Predictive Analytics - Informing Disaster Preparation and Response

 A longtime presence in the NYC entrepreneurial community, Roger Coleman leads Disaster Tech and focuses on pathways of identifying dangers and preventing risks associated with natural disasters. One area of focus for Roger Coleman and his New York team is predictive analytics that help assess energy infrastructure risks and vulnerabilities.

This type of analysis relies on existing data sets in identifying patterns and quantifying the likelihood and potential severity of a disaster. Big data may be applied to a specific location, as when a municipality in a valley evaluates the risks of a major landslide, given weather, geology, vegetation, and other variables. In other cases such analytics can span vast areas of the globe, such as when assessing the risks of hurricane.

The value of big data is in the sheer amount of information that past natural disasters have provided. For example, every time a storm hits, sensors generate real time data on weather patterns, wind levels, and rainfall. Early warning signs that make it likely that Category 1 rainfall will develop into a Category 5 storm can be extrapolated from the thousands of storms on record.

At the same time, machine learning algorithms enable data to be automatically collected and analyzed, with each additional set of data points providing deeper and more accurate understanding. The end result is that local and national agencies are able to set up relief protocol appropriately sized to the actual level of risk and its local impact.

The Role of Large Technology Systems in Disaster Relief

 Based in New York City, Roger Coleman is a longtime entrepreneur who guides Disaster Tech and delivers solutions that enable municipalities, industries, and governments to mitigate the risk of natural disaster. One focus for Roger Coleman in NYC is deploying early warning systems that enable coordination of emergency response agencies and groups to earthquakes, hurricanes, and wildfires.

Over the past 15 years a number of large-scale systems have been developed that help reduce risks associated with often violent and unpredictable natural events. An example is the SERVAL project, which was launched following the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake. It enables direct communication by cell phones in cases where network coverage is broken. In tandem with this, the TERA (Trilogy Emergency Relief Application) system of SMS texting was developed as a means of ensuring robust two-way communication by aid agencies and those impacted by natural disasters.

Following the 2015 Nepal earthquake, government agencies focused on another aspect of the equation: locating humans trapped deep underground when structures fall or cave in. The NASA Finder is able to detect a single human heartbeat, even when the victim is under as much as 30 feet of rubble or 20 feet of solid concrete.

Another aspect of mounting complex rescue operations in inhospitable terrain is having a comprehensive, accurate 3-D map of the area. The ALIRT (Airborne Ladar Imaging Research Testbed) system accomplishes just this, providing details such as road travel conditions and points where helicopters can land. Such information is vital in enabling aid agencies to plan out the delivery of essential items such as water, food, tents, medicines, and blankets.

Disaster Tech Wins 2022 Microsoft Partner of the Year Award

 A New York-based investor with experience in executive leadership positions, Roger Coleman owns Coleman Ventures & Coleman Group Partners in NYC. In addition, he serves as the chief strategy officer of Disaster Tech in Washington, DC. In recognition of Roger Coleman and his company’s disaster preparedness work, Microsoft honored them with its Partner of the Year Award for Disaster Tech’s integration of Azure, Microsoft’s cloud system, in its software.

The Partner of the Year Awards recognize companies of all sizes for creating new products and services that utilize the entire spectrum of Microsoft’s offerings. To reflect the continual technological advancements originating in the private sector, Microsoft does not maintain a fixed list of categories each year. Instead, it grows the list to address evolving uses for technology in the workplace. In 2022, examples of new categories included the Compliance Award, which celebrates novel cybersecurity measures, and the Operational Excellence Award, for the logistical importance of running a company smoothly.

In 2022, over 3,900 nominees applied across 126 countries. Microsoft first announced the finalists and honorable mentions on its website in June, then publicized the winners at its Microsoft Inspire conference.

About Disaster Tech's DICE Platform

 An investor who donates his profits to charities chosen by his partners at Coleman Ventures & Coleman Group Partners in NYC, Roger Coleman is also the cofounder and chief strategy officer for Disaster Tech. With the assistance of colleagues with military and government experience, Roger Coleman’s New York firm developed its DICE (Decision science Integrated Collaboration Environment) platform.

When a disaster occurs, a company’s disaster preparedness team can use the DICE platform to alert the rest of the company. Using quantitative and visual data from academic and government sources, the team can explain the type and scope of the disaster, and list any company assets in imminent danger. The platform can also alert employees to damage to critical assets.

