About Us

 

Prior to joining Harkcon Academy, Brian spent more than 36 years on active duty with the U.S. Coast Guard.  He graduated from boot camp, rose through the enlisted ranks, earned selection to Officer Candidate School, and then received a commission.  After 25 years as an officer, he retired as a Captain.  Throughout a uniquely distinguished career, resulting in multiple Commanding Officer roles, he was instrumental in developing and implementing service-wide policy and strategy positively affecting program management, human resources, Presidential security and incident response.

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During his most recent assignment as Commander of Sector Buffalo he oversaw the Coast Guard’s 11 statutory missions in the eastern Great Lakes region.  In this role, he regularly interacted with senior Canadian officials, established cross-border maritime bilateral agreements and directed intergovernmental maritime search and rescue, law enforcement, environmental response and national security operations.

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Brian is best known for his in-depth experience as a Nationally Recognized Type 1 Certified Incident Commander.  In this role, he served as a Maritime Incident Commander for five National Special Security Events (NSSE) including the 2011/12/13 State of the Union Addresses, the 2012 Presidential Inauguration and the 2016 Republican National Convention.  During each of the NSSEs, Brian also served on the U.S. Secret Service’s Executive Steering Committees where he was involved in the approval process for every aspect of security, incident response and logistical support missions.  A highly driven professional, focused on establishing the most capable staff elements, Brian regularly advised senior executives from multinational corporations and government entities on building stronger teams in order to address both planned events and unexpected incidents.

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Brian is committed to lifelong learning having completed both a yearlong program at the Leadership Institute of the Virginia Peninsula and the National Graduate School’s MS Quality Systems Management program.  He is also an avid triathlete and 2009 Ironman Florida finisher.  He’s been awarded the United States Legion of Merit Medal and The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation Legion of Honor Humanitarian Award.  A passionate advocate for community and national service, Brian continues to serve as a volunteer Board Member for non-profit organizations that focus on improving veterans' support programs and building a stronger community to improve people’s lives.