The NISC is excited to announce that former NISC Chair, Sean McSpaden, has agreed to serve as a part-time, volunteer Executive Director for the NISC. Sean fills an important leadership role for the organization that was left open with the recent departure of Kenny Ratliff.
Sean brings a wealth of knowledge in the emergency management, IT, GIS, and homeland security fields that will help expand the reach of the NISC and guide the organization to long-term sustainability. Sean currently serves as a Principal Legislative IT Analyst for the Oregon State Legislature and is responsible for overseeing state agency information technology and information security-related operations, projects, and programs. Prior to his current role, Sean served for over five years as Oregon’s Deputy State Chief Information Officer. From June 2012 to September 2013, Sean served as Chair of the NISC, during which he oversaw the organization’s incorporation and eventual establishment as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, built the NISC’s membership, developed and led the Board’s adoption of the NISC’s first strategic plan, and identified Esri’s ArcGIS Online as an enterprise portal replacement for the Virtual USA Library.
Sean’s background in IT, GIS, and multi-jurisdictional information sharing is extensive. From September 2009 to September 2013, Sean was actively involved in and led portions of the US Department of Homeland Security’s Virtual USA initiative. As part of this work, Sean served as the Technical Working Group Chair for the Virtual USA Pacific Northwest Pilot – a collaborative effort to develop a common operating picture for emergency management for Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. During this time Sean also led Oregon’s development and deployment team for Oregon’s ArcGIS-based Real Time Assessment and Planning Tool (RAPTOR) and its mobile version, iRAPTOR, both of which are still currently used for maintaining situational awareness by the Oregon Office of Emergency Management. Both RAPTOR and iRAPTOR were recognized with an Esri Special Achievement in GIS Award at the 2012 Esri International User Conference. In addition, Sean was selected as the National Alliance for Public Safety GIS (NAPSG) Foundation’s 2012 Award recipient for Excellence in Public Safety GIS and as a National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) 2013 recipient of NSGIC’s Outstanding Service Award.
As Executive Director for the NISC, Sean looks forward to providing executive support to the NISC Executive Committee and Board members, interacting with and supporting the needs of the NISC membership, managing the operational activities of the consortium, leading the review and update of the NISC’s strategic plan, and enhancing sponsorship of NISC activities and initiatives. His leadership role will help ensure the NISC’s ongoing ability to operate as a self-sustaining, independent consortium that is recognized as a national leader in – and trusted resource to – the homeland security, emergency management, public safety, health, and first responder communities across the nation.
