volunteer Management Certificate from the Minnesota Association for
Volunteer Administration. Before coming to MDH in February 2010, Barbara was
the Washington County Medical Reserve Corps Coordinator for four years.
She has been a trainer on topics of Volunteer Management, Psychological
First Aid, Personal and Family Preparedness and RealOpt, a computer modeling
software program for Mass Dispensing clinics. She currently provides
technical assistance and resources for statewide emergency preparedness
exercises and education for hospitals, clinics and long term care
facilities.
Jeanine Nistler, BA
Communications Director, CentraCare Health System
Jeanine Nistler is the Communications Director for CentraCare Health
System, headquartered in St. Cloud. A former daily newspaper reporter and
editor, Jeanine also has been a free-lance writer and a mass communications
instructor. She and her staff have successfully managed internal and
external communication of a number of high-profile events, including a
Spring 2011 case of a nurse diverting pain medication from patients for
personal use.
Jeffrey Oxton, BS, MA
Police Sergeant, St. Cloud Police Department
Sergeant Jeffrey Oxton has been with the St. Cloud Police Department for
over 15 years. During that time Sgt. Oxton has worked as a Patrol
Officer, an Investigator, a Patrol Sergeant and an Administrative Sergeant.
Currently Sergeant Oxton supervises the Community Crime Impact Team and
serves as an Assistant Team Leader/Sniper with the Tactical Response Team.
Allen Smith, BS, NREMTP
EMS Manager & Safety Officer Tri-County Hospital, Tri-County Hospital
Allen Smith has been a practicing paramedic for over 30 years.
During this time, he has served in a variety of roles including a paid
firefighter/paramedic, flight paramedic, EMS educator and both supervisor
and manager for EMS services. Allen is currently the EMS manager and
Safety Officer for Tri-County Hospital where his oversight includes all
Emergency Management functions for Tri-County Hospital.
Eric Waage, BS
Military Officer, Minnesota National Guard (full-time) and Anoka County
Emergency Management (on-call)
Lieutenant Colonel Eric Waage is the Commander of the Minnesota National
Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Previously
he was in command of the 834th Aviation Support Battalion
assisting two Combat Aviation Task Forces in Iraq. His previous assignments
include: Military Support Officer for the Minnesota National Guard leading
response to all domestic disasters and emergencies; Command of the 55th
Civil Support Team (WMD) in response to suspicious unknown substance
incidents; and as the Intelligence Chief of the Federal Organized Crime Drug
Enforcement Task Force in Minneapolis. LTC Waage is a Senior Army
Aviator and Military Intelligence Officer. He has certifications as a HAZMAT
technician; a structural and wildland firefighter, and an emergency manager.
He earned a Master of Strategic Studies degree from the United States Army
War College, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Geography.