Lawrence McDonnell is based in the United Kingdom and is a Public Relations and Communications expert who provides a strong focus on consumer and corporate crisis communications. He is a former BBC correspondent and Bureau Chief in the region, with more than 20 years of experience working across Russian-speaking markets.

Lawrence’s experience includes first response and deployment to the scene of a major air crash in Russia with the loss of all passengers and crew. He subsequently worked with the airline in engaging with key stakeholders, including media, family representatives and government authorities. Other experience includes a response to a hostile takeover of the Russian business of a major US corporation and a response to a Russian shopping mall fire with multiple lives lost. He speaks English, Russian and French.

Lawrence started his aviation career as a Flight Engineer with Singapore Airlines (SIA) in 1973 operating and instructing on the B707, B727, B747, A300 and DC-10 aircraft.

When the fleets were renewed to models with flight engineer’s function automated from 1988, Lawrence opted to support operations from the ground by managing flight controls, dispatch and crew scheduling to make good use of his inflight experiences. In 2001 he integrated all Flight Operations, Cabin crew, Engineering and Ground Services operational controls under one Integrated Operations Control Centre where it had since become the nerve centre for all regular flights, diversions and inflight emergencies for the SIA group of airlines (Group).  

Lawrence was part of the crisis team that responded to Silkair MI 185’s (a subsidiary of SIA) crash at Palembang in 1997 and SIA’s SQ 006 crash at Taipei in 2000. He assumed the SIA Group’s crisis leadership in 2001 and progressively elevated the Group’s crisis readiness through network-wide annual refresher training and exercises and training of close to a thousand CareGivers. During this period, he has also served as Chair of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) Emergency Response Working Group, Chair of Star Alliance Emergency Response Working Group and Asia Representative for IATA Emergency Response Task Force.

Following his retirement from SIA in 2016, Lawrence joined the Emergency Preparedness team at the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and developed their Crisis Hotline and Care Giving functions. He was involved in CAAS’ response to a fire at one of Changi Airport’s terminals, the crash of a flying display aircraft during Singapore Airshow 2018, intrusion of drones at Changi Airport and COVID-19 border health controls for the aviation sector.

Lawrence holds a Master in Business Administration and is currently an Adjunct Lecturer conducting airport management and crisis programmes at the Singapore Aviation Academy (SAA). He has conducted crisis management and care training at the Civil Aviation Management Institute of China and spoken at various AAPA’s Emergency Response Conferences and Changi Airport Group’s Emergency Response Seminars. On COVID-19, Lawrence covered the responses by Airlines and Airports at the joint SAA-Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Asia’s Webinars and an SAA-Civil Aviation University of China’s Webinar.

Kelli has over 28 years of experience in the aviation industry in emergency response, business continuity, accident investigation, accident prevention, regulatory compliance, and engineering. Most recently Kelli was the Senior Manager Emergency Response and Humanitarian Assistance for United Airlines. During her time there and at Virgin America and Hawaiian Airlines, Kelli developed Emergency Response and Business Continuity Plans, assembled, trained, and led corporate, humanitarian, and accident investigation response teams to ensure the airlines were prepared to respond to emergencies. She has also developed Emergency Response Plans and provided training for private jet and corporate operators as well as space companies.

Kelli has responded to a number of aviation-related events including, the Asiana accident at SFO, mass shootings, hurricanes, turbulence accidents, employee fatalities, and a pandemic. She has also been an instructor at the NTSB Academy.

Kelli was instrumental in establishing the first Airport and Airline Emergency Working Groups which changed the industry paradigm for the initial hours of response. She authored the first Emergency Working Group Planning Guide for airports and airlines. Kelli has a passion for teamwork and collaboration and her motto has always been “Together we are better prepared.”

Kelli co-authored “The Skies Are Not Always So Friendly: 10 emergency response lessons we can learn from commercial aviation” published in Facilities Manager magazine and was a founding board member of AERO, the Aviation Emergency Response Organization. She is currently based out of Northern California and the Midwest. She has a Masters in Emergency Management and Homeland Security from Arkansas Tech and a Bachelors in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University.

