About Us
Our Mission - History - Staff
Our Mission
To make America safer by empowering its citizens and first responders by:
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Providing training to first responders.
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Recruiting, training, and managing volunteers.
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Providing/facilitating volunteer opportunities.
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Enhancing community preparedness for and response to natural and man-made disasters and other emergencies.
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Educating citizens about preparedness and response to emergencies.
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Providing resources to emergency management agencies.
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Assisting local government agencies with creating and managing citizen volunteer programs related to Emergency Preparedness.
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Encouraging personal responsibility for Emergency Preparedness.
History
Homeland Preparedness Project works with local jurisdictions to promote safety in the community by facilitating preparedness for all types of disasters and citizen participation in public safety through volunteerism.
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Homeland Preparedness Project was formed in 2004 as a result of conversations with officials from the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Domestic Preparedness, County officials, and citizens interested in improving the level of preparedness in their communities.
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These discussions highlighted the need for a trained volunteer workforce to supplement local resources in the event of a large incident. In these times of shrinking budgets and increasing risks, many jurisdictions do not have the resources to fund and manage a citizen volunteer program.
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Recognizing a serious need, the founders of Homeland Preparedness Project came together to form a non-profit organization that could provide these services at no cost to the local jurisdiction.
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With years of experience building and managing volunteer organizations, working in public safety, and providing training, the founders of Homeland Preparedness Project brought considerable skills and abilities to the project.
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Homeland Preparedness Project can provide a variety of services to local agencies with a focus on improving the readiness and safety of the community.
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Our core program is Citizen Corp, a program of the U.S Department of Homeland Security – Office of Domestic Preparedness. Citizen Corp programs harness the value of citizen volunteers for preparing and responding to disasters and emergencies. Homeland Preparedness Project will recruit, train, exercise, and manage volunteers from the community. Homeland Preparedness Project will also work with the agencies in the jurisdiction to facilitate volunteer opportunities for the Citizen Corp volunteers outside of emergencies. The type of work these volunteers can participate in is only limited by the agencies’ needs and the training and safety of the volunteers.
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Homeland Preparedness Project will also provide WMD Awareness training to First Responders in the community. Using DHS qualified instructors and curricula, Homeland Preparedness Project will provide First Responders with this critical information without requiring travel or significant downtime.
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In short, Homeland Preparedness Project can provide tools to create a safer community at no cost to the jurisdiction.
HPP Team
Our team of experienced volunteer management professionals come from a wide range of emergency response and management backgrounds. Each member of our Team is committed to building the best possible resources to help make our community a safer place to live.
Executive Director
Bill Ray
Bill started his career in Law Enforcement working for the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office. During his time there, Bill was assigned to the Motorcycle Division where he worked all types of response and enforcement activity. After leaving the Sheriff's Office, Bill worked as a manufacturer's representative before starting his own technology consulting firm. Bill has been involved with dog sports most of his life and has trained dogs in a variety of disciplines.
As a result of his involvement in dog sports, Bill became interested in Search and Rescue and has been the President of a local volunteer Search Team since 1997. In that capacity, he has assisted local agencies in dozens of searches for missing people.
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Bill also has experience as a Federal responder in a number of incidents including the Shuttle Columbia Recovery, the 2004 Hurricane Season in Georgia, and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. At the local level, Bill has responded to Tropical Storm Allison, Hurricane Ike, and the epic floods of 2016 and Hurricane Harvey as well as numerous local incidents.
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Bill is a certified Homeland Security General Instructor, Master CERT Instructor, Psychological First Aid Instructor, and ICS Curriculum Instructor. Bill earned his Master Exercise Practitioner certification in May of 2010 becoming one of a very small group of individuals in Texas to achieve this certification. Bill is also certified to teach many other homeland security courses and has served on numerous committees at the state and regional level.
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Bill founded Homeland Preparedness Project in 2003 and has served as the Executive Director since that time. Bill is responsible for the day to day operations of the organization, the development of new programs, and the financial management of Homeland Preparedness Project.
Program Coordinator- Planning
Kristan Karber
Kristan comes to Homeland Preparedness Project from the corporate world with lots fo great experience and ideas. She has extensive experience with volunteer organizations. Kristan is currently training her first Search Dog and is a German Shepherd fanatic. Her duties include strategic planning and coordination of HPP activities and scheduling of all HPP events and activities.
If you want us to provide training in your area, contact Kristan and she will work to meet your needs. Click HERE to contact Kristan.
Administrative Assistant
Patricia Williams
Patricia is responsible for keeping us all running in the right direction. The Administrative Assistant manages all of the volunteer data including applications, training records, and volunteer communications.
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Need an update for your ID? Want to schedule a CPR class or an MRC Orientation? Want to know more about CERT or Fire Corps? Click HERE to contact Patricia.