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Brief Bio On J. Lewis Saylor
My goal in life continues to be helping individuals as well as organizations become better off tomorrow than they were yesterday. The essence of my professional activities have been focusing on vision, creating good organization, ensuring excellent project management, attaining positive relationships, and thinking creatively. I have enjoyed a blended background of business, ministry, healthcare administration/marketing, and political campaign management. Currently, my full-time employment is with a firm that provides comprehensive construction and development management services to a variety of clients.
My ministry experience includes serving as the national executive director of a volunteer based chaplaincy program and being on a large church staff in northern Virginia. It was while serving the church that I achieved Fellow status in church administration through the National Association of Church Business Administration. During my employment in the church as the Director of Staff & Planning and later as the Director of Strategic Development, several events occurred that shifted my attention - the events of 9-11-01 and the regional sniper shootings to highlight just two situations. I found more and more of my time was invested to enhance a safer environment in and around the church as well as to reach out to external groups in creating more resilient communities.
Much has occurred since those events. I continue to serve on the executive committee of the Northern Virginia Voluntary Organizations Active In Disasters (VOAD), Faith Communities In Action Interfaith Emergency Planning Steering Committee in Fairfax County, Virginia, and the American Red Cross (National Capital Area) Community Disaster Education Team. I also participate as a member of the Fairfax County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program.
There have been a number of groups that I have helped to either organize events and/or speak at on preparedness related topics, for example . . .
nPreparedness Dialogue / Modified Table Top Exercise - Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington
nAssembling The Preparedness Puzzle - NACBA national conference
nOverview of Faith Based Preparedness - Joint Force HQ National Capital Region
nFaith Leader Briefings - Health Department of Burlington County, New Jersey
nPpreparing For Disasters - Capital Area Food Bank, Washington, DC
nEmergency Management Ministry workshop - Prince William County, Virginia
nImplications of the Pending Pandemic Influenza - Fairfax County Virginia Health Department, Virginia
nNon-Profit Emergency Response Planning Series - Volunteer Fairfax, Virginia
nLarge Church Initiative in Washington, D.C. - United Methodist Churches
nPresentation to Central American mayors - Fairfax County, Virginia
During a trip to the United Kingdom in 2006, I had the opportunity to discuss preparedness with the British Red Cross Society, Scotland Yard, Birmingham (England) city officials, and Methodist Church representatives.
I would have never imagined such a fascinating journey when I graduated from James Madison University (Virginia) with a Bachelor of Science degree (double major) in Geography & Political Science (1979).
Recognitions:
nOn the team receiving NVOAD's inaugural national award "Preparedness Non-Profit Partnership."
nScouting Community Partner Award (2008) for a Camporee focused on disasters.
nFairfax County Volunteer Service Award (2008) for service in Citizen Corps.
nCommunity Champion (2006) for Ready-Pack-Go, a unique initiative for the faith community.