Jillian Chen is based in Beijing and has over 20 years of experience working in communications for leading international PR firms such as Weber Shandwick, Hill & Knowlton, Edelman, and Ketchum, where she focused on brand marketing and corporate communications.

Jillian’s expertise is in providing crisis management simulation and media training. She has consulted on several crises, ranging from product recalls, consumer complaints and governmental actions.

She has worked with a broad range of multinational and regional clients. These include European Union Delegation, DIT of UK Embassy, Eastspring, P&G, McDonald’s, MasterCard, Mercedes Benz, Lamborghini, California Almond Boards, Tag Heuer, Hermes Watch, etc.

Jillian also has vast experience in project management, media strategy, social media engagement, and media relationships. She is also skilled in event management, having led numerous successful events and conferences for a range of world-class brands such as P&G and McDonald’s.

Jillian started her career at China International Economic Consultancy Ltd., a subsidiary of CITIC in 1990. Her focus was counselling foreign enterprises in terms of Chinese public policy and regulations and organizing their outreach programs with Chinese government ministries and agencies.

Jim is a Senior Associate at GoCrisis based in Sydney, Australia. He is a highly qualified, motivated and innovative senior professional with an extensive knowledge base and experience in emergency planning, business resilience, organisational resilience, business continuity, training, exercise drills, policy and procedures, document management, and communications.

Since 1984, Jim has worked in various roles including sales, customer service, operations, office administration, reservations, marketing, document writing, training, regulatory, and for the most part, Crisis Management.

Jim’s career with Qantas commenced as an aspiring reservations consultant and from here worked his way through various roles before finding his niche in Crisis Management. Whilst at Qantas, Jim was involved in responding to 21 events in 18 months including Bali Bombings, Thailand Tsunami, Middle east unrest, QF30 oxygen tank explosion, QF72 depressurisation, BKK Unrest, Volcanic Ash eruption, and Swine Influenza. Most of this time was spent coordinating and deploying relief teams to the site as well as Care Team/Family Assistance responsibilities.

Jean has 35+ years of experience as an aviation professional with Western Airlines and Delta. She held positions of increasing responsibility in Reservations, Airport Operation, Operations Control and Emergency Planning and Response. Her response experience includes Go Team and Immediate Crisis Team leadership for aircraft accidents, bombings, and terrorist events and Command Center activations for emergencies as well as other business continuity events. She has been a training developer, facilitator and training leader for human services and airport emergency response drills and exercises. She was instrumental in the development of standardized station emergency plans for Delta and is passionate about providing training and hands-on exercises to best prepare responders for their roles in crisis situations. Additionally, she is a professional Voice Actor and has provided voiceovers for online training and book narrations.

Jana Thomas is the former General Manager of Emergency Operations and Business Continuity for Delta Airlines, having retired in 2020 with over 29 years of experience in the aviation industry. As an emergency response professional, Jana has extensive experience in planning, training, logistics, deployment, response, and after-action analysis. During her career, Jana has successfully prepared for and responded to crisis events including natural and manmade disasters, security incidents and aircraft accidents.

During the late 90’s Jana was responsible for Delta’s Reservations Operation Center in Atlanta which focused primarily on irregular operations and crisis management for Reservations. During a crisis event, she and her team were responsible for manifest verification, passenger inquiry and family assistance.

In 2007 Jana assumed responsibility for Delta’s Corporate Emergency Program, including oversite of Delta’s Emergency Command Center and all response teams. During a crisis event requiring activation of the Go Team, Jana became the Go Team Incident Commander.

