CFE-DM Staff

Mr. Martin is the Director of the Department of Defense Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DM) on Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He directs training, education, applied research, regional civil-military coordination, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Climate Change Impact program, along with crisis support during disasters in support of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, with worldwide responsibilities. He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in October 2016 upon resuming duties as the Center’s Director. He previously served as the Director of CFE-DM from May 2014 to June 2016 while on active duty as a U.S. Air Force colonel.

Steve Castonguay serves as the Deputy Director of the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DM). He is the principal assistant to the director for managing CFE-DM programs. His work at CFE-DM has included U.S. and foreign partner engagement through serving as an instructor in the Humanitarian Assistance Response Training (HART) course and participation in civil-military coordination workshops throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Steve’s professional expertise lies in U.S. foreign policy and public affairs.

Prior to joining the Center, he served as the Director of the Commander’s Action Group at Joint Interagency Task Force West, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s executive agent of counter-narcotics and transnational crime. During his time with JIATF West, he led organizational transformation and innovation by inaugurating the task force’s first public affairs team and spearheaded an initiative linking task force activities with Department of State, United Nations and foreign partner counter-transnational crime initiatives.

Steve previously served as a Department of State Foreign Service Officer for 13 years at U.S. embassy postings in India, Afghanistan, Costa Rica, Pakistan and Thailand. Among his diplomatic assignments include: serving as an embassy spokesperson, chief of staff, special assistant to the ambassador and American citizen services chief. He participated in numerous humanitarian and disaster response operations, to include serving as the U.S. spokesperson and senior U.S. Embassy official on scene during the Thai soccer team cave rescue operation. Steve participated in the U.S. Embassy response to an earthquake in Costa Rica and terrorist attacks in India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Steve also served as an international election monitor for the 2009 Afghanistan Presidential elections and the State Department’s action officer for Afghan President Karzai’s first visit to the White House.

A retired Marine, Steve’s military experience includes public affairs assignments with units deploying throughout the Asia-Pacific region and leading training and recruiting teams. He holds a BA in Political Science and an MA in Communication from Hawaii Pacific University. He is also a fellow of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.

Dr. Clyde Louchez serves as the Chief of Security Cooperation and Plans at the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DM). He manages the Center’s regionally-focused DMHA capacity building events, to include senior leader seminars and engagements designed to build the capacity of regional organizations with charters that include civil-military coordination in disaster management planning and response. Clyde coordinates CFE-DMHA programs that support U.S. INDO-PACIFIC goals and objectives, to include deploying with U.S. forces, if necessary, for any major disaster.

Prior to joining the Center in December 2020, Clyde worked at U.S. INDO-PACIFIC Headquarters as an International Intelligence Engagement Officer and Joint Intelligence Planner in the J25. He also worked as the Strategy and Engagements lead in the Commander’s Action Group (CAG) at the Joint Interagency Task Force West. He speaks both French and Spanish and spent over 11 years working in the U.S. SOUTHERN COMMAND Area of Responsibility before coming to Hawaii. As a military veteran, international engagement and intelligence professional, Clyde has traveled extensively throughout the Western Hemisphere, Europe and the Asia-Pacific.

Clyde holds multiple undergraduate and graduate degrees in history, political science, international affairs and strategic intelligence from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Harvard University, and the American Military University. He is a World History Adjunct Professor at Brigham Young University – Hawaii. In addition to his formal education, Clyde has completed several training programs and acquired various licenses, to include as a Project Manager Professional (PMP), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), which consisted of Series 6&63 and 7 licenses, and is a proud Eagle Scout.

Andrea Ciletti serves at the Branch Chief for Applied Research and Information Sharing (ARIS). Andrea joined CFE-DM as a Research Analyst in 2015. In her eight years at CFE her research and writing has focused on disaster risk and vulnerabilities of countries in the Indo-Pacific Region. Beyond her research role, she has supported various civil-military engagements, exercises, and partner nation capacity building in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand.

Andrea’s background in technical report writing and program management has supported multiple DoD contracts. She served as a Technical Editor for AECOM’s Comprehensive Long-Term Environmental Action Navy (CLEAN) contract, and as a Technical Writer for CSC’s Defense Information Systems-Pacific (DISA-PAC) contract where she developed civil-military communication materials. She brings with her eleven years teaching experience as a faculty member for the University of Phoenix ground campuses in Hawaii from 2010 to 2021. There she also served as Lead Faculty Area Chair for the College of General Studies. Prior to her move to Hawaii in 2006, Andrea worked at a local non-profit organization in crisis response in New York. In her role as Domestic Violence Advocate, she built community partnerships with police departments, supported a 24-hr crisis line, emergency shelter services, case management, and legal advocacy.

