R.A. (Bob) Black, OMM, CEM, ABCP, BA
President & CEO
From 2002 to 2009 Bob was the Director of Emergency Preparedness for the City of Edmonton, Canada’s sixth largest city. In that capacity he designed and implemented a comprehensive municipal emergency program and coordinated the city’s response to major emergency events, including river flooding, chemical release, and evacuations on numerous occasions.
Prior to joining the City of Edmonton, Bob served as a senior officer in the Canadian Forces. During a 32-year career he served in a number of senior leadership positions both in Canada and abroad. In the latter stage of his career he was responsible for planning and coordinating military support to civil authorities in British Columbia. His final operation with the Canadian Forces was to serve as the Chief of Operations for the 2002 G8 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta.
Bob is a frequent speaker and has presented at the World Conference on Disaster Management (Toronto), Emergency Preparedness Conference (Vancouver), and Disaster Forum (Banff), amongst others. He has a B.A. in Political Studies from the University of Manitoba and is a graduate of the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College. He holds the professional designations of Certified Emergency Manager and Associate Business Continuity Professional. In 2000 he was admitted to the Order of Military Merit in the grade of Officer.
F.P. (Paul) Crober, OMM, BA, CD
Associate
Having served with the Canadian Forces, Paul has held leadership positions in numerous emergency situations, nationally and internationally, many of which required the assistance of the military (flooding, fires, security operations with RCMP, Chief of Operations with the UN in Bosnia, etc).
After his distinguished military career, he held senior management positions in the BC Provincial Emergency Program (PEP) as Training Officer and Chief of Operations. Subsequently, he became Director of the BC/Yukon Region, Public Safety Canada (PS Canada) – a position where he coordinated efforts of the Federal Government in support of several operations as well as the approval of all Joint Emergency Preparedness Program Grants (JEPP) and all Disaster Financial Assistance Allowance (DFAA) claims.
In 2006 he assumed full-time duties again by becoming chief planner for the Canadian Forces’ in the 2010 Olympics/Paralympics. Prior to and during this event, he was appointed Chief of Staff of Joint Task Force Games, the purpose-designed formation of 5000 soldiers, sailors, air personnel that provided operational security, logistics and ceremonial support to those Games. This also included major detailed, legacy initiatives with federal/provincial public safety entities.
Beyond his field experience, he has also made several written contributions, including a complete doctrine re-write for ICS and BCERMS (BC Emergency Response Management System). Paul has presented and/or moderated on several occasions at various emergency management conferences and at universities including Simon Fraser, UBC and Royal Roads University He is a graduate of the Royal Military College and the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College.
John Bremner, OMM, BA, MPA, ndc
Associate
John has specialized in emergency management consulting since 1999. He is thoroughly familiar with comprehensive emergency management concepts and methodologies, the preparation of emergency management plans, the Incident Command System, BCERMS, business continuity planning and the design and conduct of emergency planning and response exercises. He has provided consultancy services in emergency management and planning to the federal government, provincial government and local governments in BC.
Prior to becoming a consultant John was a Canadian Forces officer where he gained extensive experience in operations, planning and training in Canada and overseas. During the latter part of his career he specialized in policy development and analysis, serving as Director of International Policy and Director General of Policy Operations at National Defence Headquarters.
John has a Master of Public Administration from Queen’s University, a BA from the University of Manitoba and is a graduate of the National Defence College of Canada.
Debborah Donnelly, MA, ABCP
Associate
Debborah Donnelly is an Associate with Black Shield Preparedness Solutions. She has more than twenty years of emergency management, security, and disaster response experience resulting from a diverse career that saw her in extensive international operations as a former Canadian Naval Officer, and subsequently as an archaeologist and industrial executive.
Debborah was responsible for the planning and direction of the 2010 G8/G20 summits in Toronto for the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, and helped design and facilitate federal, provincial and local emergency exercises in preparation for the event. She most recently developed and coordinated a security plan for a mine in West Africa.
Debborah has a Master’s degree in Egyptian Archaeology from the University of Toronto, she holds professional designations as a Fellow of the Canadian Gemmological Association, and as an Associate Business Continuity Professional, and is functionally bilingual (English/Français).
Sandra Pysklywyc, BA (RLS)
Communications Advisor
Sandra has worked in emergency preparedness at the municipal level and is passionate about issues management and crisis communications. She has ten years of combined marketing and communications experience in the not-for-profit, corporate and public sectors.
Sandra’s company, Buy Me A Vowel Communications is a full service communications company focused on providing clients with integrated strategies to achieve dynamic results. Writing and editing expertise, event planning, marketing and comprehensive media and public relations are just a few of their specialties. From auditing existing communication methods to creating new and exciting ways to reach your audiences, they offer the ability to produce opportunities to match your external and internal audiences.
Sandra has a BA (RLS) from the University of Alberta and is a member of the Canadian Public Relations Society.
James Black, BComm (Hons.)
Business Development
James’s experience has been accrued in government, for profit and non-profit organizations, and senior volunteer positions, he brings a broad skill set that is employed in the general operation and development of the company.
Through his experience working for the BC Provincial Government, as well as a communications firm in Toronto and a federal non-profit organization, James has developed an array of skills that contribute to the professionalism, organization, and coordination of the team. Many of the roles held in his experience have involved a high-degree of communication, networking, stakeholder management, event planning and execution, and co-coordinating cross-functional teams. Specifically, James has developed an intimate sense of what makes successful organizations work and integrates this insight into both the operations of Black Shield and its client’s organizations.
James majored in Entrepreneurship, and minored in Marketing while completing his BComm degree (with Honours) from the Ted Rogers School of Business Management at Ryerson University (Toronto, ON). He has also been awarded a Business Administration diploma from Camosun College (Victoria, BC), and completed courses at the Canadian Securities Institute (CSC, CPH, TTC, CAI) via distance education.
