Leadership

A nationally distinguished emergency response consultant with over 30 years of professional experience in both private and public sectors.

Co-Founder & CEO

Hans K. Wagner, CPM

Mr. Wagner is a Co-Founder and CEO. A nationally distinguished emergency response, planning consultant with over 30 years of professional experience in both private and public sectors. He leads all business and growth strategies at Early Alert. Mr. Wagner retired with 23 years of fire service where he served as the City of Marathon's Fire Chief and Emergency Manager. He is a noted authority on Fire Service Command and Control, Strategies and Tactics, and the Incident Command System.

 

Mr. Wagner has first-hand experience responding to some of the largest catastrophic disasters in our lifetime going back to Hurricane Andrew. He drew upon that experience during other Hurricanes such as George, Irene and recently serving as the emergency manager for hurricanes Charley, Frances, Jeanne, Ivan, Dennis, Katrina, Rita, Wilma and most recently Harvey and Irma. In addition, he has worked in many other emergency operations centers and command posts where he has participated as the Incident Commander, Operations and Logistics Chief.

 

Mr. Wagner is also nationally recognized for his work as a fire instructor. He has shared his experience with other fire departments, health systems, county and municipal governing agencies, non-profits and volunteer organizations and including the private sector.

A nationally recognized senior public and private sectors executive with more than 40 years’ experience...

Co-Founder & President

William A. Wagner, III, CEM

William A. Wagner, III is President and a principal owner of Early Alert, Inc.  Mr. Wagner is a nationally recognized senior public and private sector executive with more than 40 years’ experience public administration, managing and administering emergency management, business continuity, incident command, strategies and tactics, emergency medical and mass casualty, fire rescue operations, fire prevention, fire investigation, and several successful entrepreneurial businesses. His subject matter expertise includes project management, administering all operational, planning and training for emergencies and disasters regarding emergency preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation.

 

During Hurricane Andrew, he established the command post at Florida City where more than 150 firefighters began search and rescue in the first forty-eight hours following the storm where he managed a Unified Command System including over one hundred law enforcement personnel, several relief agencies and members of the Florida National Guard. He served as Incident Commander for numerous large-scale incidents and disaster including Hurricanes George, Katrina, and Wilma in the Florida Keys. He served as a recovery technician at the Value Jet disaster in the Florida Everglades. His experience includes such posts as Emergency Manager, Incident Commander, Planning Section Chief, Operations Section Chief and Logistics Section Chief. Most recently commanded and coordinated incident management support team deployments for 2017 Hurricane Harvey and Irma throughout South Florida and 2018 Hurricanes Florence and Michael, 2019/20, COVID-19 Pandemic and 2020 national civil unrest, Hurricane Ian October 2022, Hurricane Idalia 2023 and 2024 Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

 

In addition to his appointment to the elite Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hurricane Liaison Team, Mr. Wagner also served on the International Association of Fire Chiefs - Emergency Management Committee - Sub-Committee for Education and Training. Additionally, he has served as an Emergency Management Coordinator for the Florida Keys and the County Coordinator for the Florida Disaster Response Plan. Mr. Wagner served as the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association: State Emergency Response Team - FEPA Liaison, South Florida - State Incident Management Team as the IC or Operations Chief, Member of the AHIMTA Interstate Incident Management Team Qualifications System (IIMTQS) Committee and the Emergency Interoperability Consortium.

 

Special awards include Fire Chief of the Year for Monroe County, Phoenix Award for Life Saving, Special Rescue Award, Firefighter of the Year Monroe County, FL., FEMA's Outstanding Achievement award for Region IV. and the National Hurricane Conference - Distinguished Service Award.

Experienced leader with 20+ years in emergency management, specializing in project management, strategic planning, and crisis response.

Chief Operating Officer

Kyrie S. Wagner, CMC

As Chief Operating Officer, Ms. Kyrie Wagner oversees all operational functions, ensuring teams effectively align with strategic business objectives. With over 20 years of experience in emergency management, she has held key leadership roles in both the private sector and municipal government, including serving as the Municipal City Clerk for Islamorada, Florida, where she managed project coordination, public outreach, and records retention.

 

Ms. Wagner has extensive expertise in Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP), mitigation strategies, and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) activations. She has played a critical role in EOC exercises and has coordinated emergency response efforts between public and private sectors during hurricanes, severe weather events, pandemics, wildfires, civil unrest, oil spills, and other crises.

