IE 11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

National Leaders Join Oregon's RAIN Board

Organization dedicated to accelerating technological innovation in homeland security and public safety

RAINS(Regional Alliances for Infrastructure and Network Security), a nonprofit public/private organization dedicated to accelerating technological innovation in homeland security and public safety, announced that The Honorable Bob Kerrey, president of The New School, former Senator and 9/11 Commission member; Dr. Richard Andrews, a principal of NC4 and member of the President's Homeland Security Advisory Council; and Charles Baker, chairman and CEO of OnScreen, have joined the RAINS Board of Directors.

RAINS is best known for its highly regarded Connect & Protect program, which functions as an online Community Watch Center in Portland, Oregon. Connect & Protect links over 200 public and private participants including representatives of government agencies, schools, critical infrastructure, first responders, emergency managers and other public safety stakeholders in a trusted network, allowing them to share sensitive, mission-critical information. The system fuses alerts sourced from 9-1-1 centers, NOAA, online dispatch, radio traffic, AMBER Alerts, etc., with geospatial and other supporting information, thus delivering high-value, real-time situational awareness to targeted, authenticated and authorized recipients. The system enables subgroups (both planned and self-organizing) to form community networks and exchange sensitive information with trust and confidence.

The Honorable Bob Kerrey is president of The New School in New York City, home to the Parsons Institute for Information Mapping (PIIM), a group dedicated to creating advanced knowledge tools and better enabling knowledge workers. Kerrey served as Governor of Nebraska, then as Senator (D-Nebraska, 1989-2001), where he served for eight years on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. After leaving the Senate, he served on the 9/11 Commission and the 9/11 Public Discourse Project. He was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor for his service in Vietnam.

"Improving understanding and analysis of complex data, with useful, actionable information as the goal, requires innovative and intuitive models," says Kerrey. "Combining PIIM's unique capabilities and modeling with RAINS' innovations will result in exciting solutions in the areas of homeland security and defense, and public safety. I'm delighted to join the RAINS board and look forward to helping RAINS achieve our mutual goals."

Dr. Richard Andrews is principal consultant on emergency management for the National Center for Crisis and Continuity Coordination (NC4), and is also a member of the President's Homeland Security Advisory Council. He is the former head of the California Office of Emergency Services, where he guided the development of the state's Standardized Emergency Management System, developed a counter-terrorism plan for California, and managed California's response to 19 national and 24 state disasters. He is a member of the World Bank Group's Disaster Management Operations Group and a former president of the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), where he now serves as chair of NEMA's private-sector committee.

"NC4's job is to try to establish formal technology networks and processes for sharing both routine and crisis information between business and government," says Dr. Andrews. "RAINS' position as a public/private alliance allows it to interface with both sectors in a unique and positive way that will prove essential in exchanging vital, life-saving emergency information among governments, schools, hospitals, large employers, and others. This is an exciting opportunity for me and for NC4."

Charles Baker is the CEO and chairman of OnScreen Technologies. Baker's previous positions include: president of Vesta International; CEO/managing director of Starbucks Coffee Company, Australia; and vice president of Nike Global Retail. OnScreen, using a revolutionary patent-pending technology, is developing next-generation LED displays to provide communication and display solutions for government agency signage markets, including the Department of Transportation, Homeland Security, law enforcement, and emergency responders. Says Baker, "We are very excited to join RAINS and bring another innovative set of disaster preparedness technologies to the coalition. Together, our missions of developing advanced technologies will help drive the formation of public safety and homeland security communities of interest to provide rich and meaningful communications among members."

"We are thrilled to have these skilled, experienced national leaders join our RAINS board -- and our mission to advance information sharing in support of a safer America," said RAINS founder and chairman Charles Jennings.

Kerrey, Andrews and Baker join a board that includes representatives from Alion Science and Technology, BAE Systems, ESRI, Regional Emergency Management Group, SignaCert, Swan Island Networks, the City of Portland Bureau of Emergency Communications and Portland State University.
Sign up for GovTech Today

Delivered daily to your inbox to stay on top of the latest state & local government technology trends.