Unified Services Consulting Group (USCG)

The Team

Joseph Leonard, Jr. MEP, MCP, CEM, CGEMC, CHPP, CPE (CDR, USCG, ret.)

President and Chief Executive Officer

Commander Joe Leonard, USCG (ret.) is a nationally recognized emergency responder, incident manager, and trainer with 44 years of United States Coast Guard, United States Army, volunteer municipal fire service, and private-sector experience responding to natural disasters, oil spills, hazardous materials releases, marine fires, mass rescue operations, mass care and shelter events, national special security events, and maritime homeland security events.

He is an active member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary where he serves as Flotilla Commander, National Division Chief—Auxiliary University Program, and Branch Assistant within the Public Affairs Directorate. He previously served as Division Commander and National Division Chief—Emergency Management Operations. He Chairs the Greater Harris County Local Emergency Planning Committee. He serves on the Planning Committee for the Hot Zone Hazardous Materials Conference. He serves as an Advisor on the Preparedness Leadership Council as well as Domestic Preparedness Journal. He is currently the President of Region VI and the past Chairman of the Public-Private Partnership Committee of the International Association of Emergency Managers—USA Council.

He is an active member of several professional organizations, including the International Association of Emergency Managers, the National Emergency Management Association, Emergency Management Associations of Texas and Tennessee, ASIS, the National Association of SARA Title III Program Officials, the Emergency Management Association of Texas, the National Fire Protection Association, the Global Society for Homeland and National Security Professionals, and the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society. He is a life member of the United States Naval Institute, the Navy League of the United States, the All-Hazards Incident Management Teams’ Association, and the National Rifle Association.

Commander Leonard’s military awards include three Coast Guard Auxiliary Meritorious Service Medals, four Meritorious Service Medals, eight Coast Guard Commendation Medals, the Coast Guard Auxiliary Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Department of Transportation 9-11 Medal, the Coast Guard Auxiliary Achievement Medal, seven Coast Guard Achievement Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, the Coast Guard Auxiliary Letter of Commendation Medal, six Coast Guard Commandant’s Letter of Commendation Ribbons, and numerous unit awards. He is authorized to wear the Coast Guard Marine Safety Professional Pin, Coast Guard Aviator Wings, the Army Parachutist Badge, and the Army Air Assault Badge. He was awarded the Marshall Kraemer Distinguished Service Medal and Humanitarian Service Medal by the Harris County Fire Marshal in 2012. He was recognized with the prestigious U.S. Navy League’s Captain David H. Jarvis Award for Inspirational Leadership and was named a Fox News “Power Player of the Week” on 11 September 2005 for his services as the FEMA-designated Area Commander-Houston Area Mega-Shelter Operations following landfall of Hurricane Katrina.

He has a Bachelor’s Degree in History from the Virginia Military Institute and a Master’s Degree in Engineering Technology from Murray State University. He is a graduate of the National Emergency Management Advanced and Executive Academies. He holds certifications as a Certified Emergency Manager, the Coast Guard Emergency Management Credential, Master Exercise Practitioner, Master Continuity Professional, Certified Homeland Protection Professional, and Certified Port Executive. He is currently working on his Project Management Professional certification.

Pete Greco

CSP

Principal Consultant

Chief Greco is a fire protection and emergency response professional with 40+ years industrial experience, including fire suppression, emergency management and operations, field safety, industrial hygiene, fire protection engineering, and security management. He has extensive experience in industrial firefighting in the largest refining and petrochemical complexes in the U.S. to include storage tank, transportation, terminal, process, and marine firefighting. He is a former industrial Fire Chief/Incident Manager and municipal District Chief and Chief Safety Officer. He has served as the Chairman and Emergency Response Specialist of Channel Industries Mutual Aid, the largest industrial mutual aid organization in the world.

Chief Greco is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) through the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. He is an Emergency Medical Technician in the State of Texas. He is an active member of American Society of Safety Professionals, Texas Industrial Emergency Services Board (TIESB), Texas Fireman’s and Fire Marshal’s Association. He has previously served with the Pasadena (Texas) Volunteer Fire Department and as the Operations Section Chief with the Texas Marine Firefighting Task Force.

Chief Greco has a B.S. in Industrial Hygiene and Safety, University of Houston—Clear Lake and an A.A.S. Occupational Safety and Health from San Jacinto College.

Glen Rudner

Principal Consultant

Glen D. Rudner is a nationally recognized subject matter expert on hazardous materials response training and incident management. He serves on multiple national committees and review boards, including ASTM, and ANSI committees for the development of national standards, as well as being a voting member for the NFPA Hazardous Materials Sub-committee and the IAFC Hazardous Materials Committees. Mr. Rudner has served as the co-chairman of the Ethanol Emergency Response Coalition. He has authored dozens of trade articles and co-authored two books on Hazardous Materials Response Program Management.

