Dan Frazen is the Agriculture Emergency Coordinator for the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA), where he has worked since 2022. He leads the emergency management, critical infrastructure protection, and business continuity programs for CDA's nine divisions. Dan is also the primary for Emergency Support Function (ESF) 11 Agriculture and Natural Resources for the State of Colorado. Dan has been working in emergency management and disaster response since the 2013 Colorado Floods. He also has over twenty-five years of law enforcement experience, working at the local, state, and federal levels in the Western United States. He was a founding member of the US Department of Homeland Security - Legacy US Customs Service and the Rocky Mountain Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET). Dan currently leads his region’s AgSecure Working Group, and he is a Co-Chair for the Food & Ag Sector Committee in the State of Colorado’s Whole of State (WoS) Infrastructure Protection Program, working closely with the Colorado National Guard. Dan is a Colorado Certified Emergency Manager (CO-CEM) and proud graduate of the FEMA National Emergency Management Advanced Academy (NEMAA).

Mark has over 30 years Policing experience in Northern Ireland. In his current role he is head of Protective Services overseeing Armed Policing, Firearms Licensing, Close Protection and Policy within Operational Support Department.

Mark originally trained as a biochemist being awarded a PhD by the Queens University of Belfast in 1994. He holds a number of Command qualifications including Public Order and Public Safety Silver and Multi Agency Gold Incident Command. He has been actively involved in CBRN Policing since 2006 and is currently qualified to Gold Command level.

For a significant portion of his career Mark has been involved in the development of the response to Major Incidents, holding the Service Portfolio for Aviation Security and Airport Policing Command and leading the Disaster Victim and Identification Team. His particular passion is driving a victim focused approach to multi-agency response in complex operating environments.

Shirley Verschoor is a registered drug expert at the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI), where she works in the Illicit Drugs Department. With a professional background in pharmacy, toxicology, and chemistry, she combines analytical expertise with practical forensic casework.

Her work focuses on highly potent synthetic opioids, particularly nitazenes and related analogues emerging across Europe. She is actively involved in their analytical characterization, differentiation of structural isomers, and forensic interpretation in casework. Her daily forensic practice also includes elucidating the synthesis routes of other illicit drugs produced in clandestine laboratories, supporting intelligence gathering and evidential interpretation of complex criminal investigations.

As a drug expert, she prepares formal forensic reports for judicial authorities, providing independent and scientifically robust conclusions, and may be called to testify in court when required.

Thomas James has been leading on the delivery of analytical chemistry research to support CBRN policy for almost 10 years. Working for UK Health Security Agency and its predecessor Public Health England, Thomas has led on the delivery of the PHOENIX project, the spiritual successor to the well-known ORCHIDS project, which further developed a key national capability for CBRN research within the UK Government.

More recently Thomas has led on the CHIMERA project, aiming to redefine chemical simulant use in research, further investigate the influence of the wash-in effect on decontamination and to revalidate current UK response to an ever-changing series of threats.

Through close collaboration with UK and International partners, Thomas aims to provide critical research that supports robust and comprehensive decontamination strategies for first responders.

Dr. Carmela Jackson Lepage is a senior Defence Scientist at DRDC Suffield Research Centre with over 20 years of experience in chemical defence science and technology. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Regina in 2002, following early defence-focused research involving Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion. Since joining DRDC in 2002, she has led major research efforts in chemical warfare agent (CWA) sampling and analysis. She served as Head of the Detection, Analysis and Identification Group beginning in 2010 and became Head of the Chemical Threat Defence Section in 2024.

Dr. Jackson Lepage’s work spans advanced analytical methodologies for CWAs, and detection capability development for the Canadian Armed Forces. She has provided extensive training for civilian, military, and first-responder communities and supported national security operations with deployable analytical laboratory expertise. She currently leads scientific personnel delivering Canada’s chemical defence S&T programme across detection, protection, decontamination, and hazard assessment

Gord Armstrong brings nearly 25 years of service and experience, with over 15 of those years in Toronto Paramedic Services, Special Operations Division. Over 15 years as a Public Order member and a dozen years as an Advanced CBRNE technician.

Since 2017 Gord has been a certified trainer for Toronto’s Public Order Unit and Joined the CBRNE training cadre in 2021. First, in a part time role and full time since 2023. In his role as a CBRNE trainer he has helped develop ongoing, joint CBRNE team training, Bloc training for Toronto Paramedic Service CBRNE members, and helping evolve the Toronto CBRNE Technician course.

Gord was a member of security elements for the Toronto G20, Pan Am games, and Presidential visits, along with innumerable lower profile events and demonstrations throughout Toronto.

During his career, Gord continues to strive for both lifelong learning and improvement in the pursuit of operational excellence, while developing and mentoring the next generation of high-risk response specialists.

Adam is a Hazmat Technician, Shift Training Instructor and Former Recruit Training Officer for Canada’s Largest Fire Service; as well as a member of the Joint Response Hazmat & CBRNE Team with many years of experience responding to bomb threats, suspicious packages and white powder calls. He is also the owner of Firehouse Training, a private-industry fire service training company, developing various programs in the areas of industrial firefighting response, lithium-ion battery fire safety, hazardous materials spill response and terrorism awareness. Adam has over 20 years of experience in the Hazmat industry, has completed Cargo Tank Hazmat Specialist Training, Hazardous Materials Incident Command & Safety Officer training programs with the Michigan State Police Academy. Adam has spoken previously at industry conferences including the Florida State Hazmat Symposium, New England Hazmat Conference, Continuing Challenge Hazmat Conference in California, and the Ontario Hazmat Responders Association Hazmat Conference in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Adam has also recently participated as a contributing author on two hazmat related texts; including NERHD Hazmat Drills Vol. II & Building a Hazmat Team Guidebook, presented by The Hazmat Guys Co.

Ari Forman is the CEO and co-founder of Scatr Inc., a technology company developing advanced hyperspectral Raman systems for chemical and narcotics detection. He leads deployments and pilots with public safety, border security, and law enforcement agencies across North America and Europe, focused on modernizing CBRN and field detection capabilities.

Dr. Christian Vidal is a leading expert at the intersection of high-risk forensic operations and strategic security policy. As the Director of the Forensic Science Institute (KTI) in Lower Saxony, he spearheads the integration of advanced technologies into police practice, including mobile CBRN detection systems and the implementation of Digital Twins for comprehensive crime scene documentation across various police scenarios.

With extensive international experience, Dr. Vidal has served as a senior forensic expert for the German Police in major capacity-building missions in Morocco and Algeria. Furthermore, he has proven his operational expertise in high-stakes environments, such as the forensic investigation of an illicit laboratory during a real-world deployment in Albania. His background also encompasses the management of major incidents involving CBRN threats and mass fatality frameworks.

His current strategic focus involves the harmonization of international forensic standards and the development of emerging governance frameworks for AI-driven analytics and Augmented Reality (AR) in forensics. Dr. Vidal is dedicated to bridging the gap between technical excellence on the ground and legally defensible state action on an international level, ensuring that forensic evidence meets the highest standards of global law enforcement and judicial scrutiny.