To expedite communication, DICE is compatible with the most commonly used work productivity apps and services. Teams can import PDFs and raw data from DICE’s dashboard into Microsoft Teams. They can also email or text employees directly within the app, in case other communication methods are nonoperational.

Charity Navigator Names Tuesday’s Children a Four-Star Charity

 New York Resident Roger Coleman owns Coleman Ventures & Coleman Group Partners in NYC. He also serves as president and chief strategy officer of Disaster Technologies Incorporated in Washington, DC. Roger Coleman of New York is also a cofounder of the charitable nonprofit Tuesday’s Children.

A reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001, Tuesday’s Children supports families of fallen soldiers and others who have suffered personal losses in miliary conflicts, terrorist activities, or mass violence. In 2022, Charity Navigator confirmed Tuesday’s Children as a “4-star” charity.

Charity Navigator lists each of the 1.6 million American nonprofit organizations that are currently registered with the Internal Revenue Service. However, it only bestows a perfect 4-star rating on the top 25 percent.

A mark of trustworthiness in the eyes of donors, a perfect rating on Charity Navigator requires far more than simple transparency. While 80 percent of its organizational evaluation is focused on accountability and finance, it also devotes 10 percent of its analysis to leadership and adaptability and 10 percent to culture and community.

The 2022 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards

 The owner of Coleman Ventures & Coleman Group Partners, and the chief strategy officer for Disaster Tech, Roger Coleman allocates part of his company’s profits to charities chosen alongside his NYC partners. In 2022, Roger Coleman and his colleagues at Disaster Tech received recognition at Microsoft’s partner of the year awards for the firm’s creative application of Azure, Microsoft’s primary cloud-based platform.

The partner of the year awards recognize Microsoft partners’ innovative use of the entire suite of Microsoft products. Its total number of categories expand every year, to meet changes in the private sector and technological advances. In 2022, for example, Microsoft added the compliance and operational excellence awards to celebrate companies’ use of Microsoft products to address novel cybersecurity and operational challenges, respectively.

The 2022 event offered the largest and most diverse nominee pool, with over 3,900 entrants from 126 countries. After announcing the finalists in June, the winners received their awards at Microsoft Inspire, a two-day event in July that brought together Microsoft personnel and the company’s partners.

Disaster Tech Highlights Employees’ Giving Tuesday Contributions

 A dedicated philanthropist, Roger Coleman is a NYC investor who supports charitable organizations in New York and beyond. The co-founder of Disaster Tech, Roger Coleman ensures that his firm devotes an annual blog post to celebrating its employees’ participation on Giving Tuesday.

Disaster Tech’s team of former government workers and military veterans empowers the company to create powerful, practical disaster preparedness solutions. Its platform, Decision science Integrated Collaboration Environment (DICE), integrates data aggregation and visualization tools with commonly-used apps like a company’s intranet and Microsoft Teams, to inform employees before, during, and after a disaster. Its systems alert disaster managers when an asset suffers damage, the severity of that damage, and any relevant information from local and federal authorities.

In line with its founders’ and employees’ roots, Disaster Tech’s employees share the organizations they donate to on Giving Tuesday. Many support military veterans’ reintegration into civilian life, like Operation Second Chance (OSC). Other groups draw on employees’ prior experience as firefighters or first responders. Nonprofits like Team Rubicon provide disaster relief when larger, government agencies cannot access an area, while the Jack and Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation (JAJF) provides emotional support to children with a parent receiving treatment for late-stage cancer.

Project Common Bond - A Tuesday's Children Initiative

 

Roger Coleman is the CEO of Coleman Group Partners, an organization engaged in impact investing for social and geopolitical causes. He is also the president of Disaster Technologies Incorporated, where he facilitates comprehensive industry and company market analyses, as well as valuations. Roger Coleman is heavily involved in Tuesday's Children, an organization geared towards victims of terrorism, military conflict, or mass violence.

Project Common Bond is a Tuesday's Children program that seeks to equip young people worldwide between the ages of 15 and 22 with leadership and social skills. More specifically, it is suited for young people recovering from the loss of a loved one to terrorism, mass violence, war, or their lingering effects.

During the program, facilitators expose participants to the concepts of conflict resolution and peacekeeping. Participants also get involved in sporting activities, music, and drama to aid healing and to foster social skills such as teamwork, empathy, communication, and negotiation skills.

Project Common Bond comprises a summer session and a winter session. It is also a pathway to other Tuesday's Children programs, year-round, as well as reunions. These programs offer more interaction opportunities for participants as potential global leaders.