Meet the Team

David Odom, P.E. PMP

President & Chief Executive Officer
Plexos Group, L.L.C.

EDUCATION
Tulane Freeman School of Business
MBA

Louisiana State University
M.S. Engineering Science
B.S., Civil Engineering

EXPERTISE
Large Program Management
State Energy Programs – Conservation Block Grants
Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Programs
FEMA Public Assistance Grant Programs (FEMA PA)
Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs (FEMA HMGP)
Class Action Claims Settlement Program Administration
Civil Engineering Design
Environmental Engineering

David Odom has nearly three decades of experience solving complex challenges for government, industrial and commercial clients associated with mass settlements, federal and state grant programs, and large-scale design and construction projects. He has built an organization of leading experts – including seasoned emergency managers and former military command staff – to specialize in rapid deployment disaster recovery, grant funding, claims management and information technology solutions based on their experience in the largest events ever to impact the U.S.

David served as the CEO of the Deepwater Horizon Economic and Property Damage Settlement Program, a multidistrict litigation claims administration program managing over 400,000 claimants, over 3,100 personnel, and five vendors. For that project alone, he was responsible for over $12 billion in claims and an annual administrative budget of more than $580 million.

He has also acted as senior advisor for the City of New York HRO Housing "Build it Back" program, and as Senior Advisor for various South Carolina government entities for 2015 flood events. Additionally, David serves as CEO of Plexos International, formed through its sister company Plexos Data Solutions, LLC to provide regulatory assistance and software solutions to the oil and gas industry.

Earlier in his career, David served as Director, Gulf Central District for the Shaw Group where he was responsible for business development and program management for emergency response, federal grants, energy incentives and design/construction programs totaling more than $10 billion.

Kirk Fisher

Chief Operating Officer,
Chief Financial Officer and
Senior Vice President
Plexos Group, L.L.C.

Kirk Fisher earned his MBA at Louisiana State University and has more than 20 years of senior executive level experience. Fisher has successfully orchestrated turnarounds, managed large organizations and complex business models, and identified business opportunities and expense mitigation strategies centered around measurable process improvement. Kirk is accomplished in identifying financial opportunities and implementing strategies to capture those opportunities. Among his many accomplishments, he directed all facets of business operations for the Deepwater Horizon Economic and Property Damage Settlement Program while managing the distribution of the $20B trust set aside to compensate victims of the oil spill. He currently serves as an Adjunct Professor in the LSU Flores MBA Program, where he also worked collaboratively in the development and launch of the Management Consulting Specialization Program in the LSU E.J. Ourso College of Business.

Paul Rainwater

Chief Strategy Officer and
Senior Vice President
Plexos Group, L.L.C.

EDUCATION
McNeese University
B.A., Government Studies

EXPERTISE
Executive Program Management Federally Funded Programs
Disaster Recovery
Redevelopment
Regulatory Compliance
Community and Hazard Mitigation Planning
Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR)
FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs (HMGP)

Over the past 30 years, Paul Rainwater has distinguished himself as one of the nation’s most experienced disaster recovery funding professionals. Local, state and federal government agencies including the HUD National Disaster Recovery Unit - as well as the executive branch - have relied on his collaboration to develop action plans, policies and deployment strategies. Paul has worked with both political parties to help citizens recover across the country.

Paul helped design and then led the Louisiana Road Home Program - the largest housing reconstruction program in U.S. history. After the 2016 floods in Louisiana, he worked with Governor John Bel Edwards to secure additional funds. In response to Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey, he helped Governor Chris Christie’s staff develop the state’s federal aid request and response plan.

Through successful congressional testimony, Paul was responsible for the appropriation of more than $14B in FEMA and HUD programs approved for Louisiana after hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike. He played a significant role in the settlements and negotiations surrounding the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, and many others. Paul has also led successful emergency management initiatives for the City of New Orleans’ Sewerage & Water Board, the Restore Louisiana Program and The Louisiana Watershed Initiative.

Earlier in his career, Paul served as Legislative Director for U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu’s office, as Chief of Staff for Louisiana Governor Jindal’s administration and as Executive Director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA). He was also a colonel in the United States Army Reserves and Louisiana National Guard, earning a Legion of Merit, a Bronze Star and Combat Action Badge for deployments to Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Ray Werline

Chief Information Officer
Plexos Group, L.L.C.

