History

Summit Exercises and Training™ is a veteran-owned small business that seeks to offer innovative preparedness solutions. When founded, our team sought to develop a more flexible model that could be adapted to serve the needs of any organization - large or small. Drawing on the diversity of experience in emergency management and response, communications, military, government, and the private sector, the team brings a comprehensive perspective to managing and mitigating risk. By applying best practices in management and organizational behavior, strategy and planning, together with the latest developments in learning and technology, SummitET™ has quickly grown its reputation as an industry leader, serving a range of clients. The company's client-centric approach - tailors solutions to organizational needs and goals while offering unparalleled expertise and service - has made SummitET a trusted partner to facilitate preparedness efforts for International and US federal agencies, state and local entities, non-governmental, and corporate customers. 

Our mission

To provide proven full spectrum preparedness solutions to threats facing government, non-government organizations, and private entities through industry-leading experts and impeccable customer service. 

We will achieve this by:

• offering our clients the highest level of customer service

• delivering the most comprehensive and customer-specific solutions

• proactively adopting new approaches to serve our customer’s needs in the ever-changing world of natural and human-caused disasters

• emphasizing an organizational culture that promotes team member growth and work/life balance.

Customized Preparedness Solutions

Want to know more about how SummitET can customize trainings and exercises to meet your needs? Contact us, today.

Chairman and CEO

John Duda

John is the Chief Executive Officer at SummitET. Since founding SummitET, John has led and supported multiple exercise and training programs. John has co-authored a research study involving defense-based sensor technology and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources and as a Business Continuity Professional.  

Prior to forming SummitET, John has served organizations such as the US Department of Energy/NNSA, Publix Super Markets, and the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT). John is also a member of the Advisory Board for the University of North Florida’s School for International Business.

cHIEF Operations OfficeR

Chuck Marrone

Chuck, a former Naval Aviator, is a founding partner and the Chief Operations Officer. He also serves as a Program Manager for SummitET. He has a graduate (MA) degree in Emergency and Disaster Management from American Military University and an undergraduate from the Merchant Marine Academy. In addition, Chuck has completed the Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP) training course.

Chuck managed the WMD counterterrorism tabletop exercise program for the Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration; jointly sponsored by the FBI. He has designed, coordinated, and facilitated over 100 large scale, interagency tabletop exercises both domestically and internationally; including developing a training program to teach foreign governments how to develop and facilitate their own tabletop exercise programs.

CHIEF Projects Officer

Todd Cannan

Todd, a founding partner and Chief Projects Officer, is a former Naval Aviator. In addition, he also serves as a senior exercise planner. He has extensive experience in emergency response, crisis communications, planning, and training. 

As a Naval Aviator, he made multiple deployments in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM - several of which involved the direct support of U.S. and Coalition special operations forces - and participated in Hurricane Katrina search and rescue operations. Todd was assigned to the Joint Operations Center at Headquarters, United States Special Operations Command, in Tampa, FL. He planned and conducted security and emergency management exercises for all levels of government and private industry, both domestically and internationally.

VICE PRESIDENt of operations & CORPORATE HEALTH PHYSICIST

Steve Sugarman

Steve is a certified health physicist (CHP) and brings more than 30 years of applied health physics experience to SummitET. His primary interest is the integration of health physics into the overall response to radiological incidents. In addition to his vice president responsibilities, his role includes serving as the corporate radiological subject matter expert and providing health physics input/oversight for SummitET projects. Steve supports the outreach agenda via educational course delivery, exercise development/facilitation, invited lectures, and conference/meeting attendance. Having served as a lecturer for many organizations including the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Physics Society, and the National Radiological Emergency Preparedness Conference, Steve has contributed to numerous publications and guidance documents on various health physics topics and has significant real-world experience in responding to radiological events, both domestically and internationally.

Vice president of programs and Strategy

Pamela Piersanti

Pamela is highly skilled at strategic operational planning for threat reduction and the response to serious national security threats and incidents. She specializes in leading the development of integrated, comprehensive, multi-disciplined, and multi-jurisdictional response planning, threat and vulnerability assessment, information sharing, and integrated response training and exercises, providing 360 preparedness solutions to build capability and capacity to detect, respond to, and neutralize imminent threats and attacks to save lives. Pamela is a former Supervisory Special Agent and Manager of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). While serving the FBI for over 27 years, her key accomplishments included significant contributions to the current U.S. strategy for the response to terrorism and leading a synchronization and planning effort to integrate the government domestic terrorism response. Prior to her joining the FBI, Pamela served an Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and as a Special Agent of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.           

