TAK Public Safety is a 501(c)(3) non-profit created in 2024 with a vision of helping public safety organizations adopt better situational awareness through the Team Awareness Kit. It builds off of the incredible community that already existed through many efforts across the globe, and aims to be the starting point of a TAK journey.
- Vision: Situational Awareness in the hands of every first responder
- Mission: Overcome the barriers to making TAK accessible for public safety agencies across the US (and the globe)
- Values: Open First, For Users From Users
Current Board
TAKPS is honored to have public safety professionals from across the US serving as board members to guide and shape our mission. Our current board was elected in December of 2024:
Cory Foy
President and Managing Director
Cory Foy (NREMT-B, TCCC, SRT-A) is a seasoned Technical Rescue, Swiftwater, and Wilderness search specialist based in North Carolina. With over 25 years of experience in technology and public safety, he has served as an Assistant Fire Chief in Florida and as a member of Microsoft’s global technology field response team. Cory is also the founder and chief pilot of Flight Tactics, focusing on the development and deployment of TAK and AI solutions for large-scale missions and events.
Paul Clifton
Vice President
As a Search and Rescue Coordinator for the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), Paul Clifton introduced the Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) into the CCSO SAR unit in 2020 for testing and evaluation to improve situational awareness for sworn personnel and volunteers. In the development process, Clifton became an active contributor, integrating TAK capabilities in limited or denied cellphone coverage, including aircraft (ADS-B) and personnel tracking (mesh radios), satellite messengers, and terrestrial radio equipment. He has served as an independent consultant for US Department of Defense contractors and large public safety agencies. Clifton served as the Arizona Search and Rescue Coordinators Association (ASARCA) Board President and continues to serve as a board member. He graduated with a B.S. in Economics from Texas A&M University and an M.S in Economics from the University of Virginia.
Dave Zader
Treasurer
Mr. Zader is a highly decorated firefighter with two medals of valor and numerous unit and personal commendation, with over 35 years of experience with multiple municipal and federal agencies in a wide range of emergency services including structural firefighting, airport fire rescue, technical rescue, emergency medicine, swift water rescue, marine firefighting, hazardous materials, chemical and biological warfare, mountain rescue, search and rescue management, fire aviation, military fire aviation and emergency operations for large event management. Mr. Zader spent a large portion of his career as an operational wildland firefighter serving in a variety of positions to include the Firefighter and Helitack Firefighter with U.S. Forest Service, Wildland Fire, Helirappller with Yosemite National Park Helitack, Lead Instructor & Staff for New York and Colorado Wildfire Incident Management Academies, Fire Management Officer for the City of Boulder Colorado where he designed a revolutionary graphical WUI structural protection and evacuation plan, as a Division Supervisor and Helibase Manager for over 20 years on large wildfire incidents as part of national type 1 and 2 incident management teams, including managing large notable incidents such as Hurricane Katrina and Sandy, Colorado floods, and dozens of large wildfires and searches. Mr. Zader became involved with the Team Awareness Kit shortly after the Granite Mountain Hotshot tragedy, and has been a strong supporter of the technology for nearly a decade and has assisted dozens of agencies help learn and adopt the technology at local, state, federal and internationally. Mr. Zader currently serves on the Wildland Fire Policy Committee Member at International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). International Code Council 605 wildland interface building standards committee. Mr. Zader provides consulting and speaking services on wildland firefighting, aviation, and technology with Industry, International, Federal, State, and Local government including the XPrize Wildfire Challenge and Team Awareness Kit projects. Mr. Zader has a B.S. in Forestry, Wildlife and Biology from Virginia Tech
Kevin Sofen
Secretary
Kevin Sofen is a Technology Advisor with the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), where he leads the Technology Summit International (TSI). With over a decade at W.S. Darley & Company, Kevin pioneered market strategies and commercialized public safety innovations, including virtual reality training and autonomous drones. As the founder of SmartFireFighting.com, Kevin promotes technology and change management within the fire service. His nonprofit journey began in 2016 with Wristsponsible, a water-focused organization that has raised over $1 million for global water and health initiatives. Recently, he has expanded his nonprofit efforts to support public safety causes in both water and firefighting. Through his SDG Talks Podcast, Kevin advances public health discussions framed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He also teaches Developing Sustainable Strategies as an adjunct professor at DePaul University.
Andreas “AJ” Johansson
Board Member
Andreas “AJ” Johansson is a 30 year fire service professional whose career has spanned federal, state and local government. He started his career with the U.S. Forest Service in 1994 serving 5 seasons with the El Cariso Hotshots before transitioning to the California Dept of Forestry & Fire Protection for an additional 5 years. AJ has served the Corona Fire Dept (CA) since 2005 and holds the rank of Fire Captain-Paramedic. For over a decade he has deployed with Incident Management Teams overseeing the “Situation Unit” whose purpose is to gather all aspects of intelligence on an incident and share that information across multiple domains to help first responders in their decision making process. AJ has a passion for geospatial and mobile technologies and is part of the California FIRESCOPE multi-agency committee on Emerging Information Technology. AJ holds a bachelor’s degree in Fire Service Administration and a master’s degree in Geospatial Information Technologies.
Brad Schmidt
Board Member
Brad Schmidt has conducted research and development into the public safety applications of the Team Awareness Kit for over 9 years in his role at the Center of Excellence for Advanced Technology Aerial Firefighting (CoE), an office of the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control. Brad is now leading efforts to operationally deploy this technology as CoE Deputy Director of Spatial Projects.
Previously Brad has worked as a wildland firefighter and an EMT for Colorado and Wyoming-based agencies. Brad is a Colorado native with a Bachelor’s Degree in Natural Resources Management from Colorado State University and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Wyoming.
Greg Albrecht
Board Member