 

Beyond emergency management, Ms. Wagner brings strong expertise in client relations, social media marketing, strategic planning, and onsite liaison coordination. She is proficient in a range of software programs and has led the organization’s social network marketing initiatives.

 

A highly motivated and collaborative leader, Ms. Wagner excels in project management, strategic planning, and communication. Her strong organizational skills and ability to foster teamwork make her an invaluable asset in driving projects from conception to successful execution.

Executive Advisory Team

30 year NWS career that emphasized winter and severe storms, forecast operations, applied research...

Chief Advisor Hazardous Weather

Kermit Keeter, BA & BS

Chief Adviser to the MET Team, Kermit's advanced studies and degrees in both meteorology (B.S., North Carolina State University, 1976) and psychology (B.A., East Carolina University, 1968) provided the foundation for a nearly 30 year NWS career that emphasized winter and severe storms, forecast operations, applied research, professional development, critical decision making, and science outreach. Kermit began his NWS career in 1977 at Fort Worth, Texas in the tornado prone region of North Texas.

 

In 1983, he was assigned to the forecast office in Raleigh North Carolina as a Lead Forecaster. From 1993 until his retirement in 2006, Kermit served as NWS Raleigh's first Science and Operations Officer, in charge of the infusion of science into forecast operations and the professional development and training of forecasters. Through several awards, NWS, NOAA, and the AMS have all recognized Kermit for his leadership in shaping, promoting, and guiding productive collaborations between NWS and North Carolina State University - a collaboration that has been funded by NOAA for sixteen consecutive years. During this time, Kermit was the chief architect for pioneering joint winter and severe storm operations with selected faculty and students, developing a university credited NWS internship course, and establishing effective protocols for conducting successful university collaborations.

 

Kermit has co-authored and published several articles sharing the collaboration's success in developing and implementing improved forecast techniques and protocols for critical weather hazards that included: winter storms, sound side flooding, cloud to ground lightning, tornadoes associated with tropical cyclones, inland effects of land falling tropical cyclones, and cold air damming. In 2002, Kermit was recognized by NWS Eastern Region for his expertise in winter storms and for shaping the Region's best practices for predicting winter storms.

40-year career in emergency management disaster response and planning, particularly with tropical cyclone and severe weather events ...

Chief Advisor and Senior Emergency Management Specialist

William ‘Billy’ A. Wagner, Jr., BS, CEM

Billy Wagner has served for over 40+ years in public administration and management, and has gained extensive experience over his 40-year career in emergency management disaster response and planning, particularly with tropical cyclone and severe weather events. In his current position with Early Alert, he is responsible for public affairs and oversight of the emergency management team, which includes disaster mitigation, planning, response, and recovery.

 

Billy’s actual disaster response experience includes many severe weather events, tornados, tropical storms, hurricanes, floods, oil spill response, mass immigration and urban search and rescue. Billy had the direct responsibility for the coordination of the response to over 50 Tropical Cyclone/Typhoon events. More significantly, he directed the response and recovery of 1992 Hurricane Andrew, 1996 Hurricane Bertha, 1996 Hurricane Lili, 1998 Hurricane Georges and TS Mitch, 1999 Hurricane Floyd, 2004 Hurricanes Charlie, Frances and Ivan, and 2005 Hurricanes Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Other related experience and practices include direct coordination with the Tropical Prediction Center/National Hurricane Center and World Meteorological Origination and Committee Team Leader for the FEMA / Corps of Engineers Hurricane Georges, Bertha, Opal & Fran Response Assessment. Billy is the only Emergency Management representative on the American Society of Civil Engineers Task Committee, which is developing a set of guidelines on wind damage investigation, for publication as an ASCE Manual of Practice.

 

Billy is one of the original founders of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Hurricane Liaison Team (HLT). This select group of Emergency Management professionals with hurricane experience is specially trained to serve in the National Hurricane Center (NHC). The primary role of the HLT is to provide support to federal, state and local officials whenever a tropical cyclone threatens the United States and its territories in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico basins. The HLT ensures that the emergency management community has the information needed to take proper actions in responding to the event. Billy spearheaded the development of the position of HLT coordinator, responsible for contacting the state and local emergencies managers assuring that they have received all the NHC products pertaining to the event and briefing them on any changes which may take place regarding the system between advisories. This position also has the responsibility of setting up the conference calls between the NHC and the emergency management community and high-level officials being affected, including Puerto Rico and the American Virgin Islands. He also handles any calls made to the NHC that are emergency management related.

He was President Clinton’s appointee to the Directorship of FEMA Region IV, its largest regional office, from 1997 to 2001...