EDUCATION
Murray State University
Dale Carnegie Management Training

EXPERTISE
Program Management
Project Management
Organizational Design
Infrastructure
Application Design & Implementation Support
Operational Process Analysis
Strategic Planning & Execution
Client Relations

Ray Werline has gained more than 25 years of experience applying interpersonal, process, problem-solving, and technical skills to design, develop, and implement all aspects of IT for small, medium, and large-scale projects, facilities, and divisions that contributed to multiple project awards, increased profit margins, and the Fortune 500 status of companies. He is responsible for the team that upholds all NIST, HITECH/HITRUST, and SOC 2 standards in the design and customization of our systems, platforms, and solutions, and for selecting and implementing the right technology to streamline all internal and external operations across our business lines.

Based on Ray’s unique ability to understand client needs and requirements, he built an IT team for Plexos that spans all facets of technology, security, and client service. He is an integral and invested member of our client solutions development process known for his ability to build strong working relationships with clients and match their needs to the Plexos platform with the right set of deliverables. He is an enthusiastic team leader who mentors with a purpose and understands that strong working relationships create great teams and produce exceptional results.

Prior to joining Plexos, Ray served as Director of Infrastructure, Operations, and Cybersecurity for the Federal Services division of Chicago, Bridge & Iron (CB&I) where he oversaw the design and implementation of the IT division including all areas related to infrastructure, data centers, audit, shared services, cybersecurity, equipment migration, compliance requirements, and help desk formation and staffing.

Earlier in his career, Ray served CB&I (formerly Shaw Group) in various capacities as Project Information Manager for the Levy Nuclear Project; Senior Infrastructure Manager for the Nuclear Division; and Deputy Program Manager and IT Task Order Manager for the E&I Division overseeing the historic Louisiana Road Home Project.

Jason Jordan, PMP

Controller

EDUCATION
Louisiana State University,
MBA, Finance

Louisiana Tech University,
BS, Industrial Engineering

Certifications
Project Management Professional

EXPERTISE
FEMA-PA Programs
Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Programs
Planning/ Scheduling
Budgeting/ Forecasting
Financial Controls/ Validation
Cost Accounting/ Auditing
Financial Reporting/ Monitoring
Financial Modeling/ Data Analytics
Process Improvement
Change Management
Risk Management
Stakeholder Management
Conflict Resolution/ Problem Solving

Drawing on his 14 years of extensive experience in the financial management of large-scale, multi-disciplined projects and his solid background in business and finance, Jason Jordan optimizes stakeholder decision making processes. Known for his ability to improve forecasting accuracy and achieve success in rectifying distressed projects, he focuses on data analytics to help identify business process improvements that challenge the status quo in class action settlements, federal and state grant programs, and large-scale design and construction projects.

Jason has managed annual operating budgets up to $500 million with more than $15 billion in program expenses. He capitalizes on his vast experience with disaster recovery projects to establish financial controls that provide valuable direct and indirect returns. As the key client financial contact for the $230 Million U.S. Virgin Islands FEMA STEP Program, he performs several critical leadership functions, including labor cost validation, financial reporting, procurement, and audit and reconciliation.

Before he joined Plexos, Jason served as Director of Finance for the $12 billion Deepwater Horizon Economic and Property Damage Settlement. He built and managed a $400 million+ administrative budget covering 3,000 employees, 70 vendors, and 370,000 claims. By creating a forecasting culture with stricter guidelines and scenario analysis capabilities, he improved financial projection accuracy to within a 5% variance.

Earlier In his career, Jason managed a Fortune 500 company's financial activities for over 2,000 engineering, program management, disaster and mega projects. During that time, he matured several distressed projects into low-risk opportunities and converted a multi-million-dollar loss project into a profitable position.

Carol Burkhart, RN, MS, ARNP

SVP, Risk and Compliance

EDUCATION
Rush University, MS, Nurse Practitioner Alverno College, BSN, Nursing

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Accountable Care Learning Collaborative
American Nurses Association
American Society for Healthcare Risk Management
CMS LAN | ACLC
Health Care Compliance Association
Sigma Theta Tau, International Honor Society for Nursing

Carol is a masters-prepared Community Health Nurse Practitioner with more than 25 years of leadership experience in healthcare quality, patient safety, risk management, and regulatory compliance in the healthcare industry. In her role at Plexos Group LLC she serves as SVP of Compliance for Plexos Healthcare.

Over the course of her career, Carol has served as a Chief Privacy and Compliance Officer, and provided risk, quality, privacy/HIPAA, patient safety and compliance advisory to over 300 hospitals, employers, insurance company and investor services domestically and internationally.

Prior to joining Plexos, Carol served as a Senior Vice-President for Aon Global Strategy and Aon Healthcare. She is a former Associate Director, Government Relations, for The Joint Commission. Notably, she has also served as Director, Performance, Risk, Governance and Compliance for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and as a Regional Risk Management Consulting Manager for AIG Healthcare and served as an IRO auditor for healthcare Corporate Integrity Investigations. Her clinical background includes public health, critical care, and perioperative nursing as well as Inpatient Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation and Treatment.

In her work with the National Accountable Care Learning Collaborative Taskforce (ACLC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Learning and Action Network (CMS LAN), she was a member of a select taskforce of 50 individuals nationwide who were selected to develop national quality standards and metrics for Accountable Care Organizations. She earned her Master of Science in Nursing and Post-Master’s Certificate in the Community Health Nurse Practitioner Program at Rush University in Chicago, Illinois, and is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the International Honor Society for Nursing.

Carol has achieved certifications in healthcare risk management and compliance (Certified Professional Healthcare Risk Management (CPHRM), Certified Healthcare Compliance (CHC)) and Certified HIPAA Professional (CHP). Carol also volunteers for her local health department as a COVID-19 Contact Tracer and Case Investigator and is certified in Contact Tracing by the Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health and ASTHO.

Lara Robertson, AICP

Senior Vice President, Compliance
Plexos Group, L.L.C.

EDUCATION
Clemson University,
Master of City & Regional Planning
(MCRP)

Clemson University, B.A.,
Political Science

EXPERTISE
Executive Program Management Federally Funded Programs
Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) and Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) Programs
FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs (HMGP)
Regulatory Compliance
Neighborhood Redevelopment
Community and Hazard Mitigation Planning

Lara Robertson is a leading disaster recovery and mitigation expert with more than 24 years of experience managing the largest Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) and FEMA-funded housing and elevation programs in U.S. history. Lara has also helped secure and allocate over $22 billion in additional federal funds for grantees while planning and implementing a wide range of disaster response and recovery initiatives, and while managing diverse, legacy-scale programs in compliance with federal, state and local laws. Her in-depth understanding of HUD policies, procedures and compliance provides state and territorial governments, local communities and program applicants with pathways to progress in their recovery and rebuilding efforts after a major disaster.

Following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Lara designed and managed the largest CDBG-DR housing and elevation programs in history totaling over $11 billion. In her leadership role as Director of the Louisiana Office of Community Development, Disaster Recovery Unit (OCD DRU), she helped over 131,000 homeowners rebuild their homes with more than $10 billion in funds. Small Rental applicants were able to restore more than 8,500 rental units with an additional $418 million. In addition, her work on the jointly funded CDBG-DR Road Home and HMGP program resulted in the elevation of more than 11,000 homes in Louisiana in an effort to reduce loss of life and property during future disasters. Supplemental to these efforts, Lara was instrumental in the successful launch of the Louisiana Land Trust which acquired, managed and dispositioned over 11,000 properties purchased by the state as a result of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Derrick Stensrud

Senior Vice President-Director of Operations and Disaster Service Business Leader
Plexos Group, L.L.C.

