Peter R. Teahen is a Funeral Director and founder of the International Mass Fatalities Center and AmericaReady. He is a pioneer of community projects, notable speaker and developer of international mental health crisis management intervention programs. He is the author of several disaster operational protocols and the comprehensive Mass Fatalities Incident Response Plan.   

He is a national media spokesperson and a Government Liaison Officer for the American Red Cross.   He has been interviewed on such programs as Larry King Live, Good Morning America, Oprah, Weather Channel, Fox News, the British Broadcasting Company and Aljazeera. 

Peter has been involved in leadership roles in more than forty-five major disasters throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, Sri Lanka, and the Darfur Region of Sudan including the September 11th, attack on the World Trade Center, the Florida hurricanes of 2004 and hurricanes of 2005 including Hurricane Katrina, and the Sri Lanka Tsunami 2004.  He is recognized for his work on aviation disasters and is internationally known for his work and lectures in critical incident stress management, and the psychological and social impact of disasters. 

In 2005, Peter spearheaded the conception and delivery of a comprehensive multi-phase program providing emotional support to soldiers and their families during pre-deployment, deployment and post deployment operations of the Iowa National Guard. Today, Enduring Families has served more than 7,000 soldiers in addition to their spouses, dependents, and parents. The program provided through the Iowa National Guard Family Program Office has saved the Guard more than three million dollars in donated professional services.  

In 2004, Peter led a multi-national mental health response to Sri Lanka following the Tsunami and developed a psychosocial recovery plan for the country of Sri Lanka.  In 2007, Peter developed and taught a psychological trauma management-training program for international aid workers in the Darfur regions of Sudan. 

In 2007 and 2008, Peter was selected to design and implement a comprehensive three-day psychological trauma management-training program for international and national humanitarian aid workers serving in areas of humanitarian conflict.   Peter delivered the pilot program in Khartoum, Nyala/South Darfur, and El Geneina/West Darfur. Funding was from RedR of London and the European Commission (ECHO) of Sudan. 

Peter Teahen is the recipient of numerous national awards of distinction that includes the National Public Spirit Award. American Legion Auxiliary.  Previous recipients include Ronald Reagan, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Ann Landers, and Dr. Robert Schuller.

Garold D. "Gary" Huey is a licensed Texas Funeral Director and Embalmer. He serves as an Adjunct Faculty member at San Antonio College Mortuary Science Department and the Protective Services Department Emergency Management Administration Program.

In 2006, Gary served as the Post Mortem Operations Manager, Louisiana Family Assistance Center following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. 

Gary retired in 2003 from the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Division with over 31 years experience in military mortuary affairs.  He is experienced in all phases of mass fatalities operations including search and recovery, personal effects processing, identification documentation, next of kin briefings, preparation, casketing, and movement of remains. 

His mass fatalities experience includes leadership roles in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the space shuttle Columbia mishap, 9/11 Pentagon terrorist attack, Operation Desert Shield and numerous aircraft mishaps. 

Gary has over ten years experience in private sector funeral service and is a member of the International Association for Identification, the American Society of Embalmers, and the Texas Funeral Directors Association Disaster Response Team.

Diane Myers is a licensed Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse and Clinical Nurse Specialist in private practice. She has advanced training and certification as a specialist in traumatic stress, and works with individuals and families experiencing trauma, grief and loss, life change, anxiety, depression, family, workplace, and health problems. She has twenty-five years’ experience working with disaster and critical incident stress and has provided mental health and stress management services in over 36 major disasters. She is a consultant and trainer for federal, state, local, and nonprofit agencies, as well as fire, police, EMS, the military, schools, and private industry. She is the author of over 50 publications on trauma, disaster and critical incident stress.

Cynthia K. Hansen is a clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience working with children, adolescents, adults and families in various settings such as schools, clinics, hospitals, day treatment programs, and outpatient private practice. She has taught nationally and internationally on Solution Focused Therapy, consulting with clinicians and organizations about best practices. Dr. Hansen is also a Disaster Mental Health responder with the American Red Cross and worked in New York City in September/October 2001 at Respite Center 1/Ground Zero, using her expertise in working with first responders and trauma survivors. Dr. Hansen’s most recent assignment with the American Red Cross was in Guam after the super typhoon Pongsona, where she was able to contribute expertise in organizational responses post-disaster, intercultural applications, and direct clinical work with traumatized individuals and families. Dr. Hansen is an adjunct faculty member of American University in Washington, D.C., School of International Service.

Kathy Risdon is the Senior Employee Assistance Specialist for the Clark County Fire Department in Las Vegas, Nevada. As an Employee Assistance Specialist, she provides individual, marital and family counseling and referrals to the Fire Department employees and their families, Kathy also provides Critical Incident Stress Management services to all members of the department and responds to crises within other Clark County departments when requested. She has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for 24 years. In that time, Kathy has worked in numerous areas of Social Work including working in and supervising programs involving the chronically mentally ill, assisting in the development of and supervising a conflict management/mediation program and providing mediation and evaluation in the child custody arena. Kathy responds to disasters locally, nationally and around the world in her capacity as a thirteen-year disaster Mental Health volunteer for the American Red Cross. She is also a member of both the National and International Red Cross Airline Disaster Response Teams and she teaches Red Cross classes, which prepare people to become Disaster Mental Health Volunteers.

Dick Heft is a native Iowan who retired as a Special Agent from the FBI after 28 years of active service.  He was assigned to offices in New York City, WDC and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  During his career he handled numerous investigations involving foreign counterintelligence as well as international and domestic terrorism matters.  Mr. Heft is a trained hostage negotiator and crisis manager.  He has dealt with numerous extremist matters throughout his career including investigations concerning such groups as the PLO, IRA, Japanese Red Army, Red Brigade, Posse Comitatus, The Order and the KKK as well as many other groups.  Mr. Heft has also received extensive training in dealing with Weapons of Mass Destruction with special emphasis on chemical, biological and nuclear matters.  Mr. Heft resides in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Dale Carnathan is a Program Administrator for the Ventura County (California) Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services. During Dale's more than 10 years with OES, the County has suffered through floods, fires, earthquakes, insect infestations, oil spills, drought, landslides and the crash of Alaska Flight 261. Dale has acted as the coordinator of volunteer activities, including CERT, DART and RACES, and is currently assisting with the development of the County's Volunteer Equine Evacuation Team. Prior to joining the Sheriff's Department, Dale was employed by the American Red Cross for more than twelve years, during which he responded to hurricanes in the Caribbean Sea, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, floods in Missouri and Illinois, and earthquakes and fires in California. Dale has also served in the United State Coast Guard (active and Reserve) for more that twenty-seven years, and is an active amateur radio Operator. Dale received his Master's Degree in Public Administration in 1995 from California State University, Northridge.

Lindy Williamson is a Board Certified Expert in Crisis Response.  She has responded to many disasters including the World Trade Center, Indonesian Tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina.  Lindy is a trainer for the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation and teaches several courses in Critical Incident Stress Management.  She is also an approved trainer for the Citizens Emergency Response Team (CERT) program. 

Beth Meriwether is a co-founder of the International Mass Fatalities Center. She brings 20 years of business experience including marketing, statistical and profitability analysis, data management, project development, management, and sales. She helped in the development of the Mass Fatalities Incident Response Manual, the core component of the International Mass Fatalities Center training curriculum. Beth is a member of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation.