About

MISSION STATEMENT/GOALS

The Partnership for Priority Verified Alarm Response (PPVAR) was established to promote the value of verification and validation of alarm events during the emergency response process using video, audio, and other emerging technologies along with proven best practices.

We have built an organization comprised of members from the Public Safety Industry, the Insurance Industry, the Electronic Security Industry and the Monitoring Industry to represent all interests in the battle against property crime to provide the most reliable and cost effective alarm response to the end user.

Although we remain committed to traditional alarm response methods as a deterrent to crime, we consider video and audio verification to be a significant enhancement and one that deserves a higher priority response by all first responders.

Our goal is to collaborate with all members involved in the alarm response process and share best practices, ideas, and the information necessary to maximize the effectiveness of all resources required to protect our valued customers’ life and property.

PPVAR Board of Directors

David Holl, President

Director of Public Safety for Lower Allen Township, PA

David L. Holl is the Director of Public Safety for Lower Allen Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. In that role he oversees the police department, emergency medical services, is liaison to two Township volunteer fire companies, and serves as the municipal Emergency Management Coordinator. Prior to his appointment at Lower Allen, Director Holl served as the Deputy Director for Operations for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and previously as Deputy Director for Administration at PEMA. In those roles he oversaw the state Emergency Operations Center, the Bureau of Recovery and Mitigation, and the State 911 Office, among others. He also served as the Governor's Authorized Representative for several federally declared disasters in Pennsylvania. Prior to his appointment at PEMA, Director Holl served as Lieutenant/Assistant Chief of Police with the Township of Derry Police Department in Hershey. In that capacity he was Commander of the Administrative and Technical Services Division, which included supervision of radio and technical services, communications, criminal investigation, forensics, community services, accreditation, and records management. Director Holl has previously served as the Emergency Management Coordinator for the Township of Derry, a community that hosts well over 5.5 million visitors each year for various entertainment and business venues. Director Holl currently serves as Chairman of the South-Central Task Force Criminal Justice Subcommittee and was recently appointed to the State's 911 Advisory Board by Governor Wolf as the representative from the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association. His public safety background has spanned over 40 years beginning in the community volunteer fire service and emergency medical services. Director Holl also served as an Emergency Medical Technician and worked as an EMT-Paramedic in central Pennsylvania. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA, a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of New Haven, West Haven, CT, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Penn State University. He also serves as an adjunct professor for Penn State University’s World campus. Director Holl is a 2003 Graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, holds numerous certifications in the public safety field, and has been the recipient of several professional awards.

Frank G. Fernandez, Vice President

Chief of Police (Ret.) Director of Public Safety/ Assistant City Manager (Frm.)

Frank G. Fernandez is currently the president of Blueprints 4 Safety (B4S) Strategies Group LLC; a security and risk assessment consulting group specializing in vulnerability assessments, strategic planning and best practice policing/public safety strategic development. During his 34 years of service in the law enforcement field, Fernandez’ experience includes top leadership positions such as Deputy Chief of Police and Chief of Operations for the Miami Police Department (MPD). He also held Team-leader and Command positions at the Miami Police SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) Team. Fernandez has worked as an expert police consultant to the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division for over 12 years. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Firearms Committee and Firearms Committee serving as the past chairman since 2017. Also, a member of the National Tactical Officer Association and the Police Executive Research Forum. Post retirement from MPD in 2010, Fernandez served as Police Chief and Assistant City Manager for Public Safety for the City of Hollywood, FL. Subsequently, he was recruited by the City of Coral Gables, FL to be the Director of Public Safety (sworn LEO) and Assistant City Manager operational authority over Police, Fire & Emergency Management in addition to Information Technology, Labor Relations and Risk Management, and Human Resources Departments as well as the lead contract negotiator for all City collective bargaining agreements. Fernandez holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Barry University and a Master’s Degree from Nova Southeastern University. Other academic accomplishments include: completion of the Police Executive Research Forum’s (PERF) Senior Management Institute for Police; earning his Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification from Florida International University’s College of Engineering and Computing; and graduating from FBI’s prestigious National Executive Institute (NEI).

Mark McCall, Vice President

Director of Global Operations for IMMIX

Mr. McCall is a Director of Global Operations for Immix, a company that develops software to improve the ability to manage and respond to security events. He has led the video monitoring operations team and supports design and implementation for efforts for video projects in North America for Stanley Security. He has worked in for 20 years in Electronic Security industry. He has experience in monitoring operations, including video and audio monitoring solutions, corporate security, and systems design. He has strong information technology, monitoring operations and executive level administration skills as well as project/program management. He is active, past and present, in TMA in various committees, including AICC, Contract Monitoring, UL and others. Mr. McCall is currently chair for the AVS-01 Standard Committee. He has been involved in past activities for PPVAR, including chairing the committee that developed the Video Monitoring Best Practice White Paper.

Nicola Oakie, Secretary

Netwatch North America - VP of Sales

Nicola Oakie has been serving the Security Industry for 23+ years. Ms. Oakie started at Honeywell/ADI for 10 years, owned her own Manufacture Sales Rep firm selling surveillance, Access and Intrusion solutions. She was the General Manager and co-Partner of American Video and Security. After the sale of AVS, Ms. Oakie took on the challenge of the Business Development Manager at I-View Now, a cloud-based Video Verification Service. With this experience Video Services has become a passion. She joined NMC in 2018 just before it merged with the Netwatch Group. At NMC she was the appointed to the position of National Sales Manager, West. Business strategy, a passion for video services and education of the dealer channel on how to impact their businesses and protect people and assets better has assisted her rise within the industry. In March 2020 she was promoted to her current role as the Vice President Of Sales, Netwatch North America. Ms. Oakie has also volunteered for over two years as Secretary for PPVAR. At PPVAR she assists with the board's work with the Electronic Security industry, Insurance Industry and Law Enforcement to create standards and education for Video Verification and Audio so first responders can better prioritize their resources.

Joey Rao-Russell, Treasurer

Sonitrol SNDA - President & CEO

Joey Rao-Russell has been in the industry for 15 years working in all aspects of the business including operations, sales, and up to her current position as the President & CEO of Kimberlite Corporation, the world’s largest independent Sonitrol Franchise based in Fresno, California. Kimberlite has consistently been ranked in the SDM Top 100 companies and integrators for the last 15 years. Kimberlite operates an award-winning central station specializing in audio and video-verified security solutions for over 30 years. She is currently serving the PPVAR board on behalf of the Sonitrol National Dealers Association (SNDA). Joey is the current President of the SNDA, which is comprised of independent Sonitrol dealers who have been providing verified security solutions for 50 years. The network has over 171,000 documented apprehensions since 1977 proving that verification increases arrests and decreases losses.

Thomas Nakatani, Immediate Past-President

ADT Security Services, VP – IT, Monitoring Technology

Thomas Nakatani has been with ADT Security Services for over 30 years and currently holds the position of Vice President of Customer Monitoring Technology. In his role he is responsible for the monitoring platforms and services across all of ADT’s centers and business lines. Prior to this role Tom has held positions responsible for global monitoring strategy, corporate policies & procedures, workforce management /reporting, M&A/Integration, centralized customer data management, and Video product deployment. He’s led teams that have implemented ADT’s current monitoring and business operation environments, consolidated over 60 central stations, and developed a number of key IT applications. Tom also sits on the board of SIA (Security Industry Association) and is active with TMA, UL, and works closely with several Public Safety organizations.

Rob Baxter

President of Radius Security

Robert is a leading surveillance/ verification expert in North America, and is passionate about the critical value of video for the security industry. As a professional engineer, inventor, and the CEO of Radius he has pioneered innovation in the field of remote guarding using analytics. Not finding a viable hardware option in the marketplace, Robert built Radius’s first prototype in his home lab. Radius now manufactures and installs for a wide range of clients with the common thread being they all experience high crime. Customers have since seen crime virtually eliminated at sites which had previously used static guard services. 50% of Radius’ police dispatches result in apprehensions. Based in Vancouver, Radius has operations across Canada and Texas.

John Chiaramonte III

President of Consulting Services Division, Mission Critical Partners

John Chiaramonte is president of Mission Critical Partners’ Consulting Business where he leads more than 80 dedicated and specialized public safety professionals in improving our clients’ emergency response outcomes. An emergency communications, 911 and next generation 911 (NG911) subject matter expert (SME) and executive leader, John brings nearly three decades of experience in mission-critical industries. John has expertise in large-scale and complex public safety systems consulting and implementation. Prior to joining Mission Critical Partners, he worked at Booz Allen Hamilton and Northrup Grumman. His career began as a 911 telecommunicator and first responder. He has served numerous state and local governments, and Federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Bob Finney III, ENP

Director of Communications Technology for the Collier County Sheriff’s Office

Bob is the Director of Communications Technology for the Collier County Sheriff’s Office in Naples, Florida. Collier County is a coastal community where the Sheriff, citizens, and business owners work together, striving to have a safe place to live, work, and recreate. Bob brings 27 years of Public Safety Communications experience, with assignments in 911 Call-taking, Dispatch, Training, Supervision, and the management of technical projects in the Emergency Communications Center (ECC). He is involved with Domestic Security Communications initiatives for interoperability in Land Mobile Radio (LMR) and Public Safety Broadband (LTE) applications. Bob enjoys leading highly motivated teams focused on modernizing the legacy 911 systems by collaborating with innovative industry partners to implement Next Generation solutions. While living in the Pacific Northwest, he was also a volunteer firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician and understands how a more complete ‘picture’ of any emergency incident fosters a better outcome, often resulting in the protection of property and preservation of life. Bob believes that emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and real-time analytics will play a larger role in emergency communications and response. This, along with the convergence of multiple emergency networks, can provide a best-in-class solution for a safer community.

Larry Folsom

Vice President of Monitoring Technology, ADT

Larry Folsom has over twenty years of security industry experience. He is a founder and President of I-View Now. I-View Now is a patented and award-winning cloud-based central station video and signal platform. I-View Now integrates security system signals, video sources, cloud applications, and internet connected devices (IoT) into a unified cloud platform with the objective of giving end users, operators, and authorized emergency responders better information to prioritize their resources. Larry is active in a variety of industry related organizations in addition to PPVAR. He is a past President of PPVAR (2017 -2018), the Nevada Security Association (2013 - 2014), a member of The Monitoring Association (TMA) Standards committee for Alarm Confirmation, Verification and Notification Procedures (CS-V-01) among other industry initiatives.

Scott Harkins

Vice President of Sales and Channel, Resideo

Scott Harkins brings 30 years of experience in residential markets to Resideo as its vice president of Sales and Channel for Resideo’s Product & Solutions business. Harkins has held multiple positions within Resideo and Honeywell, including leading sales and connected home. Previously, he was vice president/general manager of Connected Home at Resideo, and held several sales and leadership positions at Honeywell. He was instrumental in the business’s transformation to connected, software-driven solutions. Harkins also was responsible for managing relationships with technology companies as well as the developer and startup communities. With an extensive background in the security industry, Harkins is one of the most connected and experienced professionals in IoT and understands what consumers want from the constantly changing home technology market. In 2017, Inc. Magazine ranked Harkins as one of the most influential leaders in the IoT space. Forbes.com has ranked him the 12th most influential person in the IoT market.

Andy King

Fire Marshal, Franklin TN Fire Department

Deputy Chief King is actively engaged in community master planning and risk reduction. King oversees all new developments including buildings and subdivisions. He is responsible for community risk reduction and the many outreach programs including smoke alarm installations and the Family Safety House. King has a B.S. in Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology from Oklahoma State University, and a Master of Public Administration from Tennessee State University. King serves as President of the Tennessee Fire Safety Inspectors and nationally as the Chair of the Fire and Life Safety Section of the IAFC. In 2017, he received the HD Crossnine Award from the Southeastern Association of Fire Chiefs for meritorious accomplishments and contributions to Fire Prevention.

Steve Walker

Stanley CSS - VP Customer Service

Steve Walker serves as the Vice President of Customer Service for Stanley Convergent Security Solutions and is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Steve holds a bachelor of science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science degree in the Management of Technology from the University of Minnesota Institute of Technology. Steve began his career with Honeywell International in 1985, working 13 years in aerospace product development before transitioning to the Honeywell security monitoring business in 1998. Since that time, he has held leadership positions in both central station IT and operations and has followed the transition of the business from Honeywell ownership to private equity, and again to Stanley Black & Decker in 2007. Steve currently serves on the Board of Directors for The Monitoring Association (TMA) and is the Vice President of the Partnership for Priority Verified Alarm Response (PPVAR).

Check with us for possible Board position openings

PPVAR at Upcoming Events

APCO International Conference 2022 – Anaheim, CA – Aug 7-10, 2022

PPVAR will have printed information available at The Monitoring Association (TMA) booth. If you would like to speak to PPVAR Board Members Bob Finney or Joey Rao-Russell about AVS-01 or PPVAR during this event, please contact us to set up an appointment Communications@ppvar.org.

IACP 2022 – Dallas, TX – October 15-18, 2022

Don’t miss a presentation by PPVAR Law Enforcement Board members about the upcoming AVS-01 Standard. PPVAR will also co-host a reception for Law Enforcement at IACP. If you would like a talk to one of our board members in detail about PPVAR at this event, please contact us to set up an appointment Communications@ppvar.org

The Monitoring Association (TMA) Annual Meeting – Marco Island, FL – October 29-Nov 2, 2022

Law Enforcement Dinner. Education Sessions regarding AVS-01, Verified Response.

ISC-West 2023 – The Venetian Expo, Las Vegas, NV – March 28 -31, 2023

PPVAR Education session. PPVAR Annual Meeting. If you would like to talk to one of our board members in detail about AVS-01 and PPVAR during this event, please contact us to set up an appointment Communications@ppvar.org

See our emails for more details.