EDUCATION
Western Governors University, Utah
B.S., Business Management

EXPERTISE
Disaster Recovery Programs (CDBG-
DR, HMGP, STEP)
Technology Leadership
Project Management
Strategy
Process Improvement
Damage Assessments
Budget & P&L Management

Derrick Stensrud has held a leadership role in nearly every major disaster recovery program to strike the United States since Hurricane Katrina. His particular subject matter expertise in program management for HUD and FEMA-funded housing projects and technology initiatives has been a critical asset to disaster response and recovery efforts for the Louisiana Road Home Program, the Texas Housing Assistance Program, the Galveston County Housing Assistance Program, the NJ RREM, Program, the New York Build-It-Back Program, the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and the Louisiana Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Clients appreciate his forward-thinking thought processes that drive growth, scalability, and sustainability while generating innovative solutions to solve complex problems.

Drawing on more than 18 years of management experience at world-class disaster recovery firms, Derrick’s knowledge and leadership have resulted in higher quality, lower costs and on-time delivery for critical program mandates spanning case management, damage assessments, quality assurance and quality control, call center operations, document management, applicant intake and processing, business intelligence, reporting, data handling and systems management. Committed to amassing highly qualified teams to ramp up quickly, he implemented custom software solutions and infrastructure by onboarding 30 infrastructure, software development, project management and business intelligence staff within 40 days for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and stood up 35 claims service centers.

While serving as project manager for the United States Virgin Islands Emergency Home Repairs VI program – a FEMA-funded Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power (“STEP”) program for the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority – he created efficient and streamlined solutions for case management, IT infrastructure and operations, supply chain materials reporting, damage assessments, compliance and policy management, and call center staffing.

Eric Kuntz

Senior Vice President, Compliance
Plexos Group, L.L.C.

EDUCATION
Concordia University, MBA
Southeastern Louisiana University,
B.S., Business Administration

EXPERTISE
FEMA Public Assistance
FEMA HMGP
Policy and Procedures
Large Program Management
Federal Regulations
Training and Development
Strategy and Development
Emergency Preparedness

With nearly three decades of public and private experience spanning honorable military service and emergency management, Eric Kuntz has dedicated his career to responding to emergencies and leading disaster recovery initiatives. He has facilitated billions of dollars in disbursements to affected stakeholders by drawing on his federal FEMA subject matter expertise and his ability to work with federal, state and local agencies. He is currently serving as a policy advisor for projects in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, Colorado and South Carolina.

Eric’s expertise has placed him at the center of major disasters including hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike, Harvey, Maria and Irma, and numerous flooding and severe weather events. His other noteworthy assignments include response and recovery efforts following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, the 9/11 attacks and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He also served as FEMA Region VI liaison to the NFL and the City of New Orleans for Super Bowl XLVII and liaison to U.S. Secret Service for dignitary visits.

Prior to joining Plexos, Eric served as the State Coordinator of Recovery for the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM). During that time, he managed $5.2 billion in federal disaster funds for 17 declared disasters, closed seven disasters and facilitated 55 Fire Management Assistance Grants. Earlier, he served as the FEMA Region VI Planning Chief for the Louisiana Recovery Office.

Eric is a retired commissioned officer from the Louisiana Army National Guard for which he held assignments from the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) as the Critical Infrastructure Coordinator and Battle Captain during state and federally declared disasters.

Scot Sherick

Senior Vice President, Analytics

EDUCATION
University of Colorado, Boulder,
B.S. Architecture

EXPERTISE
Large Program Management
Architectural Design
Process Optimization
Program Logistics
Inventory and Supply Management
Reporting and Metrics

Scot brings more than 25 years of experience in owners representation, program leadership, project management, operations, and process improvement to his role at Plexos. He has an established track record of delivering both efficiency and productivity, with a particular expertise in combining skills and deliverables from disparate verticals into a cohesive program strategy and execution.

Among other relevant experience, Scot recently leveraged his experience in manufacturing to design and deploy a comprehensive material management system used to track medical materials at the New Orleans’ Morial Convention Center temporary Coronavirus hospital. This system tracks all equipment, consumables, reports on consumption levels, provides alerts for reorders, and allows for real time ordering and fulfilment from the treatment floor to the stock room.

For the U.S. Virgin Islands, Scot leveraged his degree in architecture from the University of Colorado at Boulder, his background in construction, and his operations capabilities to assist with hurricanes Irma and Maria recovery efforts. Scot designed, implemented and manages a proprietary supply chain and inventory management system for the Emergency Home Repairs program. Scot’s system tracks material from the time it’s ordered to the time it’s consumed for six subcontractors. He also oversees the inventory specialists, generates reports to help the program track material, and develops mathematical simulation modeling to forecast future inventory levels.

