Mar. 23, 2006: Taking Business Disaster Preparedness to the Next Level
Presenter: Paul Carden, Director Emergency Services, American Red Cross of Central NJ

Many business spend a great deal of time and money to make sure their firms can survive a disaster. Some firms even make sure that their key vendors have taken steps to prepare for a disaster. Many business forget to take steps to make sure its employees and families will be safe in time of disaster. If your employees are worried about their families and focused on taking care of them, they won't be at work. 

In this presentation Paul Carden, Emergency Services Director with the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey will highlight some of its efforts to help local businesses prepare its employees for disaster. They will highlight steps any firm can take to protect its most expensive asset, its employees and ways in which the American Red Cross can help a firm test its disaster plans.

About the speaker:

Paul Carden, Director Emergency Services, American Red Cross of Central New Jersey, has 24 years of disaster response experience in various Red Cross leadership positions throughout the United States. He has helped to develop several local disaster responses, including in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Prince George’s County Md. and Philadelphia Pa. He has been employed by the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey for nine years and has successfully merged three Red Cross disaster response programs into one.

Paul serves as the American Red Cross’ liaison to the State of New Jersey regarding emergency response and disaster preparedness issues. He is a member of numerous state government planning committees and working groups.

In additional to his duties and responsibilities in New Jersey, Mr. Carden is a Team Leader of an American Red Cross ESF-6 Team, assigned to FEMA Headquarters at the National Response and Coordination Center in Washington D.C. 

Paul has worked in a leadership capacity on over 20 national level disaster responses including:  September 11th response in New Jersey, NW New Jersey Floods of 1999 and Hurricanes Katrina, Floyd, Andrew and Hugo.

Mr. Carden is a National Certified disaster instructor with the American Red Cross.  Paul is a recipient of the Tiffany Award, the highest level of recognition a chapter can award to an employee.