He recently retired as a Manager, Environmental Operations, for the Norfolk Southern Railway with environmental compliance and operations responsibilities in the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Prior to moving over to Environmental Operations, he was the Hazardous Materials Compliance Officer for Norfolk Southern Railway’s Alabama Division covering the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Western Georgia, and Southwestern Tennessee.

Glen has 45 years of experience in public safety including 12 years as a career firefighter/hazardous materials specialist for the City of Alexandria (VA) Fire Department. He retired as a Hazardous Materials Response Officer for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, assigned to the Northern Virginia area, where he was responsible for providing guidance and assistance to local governments and state agencies during hazardous materials emergencies. He was also one of the Radiation Response Officers for the Commonwealth of Virginia. He instructed numerous hazardous materials programs and assisted in the development of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management Hazardous Materials Awareness, Operations, Technician, and Advanced Tactical Control Programs.

Glen Rudner is affiliated with the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Fire Protection Association, and the Emergency Management Association of Texas. He has an Associate’s Degree in Science from Westchester Community College.

Lesley A. Buechler

Manager—Finance and Administration

Lesley Buechler has extensive experience in providing logistical service and support to complex emergency management operations and is a recognized expert within the US Coast Guard Auxiliary in the field of resource management during disasters. Lesley has dedicated her career to developing and implementing strategic initiatives that minimize risk and improve response capabilities during emergencies.

Over the last four years, Lesley has been an active member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. In that short period, she has served as Flotilla Commander of the largest Flotilla on the Gulf Coast and has distinguished herself as an Assistant District Staff Officer—Emergency Management, where she specializes on maintaining the status of 3,029 Auxiliarists, 196 small boats, 23 aircraft, 115 radios, and 18 vehicles during disasters. She has been decorated with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary Achievement Medal and the US Coast Guard Auxiliary Commandant’s Letter of Commendation Medal for her masterful handling of such a large number of resources.

Her recent private sector experience includes service as a Logistics Specialist during the Afghan Evacuation Reception in Virginia, the Afghan Baggage Reunification Project in Maryland, and the Operations Southwest Border Bus Response in Chicago/Cook County, Illinois.

She is an active member of the of several professional organizations, including the International Association of Emergency Managers; the National Emergency Management Association; the Emergency Management Associations of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.

Lesley Buechler has an Associate’s Degree in Merchandising from Southern Seminary Junior College. She is currently pursuing her Associate Emergency Manager certification as well as the Coast Guard Emergency Management Credential.

Frank Hawthorne, MEP, CPP, CMS
Lieutenant, US Coast Guard (retired)

Manager—Logistics Services

Lieutenant Frank P. Hawthorne, retired from the US Coast Guard with 22 years of service , the majority of which was in the marine safety field where he responded to oil spills and hazardous materials releases, conducted emergency management and response operations, instructed the next general of Coast Guardsmen, and managed a wide array of projects. Prior to enlisting in the Coast Guard he worked the decks of commercial fishing vessels from an early age.

Following service with the Coast Guard,, he was employed by O’Brien’s Oil Pollutions Services where he served as a Qualified Individual, Spill Response Manager, and Project Manager. He then transitioned to become an independent consultant, working for an array of Qualified Individual firms and energy clients where he continued to share his extensive marine safety, regulatory, emergency response, and project management capabilities. Following the tragic 9-11 attacks, he rejoined the US Coast Guard as a civilian Port Security Specialist in Houston, Texas where he served as the Executive Administrator for the Central Texas Coast Area Contingency Plan and was the Coast Guard Representative to Channel Industries Mutual Aid, the largest industrial mutual aid organization in the world. Today’s Central Texas Coastal Area Contingency Plan, the serves as the framework for maritime oil spill and hazardous materials response, as well as salvage and marine firefighting, is the result of Frank Hathorne’s zeal and dedicated efforts.

Mr. Hawthorne belongs to the Gulf Coast Chapter of the Board-Certified Safety Professionals, Houston Chapter of American Society of Industrial Security, National Association of Marine Surveyors (ret.), Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors (ret.), and had been a longtime member of NFPA.

During his tenure as a Port Security Specialist, the Houston Federal Executive Board selected him as the SE Texas Federal Employee of the Year from a pool of over 109,000 federal employees and in 2010 recognized for Interagency Collaboration for assisting other Federal Agencies develop workable Continuity of Operations Plans and a wide variety of preparedness exercises.

Frank Hawthorne has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and an Associate’s Degree in General/Physical Science from the State University of New York. He has received extensive training to serve as a NIMS Logistics Section Chief, Finance Section Chief, and a Planning Section Chief. He is a Certified Safety Professional, Certified Protection Professional, Certified Marine Surveyor, and Accredited Marine Surveyor.