In addition, Scot designed, implemented, and managed a field reporting and communications tool for the Build It Back program - New York City’s Hurricane Sandy recovery initiative. The tool allows 150 users to communicate real-time field conditions for 1,500 construction projects. He also designed and ran a quality assurance and quality control program in compliance with federal regulations.

Earlier in his career, Scot served as director of business processes and reporting for the Deepwater Horizon Economic & Property Damages Settlement. He defined, measured, analyzed, implemented and controlled processes throughout the $400 million, 1,300-person organization. He served as the operational lead on both the policy and change management boards. Scot designed and implemented complex operational responses to policy decisions on behalf of the administration.

Keith Cranford

Vice President, Program Integration
Plexos Group, L.L.C.

EDUCATION
B. A., Criminal Justice,
Southeastern Louisiana University

EXPERTISE
FEMA Hazard Mitigation
FEMA PA
Public Safety
Emergency Management
Emergency Planning and Operations

Keith Cranford, a retired major from the Louisiana Army National Guard, brings more than 30 years’ experience leading public safety and government programs in emergency management, fire, emergency medical and law enforcement. He has managed multiple federal, state, and local grant programs, as well as some of the largest mitigation programs in the United States.

Based on his ability to provide creative funding solutions, Keith has tapped to serve as the program manager to facilitate more than $1 billion in CDBG-DR funding each for Louisiana (Katrina) and New York Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (Sandy) infrastructure programs. He also supported New York Rising’s $1 billion housing recovery program and managed more than $100 million in hazard mitigation and public assistance funding supporting the coastal parishes of Louisiana.

As Assistant Director of the East Baton Rouge Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, Keith managed all FEMA hazard mitigation grants for the parish, which represented one of the largest mitigation programs in Louisiana before Hurricane Katrina. After Katrina, he led the development team responsible for Louisiana’s hazard mitigation grants — the nation’s largest hazard mitigation program at that time — involving more than $1 billion in funding to support elevation and reconstruction of homes in Louisiana.

William Doran III, CEM,

Vice President,
Response & Recovery
Plexos Group, L.L.C.

EDUCATION
FEMA Emergency Management
Institute Executive Academy

University of Maryland
Master of Science, Management
Master of Strategic Studies

USAF Air War College, Maxwell AFB,
Alabama

Louisiana State University, B.A.
Journalism

EXPERTISE
Emergency Management
Response and Recovery
Strategy and Development
Executive Leadership
FEMA Region VI Administration
FEMA Public Assistance (PA)
FEMA Individual Assistance (IA)
FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs (HMGP)
Military and Political Coordination

Bill Doran is a FEMA program and policy subject matter expert with over 30 years of experience helping state and federal governments deliver billions of dollars in aid to affected communities. Through numerous leadership roles — including as a Colonel in the Louisiana Air National Guard — Bill ramps up teams quickly to develop comprehensive response and recovery plans following the country’s largest emergencies.

Among his many career accomplishments, Bill delivered over $2.4 billion in aid after the Louisiana floods of 2016. He also executed one of the largest housing programs with over 4,000 manufactured housing units. After hurricanes Katrina and Rita, he provided over $1 billion in aid to over 120 counties in Texas and obligated over $2 million in public assistance per month. Following the devastation of the Moore Tornado in Oklahoma, he instituted FEMA’s debris pilot program and implemented first-ever Disaster Survivor Assistance teams.

Before joining Plexos, Bill served as the Federal Coordinating Officer for FEMA Region VI, where he was presidentially appointed to 25 federally declared disasters and coordinated efforts in nine states. During that time. he served as the Interim Louisiana Recovery Office Director for hurricanes Katrina and Rita and subsequently as the Response Division Director for Region VI.

During his 30-year career as a colonel in the Louisiana Air National Guard, Bill served as operations chief for the response and recovery efforts of nine federally declared disasters in Louisiana. He conducted Operation Noble Eagle post 9/11, for which he successfully launched combat-ready F-15 aircraft to escort the President. Bill also managed a $7.5 million budget for annual operations and maintenance, and managed approximately $750 million of aircraft and equipment, plus a $250 million plant. Bill planned and deployed to the Middle East for Operation “Northern Watch” twice.

Darlene Burton, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP

Director, Human Resources
Plexos Group, L.L.C.

EDUCATION
Southern University and A&M
College, MA

Louisiana State University,
BA

EXPERTISE
Recruiting
Employee and Labor Relations
Onboarding
Compliance
Employment Law
Workforce Planning
Talent Management

Darlene Burton is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources with 15 years’ experience in disaster recovery and federal project delivery. She supports numerous responsibilities for our large and complex projects – including major disaster recovery efforts – that rely heavily on short-and long-term staffing solutions to meet client needs on a rapid-deployment basis.

In addition to her project work, Darlene works together with our finance team to draft and manage the company’s timekeeping policies and ensures expedited client billings for accurate and streamlined results. She also manages the company’s internal HR policies including benefits, recruiting, leaves of absence, and management training. She is a strategic business partner to our executive team focused on client and employee relations, talent management and workforce planning.

While working on the U.S. Virgin Islands Emergency Home Repairs (STEP) program following hurricanes Maria and Irma, Darlene played an instrumental role in the growth of the program by meeting client needs for staff recruiting and onboarding of hundreds of employees on a short timeframe. In addition, she worked closely with the project management team to implement process improvements that helped minimize risk and meet client deliverables. Recently, she was responsible for onboarding over 500 employees in a matter of weeks for a call center project for the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

Prior to joining Plexos, Darlene was the HR Operations Manager for the Federal Division at CB&I where she managed all of the union sites including military bases and federal government projects. While at Shaw Group she worked in the Environmental and Infrastructure Division as well as the Response and Recovery division where she was a part of the FEMA Individual Assistance and Technical Assistance Program and the Louisiana Road Home Project.

Darlene is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Venkat Yaganti

Director of Software Development, and Information Technology
Plexos Group, L.L.C.

EDUCATION
Nagarjuna University Technology, Mechanical Engineering
B.A.

EXPERTISE
Machine Learning
Feature Engineering
Regularization and Optimization Classification
Regression
Clustering
CNN
RNN
LSTM
GANS
Recommendation Systems

Venkat Yaganti has nearly two decades of experience in defining and guiding application development vision and strategy. He drives technology transformation and innovation by leading high-performance technology teams and deploying new technologies and methodologies in an agile environment. He is experienced in designing and implementing large-scale, mission-critical applications and enterprise software products. Known for his ability to transform concepts to meaningful business software tools, Venkat works in tandem with the Plexos leadership team and strategic partners to implement IT strategy and achieve organizational goals while ensuring Plexos methodologies, best practices, and platforms uphold all NIST, HITECH/HITRUST and SOC 2 standards.

Prior to joining Plexos, Venkat served in a number of IT leadership roles for healthcare professional service firms and subrogation companies where he honed his expertise in innovative technology solutions for large-scale data mining, cognitive robotic process automation, machine Learning algorithms, and architecture, design, and delivery. When he moved on to Aon Risk Solutions as a Technical development manager and senior technical Lead, he managed the development of a unified workflow and automation system and simplified and streamlined the company’s data environment. Most recently, as Senior Director and Automation Lead at Via Novus Financial, he established the company’s first Robotic Process Automation framework and led the development of new case management and reporting systems.

Cody Rico

Director, IT Operations
Plexos Group, L.L.C.

EXPERTISE
Project Management
Infrastructure Design
Operational Process Analysis
Client Relations

Cody Rico draws on more than 20 years’ experience in system improvement and performance design to strategically enhance the company’s on-premises design. He vets and introduces new cloud-based technologies to provide a dynamic, secure and robust environment. Working closely with the CIO and executive team, Cody provides high-level management of IT projects within the company. He is responsible for designing, implementing and directing the processes, standards, capacity management, and the overall vision for the company’s cloud-based systems that power critical large-scale projects with tight deadlines. He ensures high performance and high availability of information systems within a dynamic IT environment to maximize business continuity, cost savings and growth, as well as compliance with NIST, HITECH, and HITRUST standards. He currently holds Department of Defense secret-level clearance.

