Mike Brown, the Chief Technology Officer for Prepared Response, came by the Institute and talked to a group of interested students about the company. He discussed their products and services as well as discussed some projects and research that the company would be interested in seeing worked on.
Prepared Response, Inc. is a privately-held corporation that was founded here in Tacoma in 2000 (it has headquarters in Seattle now, but a larger presence in the South Sound).
They are the "leading innovator in crisis management and emergency preparedness solutions and training that enable police, fire, and other emergency responders to save lives and mitigate property damage. Prepared Response's solutions have been repeatedly proven to save lives as well as protect property in schools, hospitals, malls, and other public and private critical infrastructure."
The company launched its first product, "Rapid Responder" in January 10th of 2002. One week later, they announced the state of Washington licensing of the product.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002
Washington State adopts statewide emergency planning and disaster response application
State law enforcement, fire associations license PRI's Rapid Responder product
OLYMPIA, Wash. - Washington state law enforcement and fire officials have licensed an emergency preparedness and disaster response software application from Prepared Response, Inc. that will eventually allow all emergency personnel in the state to access critical location information when responding to a crisis.
The Washington Associations of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) and the Washington State Association of Fire Chiefs (WSAFC) licensed the Rapid Responder(TM) application from Prepared Response through an allocation from the Washington state Legislature. The agreement allows the product's use throughout the entire state.
Before I get to some additional snippets of their products and history, I want to note that they were one of the first companies in the area to bring on interns from the Computing and Software Systems program from the Institute of Technology at the UWT. During the tech sector downturn and particularly after 9/11, when it seemed that more folks were being laid off than hired, the company took a chance on some students who were graduating from a program that did not have a long history. One in particular, F.C., who I always thought was an excellent student, ended up being hired on at the end of that internship. I recommended to another student who had been looking for a position post graduation that she contact an alum working there. She ended up being hired on as well.
They are both still there today, which in itself speaks highly of any work environment but especially of a company that was not that old itself at the time of their hire.
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The number of solutions that the company provides has grown and now includes:
Rapid Responder (version 5.0 in 2008)
Crisis Management System
Rapid Responder® allows first responders to quickly access key information about thousands of facilities, including tactical pre-plans, satellite and geospatial imagery, interior and exterior photos, floor plans, staging areas, hazardous materials, utility shut-offs, and evacuation routes. The system protects thousands of educational facilities, public buildings, critical infrastructure, and private facilities across the US.
Guide Safe
Occupant/Employee Safety & Alert Notification System
GuideSafe™ is a Web-based tenant management and notification solution that provides you and your tenants with key information for dealing with a wide variety of emergency incidents, and gives you the power to notify them in the event of daily building disruptions or emergencies.
Hazard Tactics
Multi-Hazard Emergency Preparedness Training & Threat Consulting
In the face of a crisis, you must be prepared with a response plan, established channels to first responders, the media and the public, as well as crisis response practice at all staffing levels. PRI has created a set of courses to prepare you for every stage of a crisis.
Their management team consists of:
Jim Finnell who is the President and Chief Executive Officer
Jim Tarte who is the Chief Financial Officer
Michael Brown who is the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer
Marti Wagner who is the Vice President, Enterprise Sales
and just recently:
Pete Ochinko
Vice President, Security and Risk Prevention Solutions
Thomas J. (T.J.) Miller
Vice President of Federal Sales
Notable on their board are:
John T. Carleton
Chairman of the Board and Senior Vice President of Benaroya Capital Company.
Benaroya Capital was an early investor, providing the company with some significant seed funding when their product hit the market in 2002
Ralph Munro
Former Washington Secretary of State, Chairman of the Washington State Task Force on International Education and Cultural Exchanges; and Co-Chairman of the International Task Force of the Council of State Governments
No social networking sources like blogs, twitter or Facebook to speak of. (correct me if I am wrong)
A pretty extensive web site, though no recent news activity this year unless you go through a Google news search. That is where I found the announcements of new officer positions, as well as this news from Oct of 2009 in the "Disaster Preparedness Daily News".
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