Andrea holds a B.A. in English from Syracuse University, and a M.A. in Communication from Hawaii Pacific University.

Alan Aoki is an employee of Valiant Integrated Services and serves as a research analyst in the Applied Research and Information Sharing Branch of the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance.

Aoki joined the CFE-DM team shortly after graduating from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. He has also worked at the Hawaii State Library, Hamilton Library, Center for Korean Studies and the Industrial Relations Center.

Alan received a bachelor of arts and a master of science degree from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.

Jenny Caruso serves as the Program Manager for the HART Disasters and HART Conflict courses, in the Training and Engagements Branch. Jenny returned to CFE-DM in February 2022, and had previously served as DMHA Instructor & HART PM from 2018-2020.

Jenny is a retired Army officer whose career included a myriad of command and leader development assignments in both garrison and combat environments. She served on various joint, combined forces, and inter-agency teams, to include deputy command of a reconstruction and security brigade in western Afghanistan. Recent experiences also include FEMA emergency distribution management and operations management to a power restoration project providing disaster response in Puerto Rico.

Jenny holds a BS in Physical Education from Towson State University, an MA in Executive Development for Public Service from Ball State University, and an MS in Kinesiology from Indiana University.

Victoria Hart is an employee of Valiant Integrated Services and works in the Applied Research and Information Sharing Branch at the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance. She serves as a disaster management research analyst for the Center.

Hart managed UN peacekeeping training and led international mobile education teams in support of the Center for Civil-Military Relations for four years prior to rejoining CFE-DM. She first worked at CFE-DM as a research analyst focused on the humanitarian situation in Iraq, then as a humanitarian assistance specialist. She has worked with Pacific Forum CSIS, and prior to that was a civil affairs officer in the UN Mission in Sudan, working in a civilian component of the peacekeeping mission in Khartoum. She also has experience working in Australia, Cambodia, China, Germany, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and aboard ship in international waters. She lived two years in Taiwan and speaks Mandarin Chinese.

Hart earned a master’s degree from the University of California, Irvine and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, both in political science. She is a doctoral student in political science from the University of Hawaii. She completed the UN DPKO’s Protection of Civilians (POC) Training of Trainers (ToT) course, UN OCHA’s Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination (UN-CMCoord) ToT, and USAID’s Joint Humanitarian Operations Course (JHOC).

Taryn Ino is an employee with Valiant Integrated Services and works as the Climate Policy and Diplomacy Analyst in the Climate Change Impacts (CCI) Program at the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance. The CCI team is responsible for establishing a robust INDOPACOM capability to anticipate and respond to the security impacts of climate change. The CCI program is dedicated to working across the DOD, interagency, and partner nations to increase resilience, reduce fragility, and enhance climate security for the Indo-Pacific region.

Prior to joining the CCI team, Taryn worked in local government and non-profit sectors on a diverse set of issues, including such topics as disaster risk reduction and resilience, climate change, foreign policy, women, peace and security, and equal employment opportunity. Most recently served as Program Manager with the foreign policy think tank, Pacific Forum International.

Taryn earned a master’s degree in political science and a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Casey Johnson is a humanitarian access and security analyst in CFE-DM's Plans, Programs and Analysis Branch. His current focus is on supporting the Center's engagement with Taiwan.

Casey arrives at the Center from the Department of State's Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations where he led global research on countering violent extremism and supported stabilization programming. Prior to stints in DC with State and USAID, he lived and worked in Afghanistan for eight years with the United States Institute of Peace and other local organizations, conducting research on the Taliban and advising the U.S. military on stabilization efforts.

Casey is a graduate of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media, and Seattle University. His research and photography has appeared in The New York Times, National Geographic, and Foreign Policy.

Leilani Johnson is a Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance Expert focused on Security Cooperation and Planning at the Center for Excellence.

Leilani brings 20 years of global DMHA leadership and experience to the Center. Specializing in Climate Adaptation & Resilience; Women, Peace & Security; and Local & Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS); Leilani has worked across the world in every sector (Public, Private, NGO), culminating a uniquely diverse Whole of Society perspective.