Prior to joining Plexos, Cody held several leadership and management roles that tasked him with oversight of company IT portfolios including IT project management, data center management, IT infrastructure, support operations, capacity planning and disaster recovery. While serving as senior IT manager he positioned his then-employer to receive a “Superior” compliance rating from the Department of Defense and Department of Energy. Cody also spent several years as an enterprise data center manager with operational responsibility for multiple data centers around the world supporting over 3,000 servers with 55,000 employees.

Katie Johnston

Director of Client Relations
Plexos Group, L.L.C.

EDUCATION
Southeastern Louisiana University

EXPERTISE
Construction Management
Community Development Block
Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR)
and Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) Programs
FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs (HMGP)
Regulatory Compliance
Neighborhood Redevelopment
Community and Hazard Mitigation Planning

Using her hands-on knowledge of major disaster recovery efforts, Katie Johnston connects government, commercial clients, and communities with Plexos in the areas of construction management and disaster recovery to help them respond, recover and rebuild. Katie’s vast experience includes managing multifaceted HUD Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) construction projects for major disasters including hurricanes Harvey and Michael. As a key point of contact for Plexos clients, she is an attentive and proactive partner focused on exceeding objectives through the efficient and timely delivery of our services.

A seasoned project manager and construction manager, Katie has skillfully coordinated workforces of more than 75+ subcontractors across programs in five states and seven disasters. She is fluent in all aspects of construction management - from development and execution of damage assessments - to cost estimation and repair.

Before she joined Plexos, Katie served in project management and client relations roles for major construction companies in connection with the Hurricane Harvey HUD CDBG-DR program, for which she facilitated the construction of 42 new homes. Her commitment and communication helped the organization maintain a 95% or above score for customer satisfaction. Earlier, she served in a construction project manager capacity for Hurricane Michael and Harvey CDBG-DR efforts to procure and supervise dozens of contactors, comply with master state and local building code requirements for more than 16 counties and recruit a talented pool of local and out-of-state contractors for long-term deployments.

Jason Humphries

Director, Project Controls
Plexos Group, L.L.C.

EDUCATION
Louisiana State University, B.S.,
Marketing

EXPERTISE
FEMA-PA Programs
Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Programs
Planning/ Scheduling
Budgeting/ Forecasting
Financial Controls/ Validation
Cost Accounting/ Auditing
Financial Reporting/ Monitoring
Financial Modeling/ Data Analytics
Process Improvement
Change Management
Risk Management
Stakeholder Management
Conflict Resolution/ Problem Solving

Jason Humphries has more than a decade of diverse project controls management experience on a range of local, state and government programs that have exceeded $150 million. Working across Plexos’ business lines, he is responsible for client program financial reporting and internal financial reporting while helping to establish account structures that fulfill client contract and reporting requirements. Often acting as the client liaison, his resourcefulness, new approaches and creative ideas have enabled him to solve critical program needs and ensure positive outcomes.

During his career, Jason has performed key cost analysis and cost management functions for large and complex disaster recovery programs. His experience includes financial oversight, forecasting, client reporting and other tasks for the USVI Emergency Home Repair (EHRVI) STEP Program, the Juan F. Luis Temporary Hospital Design Build in St. Croix and the Hurricane Sandy Long-Term Recovery Program in New York. For the EHRVI STEP program, Jason ensured adherence to all costing contract requirements and coordinated with all employees to ensure compliance with the contract.

Jason honed his mitigation analysis and QA/QC experience while working on the Louisiana Office of Community Development – Disaster Recovery Unit’s (OCD-DRU) $750 million HMGP grant application. His work creating tools to improve the Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management’s pipeline of work and developing solutions for the challenges inhibiting production earned him the Continuous Improvement Incentive Program Award.

George Duffee-Braun

Finance Manager
Plexos Group, L.L.C.

EDUCATION
New College of Florida, B.A.