INDIANA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
M.A. Criminology - Law Enforcement Leadership in WMD
Capstone: Integrated Response Planning

UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN
B.S. Forensic Science

PROGRAM MANAGER

Ron Crane

Ron is a certified firefighter, hazardous materials technician and chemist, communications unit leader, structural collapse technician and interoperable communications SME with over 20 years of experience in the emergency preparedness/management and response fields. He served for over ten years as a healthcare and public sector emergency manager and is certified in  numerous technical areas by DHS, FEMA, DOT, and the US Army. 

As Senior Exercise Program Manager of IC for the Isotope Crossroads program, he provides training to law enforcement, emergency responders, and government officials at the local, state and Federal level to increase awareness of security issues involving radiological material during transport in multiple locations across the nation. Additionally, he was selected to provide training to foreign governments on developing and improving national radiological response plans and procedures.

Senior Exercise Planner

Holly Vaughn

Since 2009, Holly has planned, created, and facilitated more than 35 tabletop exercises involving WMD terrorist scenarios for US and foreign civilian and military agencies. She has managed the NNSA CT exercise program and development team for three years. Retiring with the rank of Captain, Holly served over 25 years providing direct operational support to military forces worldwide as a career intelligence officer in the US Navy. Her career included directing an intelligence training school for military and civilian intelligence professionals.

EISENHOWER SCHOOL FOR NATIONAL SECURITY AND RESOURCE STRATEGY
M.S. National Resource Strategy

ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE OF CANADA
M.S. War Studies

COLLEGE OF IDAHO
B.S. Zoology

Certifications, Specialized Training & Licensure

• Certificate in Terrorism Studies, University of St. Andrews, Scotland

SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT

Jim Dougal

Jim currently serves as a Law Enforcement and Tactics Subject Matter Specialist for SummitET. He specializes in critical events involving terrorism, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and active shooter preparedness and response. Jim Dougal is a retired U.S. Army Reserve Officer, former Savannah Police Officer, and retired Supervisory Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). With over 30 years of experience, Jim provides vast knowledge regarding WMD, active shooter, personnel security, human intelligence (HUMINT), and tactical operations. During his career, Jim gained over 20 years of law enforcement field experience, including 8 years as the Jacksonville FBI Senior SWAT Team Leader and 5 years as an Operator on the FBI Hostage Rescue Team.

Activities and Affiliations

• FBI Adjunct Instructor in WMD and personnel security

• FBI Tactical Instructor

• FBI Sniper School Instructor

• FBI Firearms Instructor

PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
Master of Professional Studies, Homeland Security, 2014

EMBRY RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY
B.S., Aeronautical Science, 1986

Certifications, Specialized Training & Licensure

• Licensed State of Florida Firearms Instructor

• Licensed State of Florida Private Investigator

ACCOUNTant

Karen Duda

Karen Duda has over 15 years of experience in accounting. Before coming to SummitET, she worked as an assistant director at the University of Central Florida and an auditor for Ernst & Young.

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
B.S., Accounting, Summa Cum Laude

SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT & PlANNER

Jerry Furniss

Gerald “Jerry” Furniss is a retired Green Beret with 32 years of Special Operations experience. He has provided support to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Theater Special Operations Command, National Mission Force, and Crisis Response Forces.  He joins the SummitET Team from Special Operations Command- North, as the Special Operations Liaison Officer to the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Directorate in Washington, DC. Jerry’s last active duty position was the Senior Special Operations Forces (SOF) advisor and action officer for the J37 & J5 Joint Staff.  He has completed numerous security, emergency management, leadership courses.

WEBSTER UNIVERSITY
Master of Business Organization and Security Management, 2010

EXCELSIOR UNIVERSITY
B.A., Liberal Arts, 2004

Certifications, Specialized Training & Licensure

• Project Manager Professional (PMP)

SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT

Donald C. Heath, Jr. 

Don Heath is a Tactical Law Enforcement Subject Matter Specialist. He specializes in Critical Infrastructure Threat Assessment, Flight Medicine, Helicopter Search and Rescue, Tactical Combat Casualty Care, Wilderness Medicine (w/ emphasis on Prolonged Field Care), and Wilderness Search and Rescue. Don is a Master Deputy Sheriff with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office assigned to the Emergency Management Bureau, specifically Homeland Security as the Critical Infrastructure Threat Assessor, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) as the Tactical Medical (TACMED) Coordinator; Aviation as a Tactical Flight Operator (TFO); and Training Bureau as a Criminal Justice General Instructor, and Criminal Justice High Liability Instructor.

FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY
B.S., Criminal Justice

Certifications, Specialized Training & Licensure

• National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) Paramedic

• State of Florida Criminal Justice General Instructor

• International Board for Specialty Certifications Tactical Paramedic (TP-C

• Combat Casualty Care Course Coordinator/Affiliate Faculty

• National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR) Search and Rescue Technician II (SARTECH II) and Lead Instructor/Evaluator

• State of Florida Criminal Justice General Instructor

• State of Florida Criminal Justice and High Liability Instructor

• State of Florida Law Enforcement Office

• State of Florida Paramedic

Activities and Affiliations:

• Tactical Paramedic - Certified (TP-C) Job Analysis Working Group for the International Board for Specialty Certifications (IBSC

• Tactical Responder - Certified (TR-C) Job Analysis Working Group for the International Board for Specialty Certifications (IBSC)

• Tactical Paramedic (TP-C) Law Enforcement Liaison Subcommittee for the International Board for Specialty Certifications (IBSC)

• Tactical Emergency Medical Support (TEMS) Editor and Peer Reviewer for the Journal of Special Operations Medicine (JSOM)

• Member of the Board of Directors for the National TEMS Council

• Member of the TEMS Committee for the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA)

• Vice-President (Civilian) of the Board of Directors for the Special Operations Medical Association (SOMA)

Business Continuity specialist

Heather Long

Heather is the current business continuity specialist for Duquesne Light Company in Pittsburgh, PA. In her part-time support role for SummitET, Heather assists with proposal submissions and serves as a subject matter expert on a variety of the emergency management opportunities within SummitET's portfolio. Heather has 10 years of emergency management experience, including emergency operations planning, continuity planning and instruction, response and recovery operations and community resiliency.        

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND
Masters in Emergency Management, 2012

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
B.A., Criminal Justice, 2005

Certifications, Specialized Training & Licensure

• Certified Emergency Manager as accredited by the International Association of Emergency Managers

• FEMA Type III Incident Management Team Finance/Admin Section Chief

Human resources Team Relations Specialist

Randy Melton

Randy has over 30 years of experience working for Publix Supermarkets Inc., a Fortune500 company, with a strong background in Human Resources, Management, and Customer Service. As a Regional Associate Relations Specialist, he provided HR support to divisional Vice Presidents, Regional Directors, District Managers, and Store Management, as well as over 9000 associates in over 60 + facilities. As a field representative, Randy played a key role in facilitating communication between the corporate Human Resources Department and the company’s operational units. He has facilitated numerous management training sessions and workshops and contributed to numerous projects still in use by Publix such as the Management Mentoring Program, Associate Transfer process, and Child Labor Hours Policy.

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
A.A. Human Resources

Activities and Affiliations

• Society of Human Resources Management 

Planner

Chris Norris

Chris has extensive experience supporting U.S. Government clients in various consulting capacities, such as data analysis, research, and exercise design and facilitation. As senior exercise planner with the Silent Thunder Program, Chris provides site specific, tailored training to law enforcement, emergency responders, and government officials at the local, state and Federal levels. He develops counterterrorism and counterproliferation capacity building exercises to various foreign governments and militaries.

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
B.A., Political Science, 2002

Development Manager

Neil Platt

Neil serves in a Business Development role for SummitET. He brings a customer-service focused background to team SummitET. A career in the fitness and hospitality industries have provided a solid foundation on which his client-centered approach to business development is built. Developing opportunities for team SummitET’s experts to utilize their skills while cultivating personal relationships with current and future clients is his priority. In addition to his business development responsibilities, his role at SummitET includes research and proposal writing assistance.

OHIO UNIVERSITY
B.S., Exercise Physiology, 2013

Business Development and DOD acquisition

Mike Ammons

Mike is a dynamic senior professional with expertise in supporting multiple national and corporate initiatives during his 30 years of service in the U.S. Army and as a defense contractor. During his 21 years of military service, he amassed a broad spectrum of Middle East work experience facilitating international partnership development in counter-terrorism, humanitarian demining, counter-proliferation, and border security. Mike has more than nine years of corporate experience serving in senior management positions supporting DoD contracts. His expertise includes program management, strategic planning, proposal writing, and leadership. Before coming to SummitET, he was a Program Director in Blackbird Technologies, a Raytheon company since 2015.  

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
M.A., Middle Eastern Studies, 2000

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH GEORGIA
B.S., Physics (Distinguished Military Graduate), 1988

Program Manager

Mart Stewart-Smith

Mart has extensive experience in counterterrorism and counter-WMD policy, four of which he spent conducting international, multilateral exercises and workshops for the Department of State. His primary interest are policy and organizational traits the enable effective operations in complex, emergency environments. With SummitET, Mart supports domestic and international exercises for local authorities responding to radiological incidents Mart’s international work provided capacity building opportunities for mid- to senior-level policy makers and decision makers from over 60 countries. He has served a speaker and facilitator at multiple international conferences, including the International Atomic Energy Agency and other multilateral fora.

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
M.A., Security Studies, 2014

PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY
B.A., Political Science, 2012

PLANNER

Mark Strauss

Mark is a retired senior military intelligence analyst/officer with detailed knowledge of the Intelligence and the Law Enforcement Communities. As an exercise planner with the Silent Thunder Exercise Series, Mark applies his considerable COOP experience and expertise to provide site specific training to law enforcement, emergency responders, and government officials at the local, state and federal levels.

US ARMY COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF COLLEGE
Graduate, Command and General Staff College (CGSC)

FROSTBURG STATE UNIVERSITY
B.A., Political Science, 1989

Certifications, Specialized Training & Licensure

• Certified Continuity of Operations (COOP) Practitioner

• Completed HSEEP training

program Manager

Leanne Vreeland

Leanne retired from the United States Marine Corps with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel where she served as a military intelligence officer. Leanne currently serves as SummitET's healthcare preparedness subject matter expert. As an exercise planner working under several programs, Leanne designs exercises, develops exercise materials, and provides training to local, state and Federal agencies to increase awareness of the security of radiological materials used at healthcare, research and industrial facilities located across the nation.

WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
B.A., Visual Communications Education

Certifications, Specialized Training & Licensure

• Certified Healthcare Provider Continuity Professional

• Completed HSEEP training

Affiliations and Activities

• Disaster Recovery Institute International

Counterterrorism Exercise Planner

Jesse Smith

Jesse has supported U.S. Government clients at the Departments of Defense, State, and Energy in conducting international counterproliferation training and implementing national counter-WMD terrorism policy.  He has focused on improving coordination among stakeholders in order to prevent, investigate, and respond to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear terrorism incidents in regions around the globe.  As an exercise planner with SummitET, Jesse supports exercises for local, state, and federal authorities responding to radiological incidents.

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
M.A., Security and Intelligence Studies, 2015

VIRGINIA TECH
B.A., International Studies, 2013

Crisis Communication subject matter expert

Ron Edmond

Ron brings more than 30 years’ experience as a crisis communication subject matter expert to SummitET.  He assists domestic and international agencies with integrating risk communication best practices into their public-facing communications. His emergency preparedness experience extends into topics such as school safety and preparedness, active shooter, communicable and occupational diseases, transportation of radioactive waste, chemical weapons and manmade and natural disasters.

Ron designed and taught DOD’s the first-ever crisis communication program; served on CDC’s inaugural Crisis Emergency Risk Communication training team; taught crisis communication at Lee University; and facilitated numerous workshops for CDC-RSB and Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD). He has been a guest lecturer at NREP, Institute for Nuclear Security-University of Tennessee, World Nuclear University, National Stakeholders Transportation Forum, DOE’s Emergency Management Issues Special Interest Group, and the American Nuclear Society.

Ron has contributed to numerous publications; served as a Controller/Evaluator for full-scale exercises, drills, and tabletops; worked as a Joint Information Center (JIC) Facility Manager and Spokesperson Advisor; designed and conducted JIC-specific functional training across the DOE complex; served as a communication first responder during the Colorado-Waldo Canyon Wildfires; and worked for the Utah Public Safety Command during the 2002 Winter Olympics.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY
EdD, Executive Leadership, 2011

LINCOLN MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY
Educational Leadership, 2004

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
MEd, Human Resource Development, 1989

EAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY
BS, Mass Communication/Speech, 1974

Affiliations and Activities

• Serves as adjunct faculty member for the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS)

• Multiple publications and presentations related to crisis/risk communication

• Former Acting Technical Director, ORAU, National Security Program-Emergency Management Laboratory

Certifications, Specialized Training & Licensure

• Conceptual Leadership: Aligning Leadership Practices with Strategic Plan

• Organizational Problem Solving: Meeting New Challenges as Member of Management

• Leadership Development Program

•  American Management Association: Principles of Professional Selling