Leilani grew up attending public school in rural Hawaii. She achieved a BA with Honors in East Asian Languages and Cultures from Columbia University. Then, a Masters in Public Administration with Honors from Harvard University; where she was also a Presidential Public Service Fellow, Dubin Emerging Leaders Fellow, and a Center for Public Leadership Advisor. In addition, Leilani received an International Certificate at Waseda University in Japan and is currently finishing her Hawaiian Studies Certificate at the University of Hawaii.

Britt is an employee of Valiant Integrated Services and joined the CFE-DM team in 2021. He serves as an Exercise Planner integrating HADR training to military training.

Britt is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel with over 30 years of service. He served in a number of command and staff assignments within the infantry, Joint staffs, United Nations, and as a Civil Affairs Team Leader teaching HADR and coordinating with varies NGOs. Most recently, Britt served as a senior exercise planner with the United States Army Pacific and as an Information Operations Planner at Special Operations Command Pacific.

Britt holds a BS in Psychology with a minor Biology.

Stephanie Liu is an employee of Valiant Integrated Services. She serves as the Academic Partnership Program Coordinator & Analyst in the Applied Research and Information Sharing Branch at the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DM).

Stephanie joined the CFE-DM in 2017 assisting various public health events and disaster management and humanitarian assistance training and exercise coordination with the Training and Engagements Branch.

Stephanie pursued her Bachelor of Public Health degree from the University of Hawai’i Manoa’s Office of Public Health Studies and Master of Public Health degree with a concentration of Global Health Studies through the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. Liu’s research interests revolve around global health security, one health, and risk communication and community engagement.

Lloyd Puckett is Disaster Management and Humanitarian Specialist assigned to the Plans, Programs and Analysis Branch at the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance. He serves as a regional disaster management and humanitarian assistance advisor to the Center.

Puckett joined the CFE-DM team from the Pacific Air Forces directorate of Installation and Mission Support where he was a command emergency management superintendent. Since joining CFE-DM, Puckett has served as Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) analyst, instructor for Humanitarian and Assistance Response Training (HART) and Health Emergencies in Large Populations (HELP) courses, project manager for CFE-DM HADR Security Cooperation projects, and drafted CFE-DM disaster management reference handbooks. He also served as a visiting scholar at the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies and Weapons of Mass Destruction Strategic Planner at USPACOM’s Strategic Policy Planning Directorate. He retired from the United States Air Force after 23 years of service.

Puckett holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Studies from the University of Maryland University College, a Master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma, a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Chaminade University of Honolulu a Post-Graduate Certificate in Homeland Security Leadership Development from Chaminade University of Honolulu and a post-graduate certificate in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Leslie Regan is an employee with Valiant Integrated Services and works in the Climate Change Impacts (CCI) Branch at the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance. She serves as the climate change impacts specialist on the CCI team.

Prior to joining the Center in 2021, Leslie worked on a diverse set of issues for a diverse set of clients including such topics as: climate change, environmental science and management, water law, water resources issues, impact investing, grants and funding, groundwater management solutions, community building, environmental education in higher institutions, etc. Most recently she managed, planned, and implemented climate adaptation projects for municipalities and communities in California.

Leslie earned a Master of Science in Environmental Science & Management with an emphasis in Water Resources Management from the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with an emphasis in Hydrology from UC Santa Barbara.

Leigh Sholler is an employee of Valiant Integrated Services. She serves as a Research Analyst in the Applied Research and Information Sharing Branch at the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance.

Leigh joined the CFE-DM in 2020 after working for Valiant Integrated Services and Cubic Global Defense for 15 years as a Senior Analyst for Open Source information exploitation. She has supported U.S. Department of Defense entities around the globe in planning, exercise design/execution, operational assessments, and public affairs.

Leigh has a B.A. in French and International Studies from Capital University (Ohio), an M.A. in French from American University (DC), and an M.A. in American Studies from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa.

Greg is an employee of Valiant Integrated Services and a member of the Plans, Programs and Analysis Branch at the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance. He has extensive experience as a Foreign Area Officer in the Indo-Pacific, serving multiple tours in both U.S. Embassies and 4-star military headquarters. He has participated in numerous humanitarian assistance and disaster response scenarios as a planner and support provider.