Principal Advisor & Senior Business Continuity Specialist

John B. Copenhaver, CBCP

John Copenhaver is a licensed Georgia attorney since 1979 and holds both the Member of the Business Continuity Institute (MBCI) and Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) professional certifications. He was President Clinton’s appointee to the Directorship of FEMA Region IV, its largest regional office, from 1997 to 2001, and has since served in a number of senior executive management roles, including President and CEO of the DRI International. He was elected to the Disaster Recovery Institute International Board of Directors in 2001, and then served as their Chair from 2003-2005. As well as serving on the Editorial Board of “The Journal of Emergency Management” and formerly “The Journal of Business Continuity and Emergency Management,”.

 

John has held many distinguished appointed positions, including one to the Advisory Board of the Journal of Emergency Management, which he now holds; to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce National Security Task Force from 2007 - 2010, and to the FEMA National Advisory Council Private Sector Subcommittee from 2008 - 2010. John’s disaster operations experience ranges in scale from small (less than $20 million in assistance and fewer than 100 people involved in recovery operations) to massive (over $1 billion in assistance and over 1,000 people involved in response and recovery operations).

 

He directed implementation of the United States’ largest disaster recovery / housing buyout and relocation program after Hurricane Floyd in eastern North Carolina, involving purchase of over 1,100 homes in flood prone areas and relocation of occupants to safer homes outside known floodplains; Federal dollars spent in this program exceeded $400 million. John directed the hazardous materials programs for the Southeastern U.S., including oversight of the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) and the Radiological Emergency Program (REP), both involving multimillion-dollar budgets and considerable Congressional oversight.

Department Heads

Global Enterprise Solutions Professional with over 25 years’ experience offering unique, customized risk and operational solutions.

VP of Global Enterprise Solutions

Pat Cunnane, BS

Global Enterprise Solutions Professional with over 25 years’ experience offering unique, customized risk and operational solutions to clients around the world…

 

Pat Cunnane is a Global Enterprise Solutions Professional with over 25 years’ experience offering unique, customized risk and operational solutions to clients around the world.  Extensive business travel at client request (USA, Canada, Bahamas, Barbados, Ireland, United Kingdom, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Thailand).

 

Expertise and Certifications include:

  • FEMA IS-00700.b An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
  • FEMA IS-00200.c Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
  • FEMA IS-00100.c Introduction to Incident Command Systems
  • National Weather Service SKYWARN Storm Spotter
  • Association of Continuity Professionals (ACP)
  • University of Delaware, Bachelor of Science (BS), Consumer Economics & Human Resources

 

Pat was born in Philadelphia into a hard working family that taught him the values of a strong work ethic, honesty and integrity. These values are what drives Pat each and every day in supporting Early Alert clients.

 

Relocating multiple times from PA, CA, WA, AZ, Costa Rica, CO, FL and having traveled globally for business Pat has acquired hands on experience and diversity which enable him to provide Early Alert clients a custom fit solution that fits their business requirements.

 

 

Extensive and global comprehensive experience in meteorology, atmospheric science, operational forecasting and program management.

Environmental Prediction | Director

Brian Urbancic, B.S., M.S.

Brian graduated from Western Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Science in meteorology and was commissioned into the Air Force as a lieutenant in 2015. His first assignment was at Scott AFB, IL, where he perfected operational forecasting for 153 Department of Defense (DoD) sites across the United States. Later, he was selected as the Chief of the Weather Plans Division at the Air Force’s Tanker Airlift and Control Center (TACC). In the position, Brian led a team briefing high-level commanders on global weather impacts on DoD’s mobility and air refueling efforts. In 2018, he was selected to attend the Air Force Institute of Technology, attaining his Master of Science in Atmospheric Science.

 

Following this assignment, Brian moved to Tucson, AZ, in the Spring of 2020, where he was a flight commander overseeing 24/7 weather operations and leading 50 Airmen. Next, Brian deployed to Afghanistan from October 2020 through April 2021. During this time, he was the Bagram Airfield Weather Flight Commander, supporting combat operations across Afghanistan and resource protection across the base. During the final two months of his deployment, he served as the NATO Chief Meteorological and Oceanography Officer. In this position, Brian routinely briefed weather impacts to top-level NATO commanders and supported joint NATO forces with planning weather aiding retrograde operations across the country. Brian finished his active-duty service in March of 2023 in the position of Assistant Director of Operations. In this role, Brian integrated weather with the Intelligence Community. He still serves in the Air Force Reserves as a Captain.

