Chad has lived in the Huntsville are for 16 years and worked for SAIC for 15 of those years. He has a strong background in 3D modeling and animation and has built models for motion pictures such as Outbreak, Star Trek, Air Force 1, and others. His work at SAIC has been as a senior CAD analyst for RF/IR modeling and real time simulation.

He began working in disaster aid with hurricane Ivan as a volunteer coordinator and has worked hurricanes Dennis, Katrina, Rita, Wilma, Gustav, Ike, and Irene since then. He joined the Huntsville Madison County Rescue Squad in 2006 and became National Registry EMT in 2007. He was introduced to Virtual Alabama  in 2007 and immediately saw the advantages of GIS within the EMS/EMA field. With his background in 3D modeling, he has built models for various applications in the GIS environment and as a first responder has used Virtual Alabama assist in locating victims and planning searches.

His current position at SAIC is Emergency Operations Specialist. He part of the SAIC Emergency Operations Working Group and a member of the SAIC Emergency Response Team. His duties and responsibilities include not only responding to events that affect SAIC employees and operations, but helping to plan for a more effective response to events. A large part of that planning process involves using GIS tools and integrating them into the EOC as well as the development of tools for the responder.

The April tornados were a test of the system and internal GIS tools as well as Virtual Alabama were used to assist in assessment, location, and deployment activities for SAIC. He considers himself a “ground pounder” and feels most at home on the “working end” of  the chainsaw.  He is currently Deputy Director of the Huntsville Madison County Rescue Squad and maintains certifications as:

• National EMT-B
• International Trauma Life Support Instructor
• CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Instructor
• Swiftwater Rescue
• Advanced Vehicle Extrication
• Emergency Medical Operations - Hazardous Materials
• FEMA Incident Command