Third Thursday Business Builder, July 2023

Join us for an informative, interactive session with community safety leaders to discover ways that the business community can further the City of Augusta along the road to being the most prepared city in the nation for Active Shooter Hostile Event Responses. Hosted by John Ryan the Emergency Manager at Augusta University and Brian Ozden the Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Augusta and Statesboro Resident Agency FBI who are both involved with the grassroots efforts of #strongaugusta. Come to this interactive training to gain further knowledge and resources that you can use for your business, staff, and customers.

John F. Ryan - Emergency Manager Augusta University

August 2023 will mark 40 years in professional public service for Mr. Ryan, adapting and excelling as the hazard landscape evolved, he retired as a Chief Officer from the United States Department of Defense Fire & Emergency Services in 2017, to accept new challenges in healthcare and higher education emergency management.  

Working with NFPA (National Fire Protection Agency) to conceptualize a unique community model, #strongaugusta, he now leads a diverse group of multidisciplinary stakeholders in an effort to utilize the National Fire Protection Association’s Standard for an Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response (ASHER) Program to build a community-wide framework identifying the program elements to develop, plan, coordinate, evaluate and sustain a whole community ASHER Program in Augusta, GA. The Augusta Project will serve as a model for other communities on how best to utilize tools and resources to maximize community involvement and community safety.

#strongaugusta, started in 2019, is a grass roots community safety initiative led by a diverse group of multidisciplinary stakeholders in an effort to utilize National Fire Protection Association’s Standard for an Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response (ASHER) Program to build a community-wide framework identifying the program elements to develop, plan, coordinate, evaluate and sustain a whole community ASHER Program in Augusta, GA.

Brian Ozden - Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Augusta and Statesboro Resident Agency FBI

Brian Ozden began his career as a Special Agent of the FBI in 2003. He was assigned to the Atlanta Division, Augusta Resident Agency, where he worked a variety of criminal offenses to include Violent Crimes/Major Offenders, Domestic Terrorism and Cyber. He later was responsible for the creation and coordination of the CSRA Child Exploitation Task Force. In 2015 Mr. Ozden was reassigned to the FBI Counterterrorism Division where he served as the Deputy Agent in Charge of Operations in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In 2018 Mr. Ozden was selected to serve as the Supervisory Senior Resident Agent of the Augusta and Statesboro Resident Agencies where he oversees all FBI investigations within a 26 county area, in the Southern Judicial District of Georgia. He leads both CSRA Safe Streets Task Force and CSRA Child Exploitation Task Force.

Brian Ozden grew up in Augusta and attended University of South Carolina where received a Bachelor of Science in Management Science, with a concentration in Management Information Systems. He also holds a Master's degree in Military Operational Art and Science from the Air Command and Staff College at Air University, USAF. He resides in Evans, GA with his wife and two children.