About – Overview

Kathy’s career goals have always centered around giving back to the community and creating a tangible impact in the lives of others. Before joining RapidSOS’ team, Kathy was working as a special education teacher for the NYCDOE. Her longing to be part of something even more meaningful eventually took her from the classroom to RapidSOS, where she is excited to support a diverse and passionate staff as the new office manager. The happiness and well-being of her staff are her priority.

Outside of work, Kathy enjoys art and fashion most of all. She is often drawing during any free moment of the day.

Michelle brings a passion for marketing, particularly in the digital space. Prior to joining RapidSOS, she worked in the marketing department of CipherHealth, a health-tech startup that aims to improve patient experience at hospitals. Previous to CipherHealth, Michelle worked in the Public Affairs department of NBCUniversal’s USA Network. There, she assisted the President and Vice President of Public Affairs in executing the Characters Unite program – a program that aims to end hate and discrimination in communities across the nation.

Michelle has also been involved in various non-profit work at The Jewish Federations of North America and NYU’s Bronfman Center. Through her work at the Bronfman Center, Michelle was awarded the NYU President’s Service Award, awarded to students who have made significant contributions to the university community in the areas of learning, leadership, and quality of student life, and the Bronfman Center Excellence in Programming Award, given for Michelle’s work in planning weekly, welcoming, and communal Shabbat meals that prioritize relationship-building, inclusivity, and pluralism.

Michelle has a BS in Business, with concentrations in marketing and finance, from The NYU Stern School of Business.

Born and raised in New York City, Miguel started his artistic journey attending the High School of Art & Design and was a proud member of the Art Students League of New York. Miguel graduated from Fashion Institute of Technology with a BFA degree in Illustration and received his Motion Design Certification license from Pratt Institute.

He specializes in creating and transforming art through traditional or digital mediums where he can bring his images to life.  Miguel’s passion stem from the thrive to tell a story from his visuals and connect with his audience beneath the surface.

When Miguel isn’t on his laptop working knocking out one project after another, he focuses on his fitness journey and self inspiration at art museums and trying out new food with friends and family.  Miguel believes there is always room for improvement and inspiration in all aspects of life. Miguel always seizes opportunities to grow, hone his skills and embrace challenges to improve his overall wellness and talents as a designer.

Melissa graduated from NYU Stern with a Bachelor of Science in Business, with a double concentration in marketing and sustainable business. Melissa is passionate about doing mission-driven work that betters the lives of communities in need. Previously, she was a marketing and social media intern at the American Autism Association, where she worked primarily with low-income families of individuals with autism. On campus, Melissa was the Marketing Director of the Association of Latino Professionals for America and PR Co-Chair for Supporting Excellence and Advocating Diversity (SEAD).

Outside of the office, Melissa enjoys spending time with her friends, taking walks around Manhattan, and reciting lines from The Office by heart.

Melissa hopes to inspire and share the RapidSOS story with others during her time at the company.

For the past 20 years Tracy has been working in Public Safety. She began her career back in 1997 as a 9-1-1 dispatcher and then became the Chief Dispatcher in Rochester, MA, her hometown, in 2003. Tracy also serves the Rochester community as a firefighter/paramedic on the fire department. Additionally, she is a member of the Massachusetts Department of Fire Service Special Operations team providing support services to fire departments across the Commonwealth during large scale incidents and pre-planned events. Since 2006 she has been educating telecommunicators, EMTs and Firefighters all over the country. In 2013 Tracy joined The Public Safety Group and she enjoys traveling to teach telecommunicators things that can assist them in their duties, as well as how to take better care of themselves. Tracy has also recently joined The Denise Amber Lee Foundation and is working on their third party quality assurance initiative.

In December of 2016, Tracy left her position as the Chief Dispatcher in Rochester and became the 9-1-1 Operations Lead with RapidSOS because she knew it was time to serve the 9-1-1 community in a different capacity.

Tracy’s husband Jeff and her two daughters support everything she does. Her oldest daughter just became a registered nurse and her youngest daughter is determined to be a Fire Chief some day. Tracy’s life revolves around making all aspects of public safety, especially 9-1-1, better. Her motto is “Life is too short to not know how to save one.”

Dennis R. Patrick served as the Commissioner and then Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) between 1983 and 1989, under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. During his tenure, Mr. Patrick oversaw a significant period of change in the telecom industry. Mr. Patrick also served as Associate Director of Presidential Personnel at the White House under President Reagan.

Following his role at the FCC, Mr. Patrick served as CEO of Time Warner Telecommunications, a division of Time Warner Entertainment. He then founded and served as President & CEO of Milliwave LP, a local exchange telephone company later acquired by Winstar. Following Milliwave, Mr. Patrick served as the first President of AOL Wireless.