 

During his years of service, Brian attended many operational weather and leadership schools. He is a certified Air Force Weather and Environmental Sciences Officer. Brian also led many efforts tailoring and producing actionable weather support for many mission sets globally. Brian has been recognized for many awards, including two Air and Space Commendation Medals with one combat device, two Air and Space Achievement Medals, and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal.

Experienced leader with 35 years in emergency management, specializing in business continuity and resiliency.

Preparedness & Resiliency | Director

Lisa Watson, BBA, P-EMT

Lisa Watson is a seasoned emergency and crisis management professional with extensive experience across local, state, federal, and private sectors. She has held key leadership roles, including Governor’s Authorized Representative for the State of Florida, liaison to impacted counties, and positions within FEMA’s Disaster Field Office.

 

As Director of Preparedness & Resiliency, Ms. Watson leads risk assessment, enterprise continuity planning, and program maintenance. She oversees the company’s Business Continuity Program (BCP), Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP), and enterprise-wide resiliency strategies, ensuring adaptability to evolving operations, systems, and scaling challenges.

 

Her expertise spans incident management, planning, and operations, having served as Incident Commander during multiple disasters, including hurricanes, as well as Planning Section Chief and Operations Section Chief for the State of Florida’s Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. She has played a critical role in Emergency Operations Center (EOC) exercises and has coordinated emergency response efforts between public and private sectors during hurricanes, severe weather events, pandemics, wildfires, civil unrest, mass immigration events, oil spills, and other crises. Her in-depth understanding of the state and federal disaster response system has earned recognition from FEMA’s Public Assistance Officer in Orlando and the Director of Emergency Management for the State of Florida.

 

Ms. Watson holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, specializing in planning and management, and an Associate of Science in Emergency Services. She has completed advanced training in Incident Management & Unified Command, Disaster Control, Emergency Planning, Hazardous Materials Response, and Command & Control of Major Operations.

 

With a proven track record in disaster response, business continuity, and enterprise resilience, Ms. Watson delivers strategic leadership in crisis management and operational preparedness, ensuring organizations are equipped to respond to and recover from complex emergencies.

30+ years incident and emergency management experience and member of the Southern Area Red Type 1 Incident Management Team ...

Response & Recovery | Director

Bob Koenig, Type 1 IMT

Robert ‘Bob’ Koenig has been working with Early Alert, Inc. since 2010, serving as a principal member of our instructional team -- as SME, Lead Instructor, Project Manager, before becoming Director of All Hazard Training in 2013. Bob is currently a member of the Southern Area Red Type 1 Incident Management Team, a Planning Team Manager and Logistics Section Chief with Texas Task Force 1, Urban Search and Rescue. Bob also serves as an Adjunct Instructor with the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas in the enhanced incident management – unified command program.

 

In 2005, he retired from the Texas Forest Service after serving as the State Incident Management Team Coordinator and Chief of Incident Response Training. Bob was responsible for oversight of 17 All-Hazard Type 3 Incident Management Teams strategically located throughout the State of Texas for state and national response. In addition, Bob was a member of the Texas Forest Service Lone Star State Type 2 Incident Management Team, and co-authored the revision to the current “USFA Type 3 Incident Management Team—Instructor Guide.” Bob served as Chair of the National Incident Management Support Team (IMST), National Integration Center (NIC), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

 

Prior to joining the Texas Forest Service, Bob worked for three years as Program Manager for the Texas Engineering Extension Services’ (TEEX) Urban Search and Rescue Division; for 19 years as an Internal Affairs Officer, Management Auditor and Agency Risk Manager for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice; and was the agency’s representative to the State Emergency Management Council.

 

Professional Experience

Bob has met all instructor qualification regarding National Incident Management System (NIMS): Training Program (NIMS) and U.S. Coast Guard All-Hazard National Incident Management System (NIMS) Incident Command System (ICS) Performance Qualification Standards, and in his 35+ year career has instructed over 30 All Hazard Incident Management Team O-305 courses, more than six Command and General Staff for Local Incident Management Team courses, and over 40 command and general staff position specific courses. He also has been an Exercise Leader and Exercise staff member. Bob’s emergency response deployments include numerous natural and man-made incidents including:

 

  • as Incident Commander, Liaison Officer and Planning Section Chief for Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ivan, Dolly and Ike;
  • as Planning Section Chief to the Space Shuttle Columbia explosion and the World Trade Center incident with Texas Task Force 1;
  • in a variety of command and general staff positions including Incident Commander, Operations Section Chief, Planning Section Chief and Logistics Section Chief to numerous tornadoes, floods, and law enforcement related incidents, including the Yearning for Zion Ranch incident in 2008 involving Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints;
  • in incident management positions to NFL Super Bowls and Major League Baseball World Series events, as well as political conventions; and
  • most recently commanded and coordinated incident management support team deployments for 2017 Hurricane Harvey and Irma thought out South Florida and 2018 Hurricanes Florence and Michael.