Prior to joining the Center, Greg served as an active duty Navy Foreign Area Officer and Search and Rescue / Logistics helicopter pilot. In his 27 years of military experience, Greg served as Chief, Southeast Asia Policy at USINDOPACOM and Chief, International Plans and Policy at USPACFLT, where he provided expert political and strategic advice to the Commanders regarding cooperative military efforts with international partners and foreign access for military planning and operations. During the response to 2013 Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, he acted as senior mentor to the Director of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Multinational Coordination Center. During tours at the U.S. Embassies in Riyadh and Manila, he advised the Saudi and Philippine Navies on best maritime security practices and managed their multi-billion dollar Foreign Military Sales accounts. As a helicopter pilot, he led a 5-month detachment to Banda Aceh during Operation Unified Assistance delivering relief supplies and conducting medical missions. With over 22 years of experience in the USINDOPACOM region, he is an experienced strategic and operational planner, supporting military operations, interagency operations, and campaign plans, including warfighting, peacekeeping and foreign humanitarian assistance.

Greg holds a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Duke University. He has over 3,400 hours of military helicopter flight time and 29 personnel rescues.

Josh Szimonisz is a Regional Humanitarian Civil-Military Advisor based in Bangkok, Thailand. Josh serves as a “forward” presence for CFE-DM, providing humanitarian assistance and civil-military coordination subject matter expertise to global military and civilian organizations based in the Indo-Pacific region. Before this assignment, Josh served as the HART Course Manager, leading the development and delivery of the Center’s flagship training program.

Prior to joining the Center in August 2020, Josh was based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where he worked as a program manager for Samaritan’s Purse International Relief. Before that, he worked on a refugee assistance project in Nicosia, Cyprus with Caritas, and previously worked as a case worker serving the asylum seeker population in New York City. Josh was an active duty Marine Officer for several years, deploying in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and a Marine Expeditionary Unit, in addition to supporting regional INDOPACOM exercises. He continues his service in the Marine Corps Reserve as a Civil-Military Operations Planner.

Josh is a member of the Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART). He has a Master of Arts in Public Administration (MPA) specialized in Humanitarian Emergency Management, and a Master of Science in Social Work (MSW), specialized in international social welfare policy and forced displacement, both from Columbia University.

Alice Tsai is a Health Security Advisor with the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance. She brings to the Center more than a decade of experience in providing technical assistance and conducting programming activities in support of disaster management and humanitarian assistance through the preparedness of, response to, and recovery from public health emergencies and natural disasters. Highlights of her previous engagements included the 2014 Ebola Response in West Africa, the 2017 Irma/Maria Hurricane Recovery, and the COVID-19 Response.

Before joining the Center, Alice served at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including two appointments at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She also supported force health protection at the U.S. Department of Defense through the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance program. Prior to public service, Alice had provided technical consultations in the NGO sector and was a Fulbright Fellow to China.

As a first-generation college graduate, Alice completed her Master of Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins University, a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry & Cell Biology, two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Health Care-Social Issues and Music, and a Specialized Certificate in Clinical Research Administration from the University of California, San Diego.

Mike is an employee of Valiant Integrated Services and a member of the Training and Education Branch at the Center of Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance. He retired from the United States Marine Corps in 2021 after 30 years of service and has significant experience in crisis action and foreign humanitarian assistance (FHA) operations planning and execution as well as in inter-agency coordination. Mike served as an FHA planner at Headquarters, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) where he led operational planning in response to natural disasters in the Philippines, Myanmar and Bangladesh. While serving with the 11th Marine Expeditionary in Camp Pendleton, California he served as the Officer in Charge of the Forward Command Element and Humanitarian Assistance Survey Team (HAST) which had the mission of conducting coordination with U.S. embassies during crisis response operations. As the Director of Operations at the Joint U.S. Military Assistance Group-Philippines, U.S. Embassy in the Philippines, he took part in three separate FHA operations including Operation DAMAYAN, the USINDOPACOM response to Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. During his final active duty tour he served as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations and subsequently as the Chief of Staff of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) in Okinawa, Japan. While with the MEB, Mike led the command’s Joint Humanitarian Assistance Survey Team (JHAST) and oversaw the planning for several potential military responses to natural disasters within the region. He additionally served as Chief of Staff of Joint Task Force (JTF) 505, USINDOPACOM’s designated JTF for FHA operations, where he supervised the efforts of the staff upon activation of the JTF by Commander, USINDOPACOM.

Mike graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor’s Degree in History, the United States Marine Corps Expeditionary Warfare School and the United Stated Marine Corps Command and Staff College. He joined CFE-DM in May of 2023.