Senior Staff

Dale Shipley, VP, Emergency Management & Homeland Security

Mr. Shipley served a career as an infantry officer after graduating from the United States Military Academy. Highlights of his service include two tours of duty in Vietnam, where he was decorated for heroism, and Commander of the Army's Jungle Warfare Training Center. Mr. Shipley also served on the Department of the Army staff and at the United States Military Academy.

He served Ohio Governors Celeste, Voinovich, and Taft as Emergency Management Director and was appointed Director, FEMA Region V, by President Clinton. During these appointments, in addition to traditional disaster response and recovery activities, he developed significant new mitigation staff, increased communication and warning infrastructure, constructed a state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center for Ohio, held positions as President and Legislative Committee Chairman for the National Emergency Management Association, and developed the first Capabilities and Needs Assessment, Critical Infrastructure List, and Strategy for Ohio Homeland Security. As the State Administrative Agent he coordinated homeland security grants for state agencies and local governments.

Mr. Shipley serves as a consultant to the Department of Homeland Security, NIMS Integration Center, and was a member of the DHS Senior Steering Committee for Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8.

In addition to military, FEMA, and DHS training he is an honor graduate of Purdue University with an MS in Industrial Management.

Wayne Ruthven, Director of Emergency Management & Homeland Security

Mr. Ruthven recently worked on the Department of Homeland Security's Nationwide Plan Review. In that role he served as the Team Leader selected to review emergency operations and preparedness plans in nine large metropolitan areas/cities and the States of Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado.

Ruthven served as the Director of the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) and State Homeland Security Advisor (SHSA). To accomplish this critical mission, Ruthven led an organization of 78 employees and administered an annual budget in excess of $150 million. In addition, Ruthven chaired and served on a number of councils and committees to include; the Arkansas Homeland Security Executive Committee, the Arkansas Homeland Security Advisory Council, the Arkansas Governor's Earthquake Advisory Council, the Arkansas Fire Protection Board, the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC), and the Arkansas Wireless Information Network (AWIN) Steering Committee. At the national and regional levels, Ruthven served as a National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) Region VI Vice President, as a commissioner on the NEMA Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP), as a Chairman of the EMAP Program Review Committee, as a Chairman of the NEMA Homeland Security Committee and the Homeland Security Consortium, as a member of the NEMA Preparedness Committee, and as a Board Director for the Central United States Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC).

Prior to his appointment as Arkansas' EM Director and SHSA, Ruthven was the Chief of Police in Jacksonville, Arkansas. He is a certified Law Enforcement Instructor and Senior Law Enforcement Officer in the State of Arkansas. He is also a federally certified Law Enforcement Officer.

Ruthven received his Bachelor's Degree from Arkansas Tech University in 1971, a Master's Degree in Administration of Justice and Personnel Management from Webster University in 1981, and a Master's equivalent in Strategic Studies from the US Air Force Air University in 1991.

Jim Bernhardt, Director, Logistics Management

Mr. Bernhardt began his career as a second Lieutenant in the Air Force in 1966. He served as Missile Combat Crew, Training Officer, Professional Military Education Instructor, Transportation Officer, and Squadron Commander before establishing himself in a logistics career track. Mr. Bernhardt served as Chief, Mechanized Materials Handling Branch, at the Air Force Logistics Command and Assistant Deputy Commander for Resource Management in Okinawa, Japan where he managed transportation pipelines and automated materials handling systems. He later extended his experience with assignments in the Army's Military Traffic Management Command and the Joint Defense Logistics Agency where he implemented Logistics Marking and Reading Symbols (LOGMARS) and a variety of quality management systems. He finished his military career as Chief of Staff at the Defense Construction Supply Center in Columbus, Ohio retiring with the rank of colonel. Mr. Bernhardt served in six states and two overseas countries in his 24 year career. Since his retirement, he has taught in public schools for 10 years and recently completed a government contract for the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Bernhardt holds degrees from Lehigh University in Finance, South Dakota State University in Economics, and the Ohio State University in Elementary Education.