EXPERTISE
Program Management
Federally Funded Programs
Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) and Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) Programs
Regulatory Compliance
Neighborhood Redevelopment
Community and Hazard Mitigation Planning
Federal and State Auditing

Local, state and federal governments rely on George Duffee-Braun’s financial acumen and in-depth knowledge of Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) and Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) program requirements to ensure billions in grant funds reach their intended targets quickly and in accordance with terms of award and applicable regulations. In addition to his 15 years of CDBG experience, George draws on decades of C-suite experience at global corporations to effectively oversee many non-financial project components – from operations, IT development and data storage, to construction and engineering.

While serving as Plexos’ finance manager on programs such as the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency RebuildNC Program, George’s forecasts, calculations and verifications ensure maximized funding to restore hundreds of homes affected by catastrophic hurricane damage. He also leads financial application and administration efforts for major state-level disaster mitigation programs to minimize the impact of future storms.

After hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the city of New Orleans and surrounding areas, a global consulting services firm tapped George to serve as Director of Finance and Administration responsible for the disbursement of federal CDBG-DR housing funds for the Louisiana Road Home Project. Over the life of the program, George verified ownership of 120,000 homes and directed the award calculation, distribution and reconciliation of more than $9 billion in grant funds, while also storing and tracking over 3 million records. These tasks were accomplished without HUD concerns or findings and in compliance with federal, state and program policies and procedures including Stafford Act, Davis-Bacon, and applicable current financial and audit regulations such as 2 CFR 200. Along with his role in Katrina recovery, George worked with the State of New Jersey on Hurricane Sandy disaster recovery funding.

George is an avid volunteer who has dedicated his time to numerous community and relief organizations including the United Methodist Committee on Relief, the Seashore Mission homeless center, the Humane Society of South Mississippi, and as a Habitat for Humanity district construction manager.

Elizabeth Troia

Senior Proposal Manager
Plexos Group, L.L.C.

EDUCATION
Louisiana State University

EXPERTISE
Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Programs
Neighborhood Stabilization Program 3 (NSP3)
Change Control Policy and Process Development
Federal Regulations
Training and Development
Strategy and Development
Credit Policy Development
Underwriting Analysis
Credit Risk & Loan/Grant Quality Review Process (QAQC)
Root-Cause Analysis

With more than 30 years of experience in disaster recovery and financial services, Liz Troia executes proposals that help local, state, and federal government agencies understand the value Plexos brings to their largest disaster, response, recovery, and mitigation efforts. Her combined knowledge of regulated disaster and non-disaster programs provides a unique perspective in delivering clear and consistent information to stakeholders and decision-makers who seek streamlined and cost-effective solutions.

While working in key roles for CDBG-DR disaster recovery and Neighborhood Stabilization Program 3 (NSP3) initiatives, Liz served the NY Rising Buyouts and Acquisition Program under a Construction Management Support Services contract for properties in Staten Island, New York, that were impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

Previously, Liz served nine years on the Louisiana Road Home Small Rental Property Program as a Senior Manager covering three state contracts and four contractors. Her responsibilities included oversight and team management for the financial advisors, Uniform Relocation Act, benefit determination, anti-fraud, waste and abuse, loan recapture, and development and implementation of policy, procedures, and communication channels.

Before serving in disaster recovery, Liz was Vice President of Business Strategy and Development for the subprime division of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. She was responsible for initiatives that included a national focus on compliance, loan quality, and credit policy.

John Goforth

Manager, Business Development
Plexos Group, L.L.C.

EDUCATION
B.S. Political Science
University of Texas at Tyler

EXPERTISE
FEMA Public Assistance
Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Programs
Large Program Management
Federal Funding Regulations
Emergency Preparedness
Property Inspections and Damage Assessments
Media Relations

John Goforth has over 25 years of disaster recovery experience including project management of government and environmental services for FEMA and HUD programs. He’s held key roles in several high-profile catastrophic events such as hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Superstorm Sandy and the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. His experience includes handling media relations and coordinating and managing multiple sites.

John has managed operations that exceeded client service levels, improved organizational throughput, enhanced productivity and reduced overall operational cost. He has been instrumental in establishing property inspection and estimating protocols for federally funded programs including Restore Louisiana, New York Rising and Renew Jersey. John has successfully led relief efforts for government officials in field operations in multiple states including the deployment of inspectors and quality control personnel to assist with FEMA and HUD housing programs.