Emergency Services Industry Advisory Board

Chief Harkness served 35 years in various leadership positions before being promoted to fire chief for County of Orange Fire & EMS, Virginia, in July 2010. He was a member of hazardous material, swift waters rescue and dive teams, and received various awards, including Firefighter of the Year, Officer of the Year and the Life Saving Award. Chief Harkness retired at the end of 2018 and relocated to Longboat Key, FL, where he currently works as a sales representative for MES, the largest supplier of fire related equipment in the country. He holds many Fire, EMS and Emergency Management certifications, a bachelor’s degree in Emergency Management, and has Master Exercise Practitioner certification from the Emergency Management Institute.

jharkness@vabb.com

Chief Kreckie is the retired deputy fire chief of Massport Authority, where he worked for 28 years. He is also a founding partner of FleetChek, LLC, which provides web-based checkout sheets for fire and EMS fleets. Chief Kreckie is a subcontractor with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in regards to Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) projects and is a guest lecturer at the Singapore Aviation Academy. He is a longstanding member of the Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting Working Group (ARFFWG) and was the regulatory affairs officer for 18 years with the organization.

apssafety@gmail.com

Michael (Mike) McCabe retired in January 2021 as the education program specialist at FEMA/USFA/NFA in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He has been with the National Fire Academy (NFA) since 2011, heading up the Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education (FESHE) program. Mr. McCabe serves as a FEMA Emergency Services Group Supervisor during nationally declared emergencies and was formerly the chair of the Fire Science Technology, Emergency Management and Homeland Security programs at Pikes Peak Community College, in Colorado Springs, CO. He holds two bachelor’s degrees — a B.A. in Communications and a B.S. in Fire Services Administration — and a master's degree in Instructional Design and Technology. Mr. McCabe also has an Executive Fire Officer Certificate from the National Fire Academy and is a certified project manager.

mcfyrman@gmail.com

Adam Montella, MPA, MHS-V, CMP, is an internationally recognized subject matter expert, speaker and writer on numerous topics relating to emergency management, business continuity, physical and cyber security, homeland security, public health, disaster response and recovery. With 35 years of direct disaster experience, Mr. Montella has worked at or as an advisor to local, state and federal government agencies, as well as private industry, higher education and non-government organizations.

Mr. Montella provides program and project management leadership and guidance to government and private sector clients throughout the U.S. and internationally. He has led the development of hundreds of emergency plans, programs and security assessments, as well as After-Action Reports for major exercises and real-world incidents and National Security events, including hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, terrorism, civil unrest, active shooters, aviation and aerospace incidents, and the COVID-19 AARs for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), four states, 20 local governments and several Fortune 100 companies. 

Mr. Montella is the president of the International Association of Planning Professionals and a board member of the Mid-Florida Chapter of the Association of Continuity Professionals (ACP). He has also served on FEMA’s National Advisory Council (NAC), as the human services branch chief for the Florida State Emergency Response Team (SERT), as a member of DHS’s Private Sector Intelligence Analyst Program, on FEMA’s Emergency Response Team (ERT), as the ESFS-6 (Mass Care) lead at FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) and as a mass care officer for the American Red Cross. He is currently a member of the Department of Energy’s Emergency Management Special Interest Group, the curriculum review and editorial boards for the American Public University System (APUS), the American Military University (AMU) and the Industry Advisory Board at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU).

Mr. Montella's experience is underscored by serving in senior leadership positions on over 100 presidentially declared disasters, including the COVID-19 Federal Vaccination mission, Hurricanes Maria, Andrew, Hugo and Katrina, the September 11 terrorist attacks, and the anthrax release at the U.S. Capitol.

Mr. Montella holds a bachelor’s and master's degree in Public Administration and has also attended both the Police and Emergency Medical Services Academies. He is also a FEMA master planner and master continuity practitioner, and holds more than 40 FEMA, DOD, DOJ and Red Cross instructor and instructor trainer certifications.

EPS's project manager and principal consultant, Tim Riecker, is recognized nationally as an expert in preparedness, Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Mr. Riecker is a FEMA master trainer and is certified as an HSEEP instructor as well as a multitude of other courses, including those on NIMS/ICS, emergency planning, instructor development and exercise management. Mr. Riecker has over two decades of experience in public safety, including local emergency response as a chief officer, state-level emergency management as a senior manager and public safety consulting across the nation.

As a former state training officer (STO) and exercise training officer (ETO) for the state of New York, and through his work as a consultant, Mr. Riecker has worked with stakeholders across the nation within public, private and non-government organizations in preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery. He understands the needs of different stakeholders within various sectors and industries and has a successful record of leading complex projects involving a variety of stakeholders, personnel and timelines.

Mr. Riecker has participated in the management of 20 presidentially declared disasters, including the September 11 terrorist attacks, Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, as well as other disasters and emergencies, including capsized ships, airplane crashes, and numerous severe storms and floods. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration, is a certified emergency and disaster professional (CEDP) and is an NFPA 3000 (Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response) program specialist.

Tim@epsllc.biz