Thomas D. Deaton, Director of Industry & Aerospace Programs

Mr. Deaton is a Vietnam Veteran, who brings over 42 years of Military, Law Enforcement, and Government Industrial Security experience to the ARMADA team. Mr. Deaton most recently served as the Global Security Director for a multi-billion dollar aerospace business. Mr. Deaton is an active member of the Aerospace Industries Association Industrial Security Committee, where he offers input to Industry & Government officials establishing policy for the National Industrial Security Program. Mr. Deaton has established strong partnerships with Defense Security Service Agency representatives, Aerospace Industry Association, National Classification Management Association, and Industry Corporate Security Councils.

Deborah White, VP Information Protection

Deborah White brings over 27 years of experience in the information technology, protection and security fields as a member of the Board of Directors for ARMADA. Ms. White's career began with Electronic Data Systems, a world leader in information technology services, where she supported the General Motors account. In that role, she took the lead in developing the information protection program for the Automotive Component Group. Additionally, Ms. White served on the EDS Strategic Design Team that developed and implemented the information protection program for all the General Motors divisions. Her professional certifications include being a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Project Management Professional (PMP). Most recently, Ms. White simultaneously held the positions of Project Management and Continuous Quality Improvement Officer and Information Technology Security Officer for the University of Akron (Ohio).

Ilona Sudimack , Director, Information Protection & Disaster Recovery

Ms. Sudimack will monitor all of ARMADA's information protection and information disaster recovery efforts. After graduation from Youngstown State University in Mathematics, Ilona began her career as a computer programmer at Packard Electric, then a Division of General Motors Corp. As her career advanced at Packard, she held various assignments in Sales and Production/Material Control where she focused on quality improvement and cost reduction through process improvement. After successfully leading her team through the transition to EDS, her interests and responsibilities turned to Information Protection which included Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery, Security Administration, and Audit Compliance. While with EDS she became a Certified Disaster Recovery Planner and successfully implemented a variety of plans for her clients.

Vern Chenevey, Director of Law Enforcement Programs

Vern Chenevey brings over 40 years of military, law enforcement and training experience as a member of the Board of Directors for ARMADA. Mr. Chenevey began his career serving in the U.S. Air Force. After his active military service and earning a Bachelor of Arts degree at Ohio University he began a distinguished career with the Columbus (Ohio) Division of Police. For over 20 years he served in several leadership positions, most notable being the Commander of the Training Academy, where he oversaw the training of over 1500 sworn officers. In 1995, Mr. Chenevey took over as the Executive Director of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy (OPOTA) where he was responsible for establishing uniform courses of training for law enforcement officers and private security throughout Ohio, and regulated the 558-hour basic training curriculum for prospective peace officers. Under his leadership, OPOTA obtained accreditation by the Commission of Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (one of only 5 state academies in the country), established regional, field and distance learning and oversaw major enhancements in peace officer and private security training standards.

John E. O’Nan, Director of Investigations & Security Services

John E. O’Nan has over thirty years of cumulative experience and education in law enforcement, including his work as a deputy sheriff, sheriff’s lieutenant, drug task force commander, deputy superintendent for the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation and the Chief of Investigations for the Ohio Auditor of State. Mr. O’Nan directed and managed many administrative and investigative facets of the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, was Commander of the multi-jurisdictional drug task force and directed a statewide investigation unit for the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. In his most recent position as the Chief of Investigations for the Ohio Auditor’s Special Investigations Unit he conducted and managed many investigations of fraud and illegal acts affecting government resources. He is a past president of the Ohio Chapter of the FBI National Academy Associates and received the Ohio Auditor of State 2005 Distinguished Service Award.

Mr. O’Nan graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a Bachelor’s of Science in police administration, and completed training with the FBI National Academy, the DEA Drug Commanders Academy, and Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar.