President

Born and raised in England, where he gained an honors degree in Management from the University of Reading, Berkshire, Simon has lived in the United States for 20 years, and in Jersey City for 14 years. Simon began his career as a consultant business and asset valuer, working for major clients including BP, British Gas and the billion dollar Duchy of Cornwall estate of HRH The Prince of Wales. Simon has devised, designed, implemented and led multi-tiered global organizations, including the Irish American Arts Awards, which gained recognition at Head of State level , and GeneAfrica, Inc., which introduced ground-breaking genealogical genomic concepts to the African-American community. The Pereira family owned and operated the successful Rioguarda Group of risk mitigation companies in six of the states of Brazil for three decades until they were sold off in the 2000’s.

More recently based in Jersey City, New Jersey, Simon has been co-founder of Liberty Voiceovers, and has been involved in Jersey City community affairs for several years, serving on the 'I Love Jersey City Public Schools' Committee, linking the business community with the public schools’ system, on the Safety and Security Committee for the Jersey City Board Of Education and as an active volunteer with the Community Emergency Response Team.

Simon was in Manhattan for 9/11 and was in Jersey City for the North-East Blackout of 2003 and for Superstorm Sandy in 2012, and has personally responded to serious medical emergencies in Jersey City and beyond, including being the immediate responder to a street shooting in September 2017, following which he received a Commendation for his actions from the City Council. Simon received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Mayor of Jersey City at a ceremony in August 2017 for his volunteer work in the field of disaster preparedness and emergency response for Jersey City.

Simon has various emergency response and management certifications, including Tactical Emergency Casualty Care and Technical Emergency Response Training for CBRNE Incidents and has been awarded the Professional Development Series Certificate of Achievement by the Emergency Management Institute. Simon is a certified Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) instructor. Simon is keen to contribute in any way to support and augment the existing skilled responders, planners and initiatives that seek to get ahead of the threats facing the people of Jersey City and reduce any potential damage, injury and death as much as humanly possible by increasing the resilience of our community.

simon@resilientjc.org

Vice-President

Dirk grew up in Germany, where he earned a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. He's lived in Jersey City since 2003, and works as an independent IT project manager for large corporations. Over the years, he's served on the board of his condo association, managing the preparations for hurricanes Irene and Sandy, and gained valuable insight into the vulnerability of high-rise buildings, especially those located in the waterfront area of the city.

As a result, Dirk has become a disaster preparedness advocate focusing on analyzing risks, improving resilience, and training for effective emergency response. In 2013, he joined JC CERT, Jersey City's Community Emergency Response Team, in order to team up with his neighbors to enhance the emergency preparedness of the larger JC community.

dirk@resilientjc.org

Vice-President

Mark Rowan Ed.S. was born and raised in Jersey City. He is a graduate of Dickinson High School, Saint Peter's University, New Jersey City University and Rutgers University. He recently retired from the Jersey City School District after 44 years where he served as a teacher, Coordinator of the Juvenile Diversion Program, District Coordinator of Alternative Education, Substance Abuse Coordinator and Student Assistance Coordinator. He also served on the District's Emergency Response Team.

An Eagle Scout, he has also served as president of the Alternative Education Association of N.J., was a member of the Jersey City Alliance Against Drugs & Alcohol, chairman of the Jersey City Council President's Panel on Vandalism, member of the Mayor's Task Force for the Handicapped & Disabled, served two terms as president of the Jersey City Kiwanis Club and is a Supervisory Board member of the Liberty Savings Federal Credit Union.

In addition, he has taken courses with the FEMA Emergency Management Institute, has been a member of the Jersey City Community Emergency Response Team since 2010 and is a Disaster Response Crisis Counselor Team Leader.

Treasurer

Donna is a licensed certified public accountant and has over 25 years of public and private accounting experience. Most of her career was spent at a Big Four accounting firm. She has lived in downtown Jersey City since 1989 and has been an active Board member (President or Treasurer) of her condominium association since October 2003.She also managed the property for over ten years.

Donna became a member of the Jersey City Community Emergency Response Team (“CERT”) in 2014 because she had a desire to serve the local community and become trained in emergency response techniques. She witnessed the devastation in downtown Jersey City caused by Super Storm Sandy but was inspired by the comradery of neighbors helping neighbors. She lives in the Harsimus Cove section of Jersey City which is a closeknit community.

Secretary

Born in England and educated in England and Belgium, Anne studied at the University of Madrid and moved to the United States where she graduated from Ohio University. Anne earned a BA, BSN, and MA. I worked as an operating room RN and later taught at OU and the University of South Carolina. Anne also taught high school Spanish. Anne became an American citizen in the mid-1990s.

When Anne retired in 2012, she moved to Jersey City from South Carolina, two weeks before Superstorm Sandy flooded her neighborhood in Newport. Encouraged by her neighbor Dirk Oswald, Anne joined CERT, Jersey City’s Community Emergency Response Team, because it became very clear that Super Storm Sandy is not going to be an isolated incident. Anne also acts as a building fire warden and helped develop a disaster preparedness plan. Since joining CERT, Anne has become much more aware of the need for mitigation and resilience.

Board Member

Glen McMillan grew up in Brooklyn NY. His mom would always help people, giving her last. When Glen was a Senior in High School he was accepted into the Morgan Stanley Mentor Program in 1998. With the help of his mentor he became a Summer intern and was later hired working in the World Trade Center at 18 years old as an assistant on the trading desk. He started attending Pace University and witness the towers falling after leaving his 7:30 am Accounting Class. Glen later moved onto UBS Financial Services in Weehawken NJ in 2000 and moved to Jersey City in 2005.

Glen volunteered with ACS Mentor Program and Meals on Wheels in NYC during his collegiate years and Glen continued to do volunteer work after moving to NJ. In December 2011 he left UBS and traveled for most of 2012 to see different cultures firsthand. In 2013, Glen started volunteering with Rising Tide Capital, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Essex/Union, C.E.R.T Jersey City and the Mental Health Association in NJ which he was later hired as a manager of one of their programs. Glen is now a proud member of Resilient Jersey City. Hoping to be a part of the foundation that helps protect the city he lives in and loves.

Advisory Board

Brad Yankiver is a Principal and Chief of Staff at Motive Partners, with experience executing on ambitious and innovative initiatives at leading financial institutions and high-growth start-ups.

Brad began his career at Goldman Sachs, serving in a range of capacities over seven years which culminated to his leading product development for the Derivatives Clearing Services business as a Vice President with the firm. In the wake of the Dodd-Frank act, Brad worked with senior leaders to develop the firm’s interest rate and credit derivatives clearing business. Brad also led major initiatives including developing and launching several new service offerings for the business’s largest institutional clients and reengineering of the business’s margin and collateral management processes.

Brad was President of the Jersey City Sandy Recovery Group after Superstorm Sandy, and connected over 2,000 households with clean-up crews, legal help, and $750K in aid from people in 9 countries and 44 states.

Brad earned a B.S. from Carnegie Mellon University in Policy & Management.

Advisory Board

Bob Hagemann, a trained accountant with an MBA from Harvard Business School is both entrepreneur and a creative spirit.

A renowned speaker on entrepreneurship, brand management, personal success, goal setting, and professional network development, Bob is currently leveraging his past experience in CPG marketing and sales as the founder of a new craft liquor distillery, Corgi Spirits, in Jersey City, NJ, with a range of gins and vodka, special botanical blends, which are artfully infused into our distillate, create a uniquely floral and citrusy flavor profile.

A portion of profits from every bottle of Corgi Spirits is donated to Liberty Humane Society, who care for, treat, and find homes for animals in need across Jersey City.