Mr. Patrick served as CEO & President of National Geographic Ventures, a subsidiary of The National Geographic Society, Inc. As CEO, Mr. Patrick oversaw National Geographic’s rapidly growing television, feature film production, and cable channel businesses, as well as the maps and interactive divisions.

Currently, he is President & CEO of Patrick Communications Inc. and Doeg Hill Ventures LLC. Mr. Patrick is Director of Network Access Solutions and a Member of the Business Advisory Panel at HealthSport, Inc. He is a Board Member of the National Geographic Channel in the U.S. and National Geographic Channels International. Mr. Patrick also served as trustee of Occidental College.

Mr. Patrick holds a BA Magna Cum Laude from Occidental College and a JD from UCLA.

William H. Swanson is a retired chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Raytheon Company. Swanson served as chairman and CEO of Raytheon from January 2004 to March 2014, at which time he stepped down from the role of CEO. He retired from the company in September 2014, finishing a 42-plus year career with the company.

During Swanson’s tenure as CEO, Raytheon’s sales grew 26 percent, its stock price and dividend each increased three-fold and company debt was virtually eliminated. He also strengthened Raytheon’s culture with a focus on core company values, ethics, diversity and the customer, while transforming the company’s community engagement by championing corporate responsibility, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education and armed services support.

Swanson joined Raytheon in 1972 and held a wide range of leadership positions, including manufacturing manager of the company’s largest operation, senior vice president and general manager of the Missile Systems Division, general manager of Raytheon Electronic Systems, president of Electronic Systems, chairman and chief executive officer of Raytheon Systems Company, and president of Raytheon.

In addition to his professional accomplishments, Mr. Swanson is a member of the Department of Defense’s Defense Business Board; member of the NextEra Energy, Inc. board of directors and chair of its audit committee; chairman of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership; and vice chairperson of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation board of directors. He is active in the field of education as chairman of the California Polytechnic State University Foundation board of directors, and as a member of the Cal Poly President’s Cabinet and the University of Massachusetts President’s Advisory Council. Swanson served as honorary chair of MATHCOUNTS® from 2009 to 2014.

Swanson is chairman emeritus of the Aerospace Industries Association and is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He serves as a member of the Air Force Association, the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), and the Navy League. He is also a member of the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation board of advisors and the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.

Selected as Outstanding Industrial Engineering Graduate in 1972, Swanson was also recognized as the Honored Alumnus from California Polytechnic State University School of Engineering in 1991. He received the Outstanding Alumni Award from the American Association of Community Colleges in 2013. Additionally, he was awarded the Semper Fidelis Award from the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, and Aviation Week and Space Technology’s Laurel Award for his “significant contributions” to the aeronautics and propulsion field. Swanson was also named the “California Manufacturer of the Year” by the California Manufacturing and Technology Association, and is a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (United Kingdom).

Swanson has received the Navy League Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Award, the NDIA James Forrestal Industry Leadership Award, the John W. Dixon Award from AUSA, a Diversity Best Practices CEO Diversity Leadership Award, the Institute of Industrial Engineers’ Captains of Industry Award, the Six Sigma Premier Leader Award from the International Society of Six Sigma Professionals, a Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship, and the Kennedy Greenway Vision Award.

A native of California, Swanson graduated magna cum laude from California Polytechnic State University with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering. His graduate work was performed in business administration at Golden Gate University. He has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Pepperdine University and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from California Polytechnic State University.

TJ Kennedy has had a 14 year career in wireless technology and general management and is currently the President of the First Responder Network Authority known as FirstNet. Mr. Kennedy led FirstNet from a start up inside the United States government to become a $40 Billion Public Private Partnership (PPP) that is deploying a mission critical 4G LTE network in all 50 US states, 5 territories, and the District of Columbia. This PPP is the largest ever in the United States and is now providing priority Public Safety communications to Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical Services. Prior to joining FirstNet TJ was the President of Raytheon JPS Communications and led the Public Safety business at Raytheon.

Mr. Kennedy has created the new communications platform that will drive Public Safety technology for many years to come. Countries around the world are learning from the successful FirstNet model and are are seeking to emulate its success. Technologies companies listen to Mr. Kennedy on how they can benefit from the Internet of Life Saving Things (IoLST) and how to get public safety to embrace technology to improve the ways they respond, interact, and serve the public in their greatest time of need.

As a reliable and dedicated general manager Mr. Kennedy has defined and achieved organizational excellence and created complex business strategy that has achieved incredible results while working in a political environment with disparate stakeholders. Mr. Kennedy received his MBA from Johns Hopkins University.