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Board of Directors for the Family Assistance Foundation
Jeff Morgan
Jeff Morgan is President and Co-Founder of the Foundation. Jeff is President
& CEO of Aviem International, Inc. Aviem International is a full service
emergency services company dedicated to helping companies prepare for disaster
with planning, consulting, training, exercises and disaster support services.
Jeff Morgan created Aviem International, Inc. after a 20-year career with
Delta Air Lines, Inc. During his last six years at Delta he was instrumental
in creating Delta's first dedicated emergency management department, responsible
not only for aircraft emergency response procedures but general emergency
preparedness, disaster recovery and business continuity planning.
Jeff Morgan
is widely recognized within the airline industry for creating the program
that set the standard for how airlines respond to disaster with the joint
Delta/Swissair response to the Flight 111 tragedy in Halifax , Nova Scotia.
Jeff Morgan has taken his wealth of knowledge and experience to expand Aviem's
services well beyond just aviation and mass transportation and works with
many organizations involved in emergency management including various governmental
and public safety agencies, healthcare, gas/petroleum and other corporate
clients. Jeff also works with strategic partners around the world to provide
an integrated network of resources that bring "best of breed" to
every service provided to all clients.
Dr. Carolyn Coarsey
Dr. Carolyn Coarsey is Vice-President and Co-Founder for the Foundation. Carolyn
has an innovative approach to designing effective family assistance training: she works
with survivors, family members, and responders to discover post-accident practices that
help people heal and uses the results as the basis for her curricula. Carolyn created
Higher Resources in 1989 to use this approach to help airlines and other responding agencies
better prepare employees for assisting survivors following disaster. She is a family survivor
herself, having lost her fiancé, Jeff Warner, on Delta Air Lines Flight 191 in August 1985,
and an airline industry veteran, having worked for Eastern Airlines and Braniff International
Airlines.
Carolyn holds a Ph.D. in Training & Learning Technologies, in addition to being a
psychotherapist. Her doctoral dissertation, titled Psychological Aftermath of Air Disaster:
What Can Be Learned For Training? is one of the first scientific studies of air disaster survivors.
Her research has clearly shown the importance of employee response from the organization believed
to be responsible or primarily involved in the disaster. In addition to studying survivors, Carolyn
has conducted studies for the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety
Board on issues surrounding employee stress. She has also conducted research on the posttraumatic
effects of fatal accident response on fire, police and other rescue personnel. In 1991, she participated
on a task force with the American Hospital Association that wrote the guidelines for handling mass
transportation disasters. Carolyn has also worked with the Department of Defense casualty bureau to
address issues of dealing with families after military disasters and terrorist attacks.
In addition to her work at Higher Resources, Carolyn serves as VP of Training & Development for Aviem
International, Inc. and conducts training around the world in such diverse areas as Japan, South Africa,
Morocco and Europe. She is also Co-Founder and President of the Family Assistance Education and Research
Foundation, a non-profit organization formed to educate and support interdisciplinary response and improved
organization for delivering services to survivors in more compassionate ways.
Jeff Braun
Jeff Braun serves as the primary spokesperson for the Family Assistance Foundation, Inc. In this role, he
guides the Foundation's communications efforts to support and improve business and industry responses to emergencies
and disasters. In addition to serving as spokesperson, Braun also leads the crisis communications training that is
part of the Foundation's fully integrated training and support programs.
Before joining the Foundation's team, Braun
spent 10 years leading the crisis communications practice for a communications consulting firm. In this capacity, he
distinguished himself by providing direct assistance and counsel to a wide range of clients in a variety of industry
sectors including energy and utilities, technology, chemical, food manufacturing, transportation, hospitality, and
retail, among others. Braun's thorough and engaging techniques have helped to guide individual executives in preparing
for crucial media interviews and presentations as well as Fortune 500 companies seeking support with crisis planning
and response.
Before entering the training and consulting field, Braun led a distinctive 25-year career as a journalist
where he held positions in the field as a reporter and a photographer before ultimately being promoted to the position
of evening news anchor. Rounding out this experience, Braun also served as a news director for a CBS affiliate in Texas
where he managed a staff of journalists and was involved in the first satellite newsgathering cooperative for CBS News.
Mr. Walt Houghton
Mr. Walt Houghton is Assistant to the Director of Aviation at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the
nation's 23rd busiest airport. He has worked in executive management positions there for the past 20 years.
Walt has 47 years in military and civil aviation. In the USAF, he was an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Supervisor and
trained for worldwide response to nuclear weapons accidents. He has worked in Fixed Base Operator (FBO) and regional a
irline management positions in Florida and Vermont. While responsible for Vermont's state-owned airports, for nearly 10
years, he also had additional duties in search and rescue and aircraft accident investigation.
He is a graduate of the USCG National Search & Rescue School. Walt has been flying since he was 19 and has flown a broad
selection of aircraft from antiques to military jet fighters. He owns a Navy N3N biplane and flies a PBY Catalina flying
boat on the air show circuit and DC-3s in the Caribbean supporting missionaries.
a Master's degree from Embry- Riddle Aeronautical University and is an Adjunct Assistant Professor there. For the past
15 years, he has been teaching aviation safety and management courses. He was recently named a recipient of the
Outstanding Faculty Award.
Walt's additional duties include Broward County's Emergency Response Team,
which is responsible for emergency operations and the health and welfare
of 1.8 million residents during hurricanes and natural disasters. In that
capacity, he has been involved in preparation and post-hurricane operations
for the past 19 years.
He has responded to hurricane recovery activities
in Florida, the Bahamas, and New Orleans as a part of FEMA Emergency Management
Assistance Compact (EMAC). Walt maintains his military status as a Lt. Col.
in the Vermont State Guard as State Emergency Management Officer and drills
with the 158th Fighter Wing.
He is area chairman for DOD's Employer Support
of the Guard & Reserve Committee providing support to activated military
personnel and their families.
Rich Anderson
Rich Anderson serves on the Board of the Family Assistance Foundation as a family survivor. Rich’s daughter, Lauren,
survived a plane crash in which 15 people were killed.
After receiving his BA in Industrial Technology, Rich
began teaching on Long Island, New York. For 33 years, he taught both junior and high school Technology classes. His
love of athletics drew him into coaching, and he coached soccer, baseball, wrestling and basketball throughout his
teaching
After retiring, he relocated to Weaverville, NC, (outside Asheville) with his wife, Marie. He spends much of his time
working in his fully-equipped woodworking shop located in his basement, where he builds items for local antique stores
and also for his own home.
In his golf community, he is active on the Architectural Review Board, which oversees plans for new construction and
renovations. And, of course, he plays as much golf as he possibly can (which is almost every day!).
Rich has taken an active role in FAF since its inception because he believes the Foundation has played such an important
part in his recovery from the trauma of his daughter Lauren's aircraft accident. And he always finds time to be a great
Pop to Lauren's two children, Elizabeth, 7, and Patrick, 4.