 

Bob’s was as the state’s incident commander on the Bastrop County Complex Fire Unified Command in September 2011, the most costly fire in Texas history. Bob has planned, facilitated, and written final reports on 12 After Action Reviews, including AARs for Hurricane Ike and the Bastrop County Complex Fire. Bob is also an NWCG qualified Liaison Officer and Training Specialist.

 

Responsible for Situational Awareness, a 24/7 Watch Office

Situational Awareness Department | Director & Operations Coordinator

Jake Mammen, BS, MS

Jake graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2019 where he began his young professional career as a Broadcast Meteorologist before pursuing a career in Emergency Management. Throughout his studies and short professional career, he has gained multiple years of experience in Public Speaking, Physical, Human, and Urban Geography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), GIS Applications, Advanced GIS and Spatial Analysis, Digital Image Processing, Spatial Statistics, Cartography, Data Analysis, News Writing & Storytelling, Electronic News Gathering, Television News, Natural Hazards, and Research.

 

Additionally, Jake has participated in emergency management projects and an Emergency Operation Center activation. His experience in emergency management deployment consists of Hurricane Ida in the summer of 2021. Most recently coordinated wildfire and tropical cyclone situational awareness during the 2021 Wildfire and Hurricane seasons. Furthermore, Jake has recorded over a year of planned protest and civil unrest data mining and analysis experience which started in the Fall of 2020.

 

As an Early Alert team member, Jake is responsible for Situational Awareness, a 24/7 Watch Office which requires continuous monitoring of relevant sources of information regarding actual incidents and developing hazards. He manages and maintains the tools, software, and dashboards used to carry out daily operations.

 

Professional Accomplishments

IIn addition to holding a Master’s degree in Geospatial Technologies, Bachelor’s degree in Geography and two minors, Jake has experience using ESRI ArcGIS products such as ArcMap, ArcGIS Pro, and ArcGIS Online. This expertise and knowledge have contributed to the following projects:

 

  • All Hazard Analysis Tool, used to perform analysis and risk assessment
  • Special Hazard Reports, used to provide critical information on hazard and provide personalized maps/charts
  • Dashboards/Hazard Queues, used to visualize data and trends (i.e. COVID, Civil Unrest, and Risk)

 

A passionate and self-motivated team member with broad leadership, management, planning, and communication skills, Jake’s ability to be adaptable and versatile, along with the willingness to learn new methods and meet demanding standards, is an asset to the Situational Awareness Unit in which he leads.

Experience in emergency management deployments consists of hurricanes and severe weather events and other disasters, in private sector...

Client Services | Director

Susan Cunnane, BA

Susan Cunnane is a detail oriented and self-accountable leader with 20 years of business experience. Susan has a reputation for leadership that motivates others who understand and respond to clear expectations and accountability measures. Proven success in communications with all levels of personnel and clients. She is skilled at developing the right action plan for each of her client's unique needs and committed to helping them choose the best products and services. Throughout her career, Susan has earned the trust of several national and international companies and maintained strong client relationships that generate repeat business. She attributes her success to her ability to listen to customers and put their needs first. Most recently, Susan was the Executive Director of the Stuart Airshow where she was responsible for planning, organizing and executing a 3 day event with over 50,000 attendees.

 

Susan has participated in emergency management planning (COOP), and Emergency Operation Center activations during disasters. Her experience in emergency management deployments consists of hurricanes and severe weather events and other disasters, in private sector emergency management coordination.

 

As an Early Alert team member, Susan is responsible for client management, growth and retention of existing accounts and onsite client liaison and coordination. Susan is particularly effective in analyzing situations, fostering client relationships, and driving results.

 

Areas of Experience:

  • Project Management
  • Planning
  • Online and Social Media Marketing
  • Client Relations

 

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS

Certificates in many FEMA Independent Study courses:

  • FEMA IS-00700.b An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
  • FEMA IS-00200.c Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
  • FEMA IS-00100.c Introduction to Incident Command Systems