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Leadership Team

Leadership
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Dr. Bud Zaouk
President & CEO
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Dr. Zaouk is the President of KEA. Prior to joining KEA he was the Transportation Group Director at QinetiQ North America where he guided research and product development activities in automotive, highway and rail safety. He was the Program Manager for the Federal Railroad Administration Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) Task Order contract as well as the Program Manager on the Human Factors (HF) Task Order contract. He has been the Program and Technical Manager of the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS), a multi-year research program for the Development of Advanced Alcohol Detection Technology funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety. He also serves as chair of the DADSS Technical Working Group that acts as a technical advisory board to this effort. He has over 19 years of experience in transportation safety engineering, research, development, testing and evaluation, and program management.

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Dr. Kelly Ozdemir
Director of Applied Sciences
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Dr. Ozdemir is a highly skilled experimental psychologist with more than 18 years of experience in behavioral research, correlating physiologist measurements with cognition, conducting data field collection, and performing advanced statistical analyses. As Director of Human Factors, she plays an integral role in all aspects of the research projects. Funded by the Federal Railroad Administration, she develops specialized training programs for law enforcement, firefighters, and emergency dispatchers in response to railroad emergencies involving trespassers and motorists. She is currently developing the FRA funded video, Grade Crossing Collision Investigation for Law Enforcement.  Her research focuses on workforce organization, applied cognitive science, and workspace evaluations.  Dr. Ozdemir is a subject-matter expert in research methodology (survey design, focus groups, and experimental design), field data collection, statistical analyses, and human behavior.

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Michelle Rich
Director of Finance
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Mike Willis
Vice President
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–Michael (Mike) Willis grounds KEA in tried-and-true organizational management principles refined through more than two decades of managing multi-million dollar programs in the private and government sectors.  Trained as a civil/environmental engineer, Mike understands that technology solutions are best understood in the context of the interacting complex variables that create problems begging to be solved.  A gifted leader, Mike can intuitively deconstruct formidable engineering programs into manageable projects matching skilled personnel with tasks for which they are well-suited.  A people-person at heart, Mike enthusiastically serves KEA customers with a strong commitment to exceeding their expectations and ensuring that KEA meets their engineering objectives.  In service to the customer, Mike is always searching for ways to “do it better” and formally seeks continuous process improvement.  Mike fosters a motivating work culture that encourages staff to be vested in the success of customer solutions.  As an avid hockey player and coach, Mike knows that winning is all about heart.  “The heart of KEA is the customer” is Mike’s mantra.

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Remi Fournier
Senior Project Manager
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Mr. Fournier is the Director of Programs at KEA where he is responsible for leading KEA’s engineering and technical team as they design, instrument vehicles, integrate systems, execute test plans, and collect data to assess the viability of the technological advances achieved under the national Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) program.  He also manages all pilot deployment projects under the Virginia DMV Highway Safety Office (HSO) DADSS Program and is the operations lead of the KEA Sterling, VA satellite office.

 

He has decades of experience in managing multi-million dollar transportation safety and security programs. Prior to joining KEA, Mr. Fournier worked for Leidos as the East Region Transportation Security Equipment Deployment Services (TEDS) Program Manager deploying all passenger and baggage screening systems to all East Coast U.S. commercial airports. He was the Airport Surface Detection Equipment – Model X (ASDE-X) Program Manager for Raytheon in the early 2000’s and worked on border security projects in the metro Washington DC area under the US-VISIT program.

–Michelle Rich is an assertive business manager and financial analyst with longstanding experience in managing the finances of multi-million-dollar government programs.  With a degree in business management, Michelle institutes accurate earned value management and analysis providing integral feedback to customers.  Michelle works tirelessly to ensure that KEA staff understands the financial status of the programs they manage facilitating transparent staff-customer relations.  Michelle leaves no stone unturned when identifying financial and business solutions.  She is committed to going the extra mile for KEA customers and staff.

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