Brian Simpkins, Facilitator

Brian Simpkins is the Associate Director of Research and Evaluation with the Eastern Kentucky University Justice & Safety Center. Brian provides daily oversight of the JSC’s research and evaluation support to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This support includes first responder technology testing and evaluation, training course evaluations, national training needs assessments, and other research activities. In addition to his duties at the JSC, Brian is also a part-time faculty member of the Department of Safety, Security, and Emergency Management within the College of Justice and Safety at Eastern Kentucky University.

Brian is originally from Huntington, West Virginia where he attended Marshall University and graduated Magma Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice. Brian then entered graduate studies at Eastern Kentucky University and obtained a Master of Science in Criminal Justice. Since graduating EKU, Brian has worked extensively with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and first responders on national, federal projects and programs, which include the National Asset Database (NADB), a national training database, First Responder Technologies (R-Tech) Program, National Incident Management System Support Center (NIMS SC), and the Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium (RDPC; http://www.ruraltraining.org/). In addition, Brian has also completed research on a variety of public safety topics such as critical infrastructure, crime mapping, drug abuse, and first responder technologies.

Brian’s professional and personal memberships include the American Society of Criminology, National Criminal Justice Association, and the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels.

For more information on the Justice & Safety Center, please visit http://www.jsc.eku.edu/.