Jana was a 2010 recipient of Delta’s most prestigious honor, the Chairman’s Club Award. It is a peer-to-peer employee recognition program, honoring women and men across the company’s worldwide operation of over 80,000 employees who embody reliability, innovation, thoughtfulness, and servant leadership, and who demonstrate the highest standards of service to customers. In addition, Jana was also North America’s IATA Representative and later became the ER Group’s Chair. She was also the Chair of both the SkyTeam ER Board and A4A while Delta was a member.

In her career, Jana has responded to five major Delta/Delta Connection accidents, 2 foreign carrier accidents, a terrorist bombing, an active shooter, severe weather events, and numerous lesser emergencies. She is also certified in Project Management and Change Management, and has a Six Sigma Black Belt and Green Belt.

Jade D’Costa has nearly 20 years of experience in Aviation Emergency Response, Crisis Management and Corporate Safety working for WestJet Airlines and Pacific Coastal Airlines. She has written, implemented and audited various Station Response Plans, and corporate Incident Command structures. Jade played an integral part in training both Station Response and Family Assistance as well as coordinating and commanding Emergency Response exercises for various levels of organization. Jade was a member of the Incident Command Team who responded to the 2010 Hotel explosion at the Grand Princess in the Riviera Maya, and she also led the Covid-19 response for Pacific Coastal Airlines. Jade is fluent in English and French.

Irisaida is a seasoned Multicultural Communications and Development consultant and has worked with renowned corporations looking to penetrate the LATAM and US Hispanic markets.

During her 20 years’ experience, Irisaida has led crisis communications and public relations efforts for disaster relief initiatives with the American Red Cross, FEMA, and United Way. These include first response, deployment, and media messaging of very sensitive issues under high pressure environments for hurricanes Georges, Charles, Jean, Katrina, Irma and Maria. She also developed Spirit Airlines’ Communications Emergency Response Plan and its Emergency Action Team Protocol. She has acted as liaison between FEMA, city mayors, and other government officials during the implementation of FEMA’s intergovernmental communications efforts in South Florida.

She holds a BA in Communications from Seton Hill University and an MA in Employee Relations from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico. Her additional training includes Managing Communications During a Major Crisis (by the NTSB), Spokesperson training for Crisis Communications, and First Responder’s Emergency Management Certification (by FEMA’s National Training and Education Division).

Greg Phillips has over 40 years of aviation experience. He has been involved in designing general aviation and military aircraft and has over 30 years’ experience in aircraft accident investigation, accident prevention, liaison with domestic and international governmental agencies, aircraft and component manufacturers, airports, and aircraft operators.

Greg consults with Willis Towers Watson (a major international insurance brokerage) as their National Aviation Safety Consultant, and acts as an aviation safety and emergency response program advisor for airlines, corporate flight departments, airports, and aviation industry leaders. Greg also instructs aviation incident and accident investigation, aviation emergency response, and safety management systems courses for the University of Southern California (USC) Aviation Safety and Security Program through the Viterbi School of Engineering. He has provided accident and incident investigation training both domestically and internationally to many airlines, government agencies, and corporate flight departments.

Greg was an Aerospace Engineer, Senior Air Safety Investigator, Investigator-in-Charge (IIC), and United States Accredited Representative for the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington, DC from 1988 to 2004. He was involved in many major accident investigations including USAir flight 427, United Airlines flights 232 and 585, and Egypt Air flight 990. Greg also was an investigator for the Space Shuttle Columbia Accident Investigation Board team. He has appeared in several aviation accident investigation documentary programs.

Prior to joining the NTSB, Greg held engineering positions for over 9 years with Northrop Grumman (formerly Northrop Aircraft) in Los Angeles, CA and Cessna Aircraft in Wichita, KS.

He is a member of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators. Greg holds a commercial pilot certificate with instrument, multi-engine, and seaplane ratings.

Greg resides in Southern Maryland and South Carolina and is a graduate of the University of Evansville (IN) School of Engineering (1979) and holds a Master of Arts degree in Management (1985). He completed the George Washington University/Brookings Institution joint certificate program in Advanced Public Policy Leadership while with the NTSB.