Commissioner Hauer will be the opening speaker at the inaugural Continuity Insights New York conference, October 29-30, 2012, at the Hotel Pennsylvania. He will share his thoughts on the State of Preparedness, and update the attendees on recent activities and initiatives of his office. Following Commissioner Hauer, will be Commissioner Joseph Bruno, with the New York City Office of Emergency Management. Both gentlemen will field questions from the audience following their respective presentations.

About Commissioner Hauer

Confirmed by the New York State Senate in January 2012, Commissioner Hauer’s office includes the Office of Counterterrorism, Office of Cyber Security, Office of Fire Prevention and Control, Office of Interoperable and Emergency Communications, and the Office of Emergency Management. The Division is responsible for helping to prepare for and respond to terrorism and other man-made and natural disasters. Hauer brings almost three decades of experience in the public and private sectors, the majority of which was focused in the areas of security and emergency management.

From 2002 to 2003, he was the Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he was responsible for coordinating the country's medical and public health preparedness and response to emergencies, including acts of biological, chemical and nuclear terrorism. From 2000-2002, he was the Managing Director of the crisis and consequence management group at Kroll Associates. Mr. Hauer previously served as Director of the Office of Emergency Management in New York City from 1996-2000. Prior to returning to New York, Mr. Hauer was also the Director of the Department of Emergency Management for the State of Indiana. In addition, Mr. Hauer was on the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine's Committee to evaluate R&D Needs for Improved Civilian Medical Response to Chemical or Biological Terrorism Incidents. In 1990, Mr. Hauer was named Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium, where he served for a year. From 1987 to 1989 he worked in New York City's Emergency Medical Services Department -- first as a Deputy Director and later as a Special Assistant to the Executive Director. 

Mr. Hauer was Research Associate with the Harvard Medical School and Longwood Area Trauma Center from 1980 to 1983. From 1978 to 1980, Mr. Hauer was an Associate Administrator with the Red Cross Blood Services' Northeast Region. Mr. Hauer earned his B.A. from New York University in 1976 and his M.H.S. from Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health in 1978 and is currently a doctoral candidate at Cranfield University in the United Kingdom and is expected to receive his degree in 2012.