I am a social entrepreneur who has two leading north-star passions: Water and Fire. I am driven to create a more equitable world through impactful projects that align with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and support first responders through innovative technology advancement.

I worked as the Director of Innovation for 11+ years at W.S. Darley & Company - manufacturers of fire, defense, and water solutions for fire departments, federal agencies, and the Department of Defense. I focus on new product innovations that cover 3 distinct categories: water, virtual reality (VR), and drones:

• Water - Disaster relief water solutions for first responders and disaster organizations that support communities in need.  The marquee product is the Darley Safe Water Box.

• Virtual Reality - Training solutions for first responders, helping them obtain repetitions on high-risk scenarios, preventing excessive exposure to harmful carcinogens, and making training more cost-effective.  The leading technology partners in the space are FLAIM Systems and RiVR.

• Drones - Hardware and software drone technology solutions that empower first responders with new tools to enhance situational awareness and incident command operations.  

• Accountability - Hardware and software personal accountability technology that helps track and understand the whereabouts of first responders within structures.  The leading technology partner is Ascent Integrated Tech.

• Risk Reduction - Software that helps provide location-based orientation training for enterprise risk reduction.  The leading technology partner is LOCI.

Throughout my time at Darley, I also launched a community called Smart Firefighting (SFF) which is focused on sharing innovation and technology in the fire service. Through www.smartfirefighting.com we empower change management and technology adoption across podcast safety through our podcasts, community roundtables, and in-person events.  SFF connects entrepreneurs, companies, institutional partners, and first responders to advance safety and wellness for public safety partners.

 

In 2017, I started my own social enterprise called Wristsponsible which raises funds and awareness for water projects like safe water systems, watershed improvement, and “water is medicine” projects. Since then, I pivoted and now provide services to nonprofits that need help with fundraising, storytelling, and project management.  You can see the list of nonprofit partners that I support in the sidebar link below.

 

Through my work within social impact projects, I attended the UNLEASH Innovation Labs in 2019 and 2022 focused on new solutions for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Over the past four years, I launched a new community called SDG Talks. that facilitates weekly chats with amazing changemakers who strive towards bettering the world.

 

Additionally, I am an active board member for two non-profits:

1. Board member for Comics for Safety. We create and deploy graphic novels to communicate safety messages. If you have an organization that wants to share complex ideas with unique messaging, please let me know. 

2. Board member for the Elkhart Lake Improvement Association.  We raise funds and awareness to ensure a safe and healthy lake for the community. 

 

Lastly, most recently in 2021, I began a formal teaching career at my alma mater DePaul University. I teach "Developing Sustainable Strategies," a class that covers topics such as Sensemaking, Biomimicry, Indigenous Practices, Doughnut Economics, Social Enterprise, and more. Teaching is a passion of mine and I am eager to align with fellow teachers.  In the teaching process, I also developed an SDG Talks branded curriculum around the SDGs for high school teachers to help others teach the SDGs in the classroom.

 

In short, creating social impact through water and fire innovation is what drives me. If you have an idea for a collaboration of any kind, please let me know. I am always open to new ideas and appreciate fellow innovators that reach out!