About our Consultants
704-540-0981
First Responder Grants, Inc
4033 Woodfox Dr.Charlotte, NC 28277
Margaret Stark
Sr. Certified Grant Consultant
17 + Years Grant Writing Experience
Margaret is the owner and manager of First Responder Grants, Inc.
Margaret Stark is a public safety grants consultant with particular specialization in law enforcement grants. With over 17 years experience in grant writing, Margaret has attained certification with the National Grant Writers Association to include:
Senior Certified Grants Specialist
Certified Grants Administrator
Certified Grants Specialist
Certified Grants Reviewer
Certified Grants Consultant
Over 10,500 Law Enforcement Agencies Assisted
During her career Margaret has assisted over 12,000 law enforcement and public safety agencies in obtaining grant-related information for applications and given assistance to agencies resulting in well over $150 million in funding.
Whether working via face-to-face meetings, telephone conversations, or email correspondence, Margaret helps law enforcement agencies identify available grant monies and then provides step-by-step direction as to how agencies may secure the needed funding as well as providing a final review of the application prior to submission.
Teaching & Training Across the U.S.
Margaret also teaches grant writing classes in academies, law enforcement facilities, and individual agencies across the U.S. Margaret is a nationally recognized speaker /instructor having presented at professional conferences and seminars such as:
- International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) annual conference
- American Society for Law Enforcement Trainers (ASLET) annual conference
- Virginia Chief's Association
- The Performance Institute
- Sigarm Academy
- CHIEF Grants Regional Seminars
- University of Virginia Command College
- Airborne Law Enforcement Association (ALEA)
- Congressman Steven LaTourette Annual Conference
- TREXPO East and West
Corporate and Practical Experience
Prior to her career as a professional grant consultant and instructor, Margaret served for four years as a grant writer for the Pulaski City Police Department in southwestern Virginia. She has an additional five years experience in writing grants and fund raising for non-profits as well.
During her professional career Margaret has been the grant consultant and grant training instructor for:
- TASER
- Patriot 3
- L-3 EOS
- StarChase
- Vectronix
- Homeland Defense Journal
- Zistos
- ITT Night Vision
- CHIEF Grants
- Xenonics
Also, an accomplished journalist, Margaret has written articles for PoliceOne.com, Officer.com, Air Beat Magazine, Law and Order Magazine, Homeland Defense Journal, Law Enforcement Technology Magazine, and many more.
Contact Margaret
704-540-0981 O
540-230-8440 C
Email: MStark@FirstResponderGrants.com
Kurt T. Bradley
Kurt is a nationally recognized public safety grants consultant and retired law enforcement officer and administrator.
He is currently the Sr. Consultant with First Responder Grants, Inc. specializing in the grant development and
grant training needs for Fire/Rescue/EMS and Emergency management agencies.
Qualifications
Kurt has attained certifications with the National Grant Writers Association as a:
Certified Grants Consultant
Certified Grants Reviewer
Certified Grants Administrator
Senior Certified Grants Specialist
Certified Grants Specialist
30 Years Public Safety & Grants Experience
He began his career in the USAF serving during the Vietnam era. He served as an Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems flight crew member and also with the nuclear Intercontinental Ballistic Missile program as an Astro Surveyor. He was a key member in the development and testing of the Global Positioning Satellite System (GPS) program currently in use today.
He is a USAF veteran and after an honorable separation in 1976, he began his 25 year career in law enforcement, retiring in 2001, as a Lieutenant and Assistant Chief with a Police Department in Central Florida. During his law enforcement career he was the commander of the communications and criminal investigations divisions for his department. He was a certified law enforcement instructor with the State of Florida and, after the events of 9/11, served with the regional FBI anti-terrorism task force. Kurt was also the grant writer for his city.
Upon retiring from law enforcement, Kurt worked for the local housing authority, writing grants for that agency to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He also wrote grants to corporate and private foundations for social service programs. He was involved in the administration of the $24.5 million HUD HOPE VI grant awarded to that agency and had responsibility for $3.2 million of social service programs. Kurt's work, while at this agency, resulted in several regional and national HUD “Best Practice” awards while he was employed there for programs that he developed.
From 2004-2009, Kurt was appointed to develop and direct CHIEF Grants ( a business unit of CHIEF Corp) and had responsibility for developing this new business unit providing grant writing training and grant development services to public safety agencies nationwide.
In 2009 Kurt was offered and accepted the position of VP of Homeland Defense Grants with responsibility for developing a full service grant consulting and training firm to assist public safety agencies across the US with a special interest in DHS funding streams. During his career, he has assisted his clients and public safety agencies win more than $225 million dollars in grant awards from corporate/private foundations, local, state and federal grant programs.
In Sept 2010 Kurt joined First Responder Grants, Inc. as a senior consultant joining forces with his longtime professional colleague and mentor, Margaret Stark to better serve the First Responder and Public Safety agencies of the US, and those companies serving them.
Author/Journalist/Speaker/Instructor
Kurt is available to give presentations and lead discussions on grant issues at conferences, summits, seminars and workshops. He regularly appears for grant strategy and development presentations with a specialized emphasis on DHS and public safety grant seminars across the country. He is a dynamic speaker and presenter who engages his audience and is renowned for his “meat and potatoes” style and his ability to present his subject matter in a format that is easily understood and comprehended well by the public safety employee.
Kurt is a regularly published freelance magazine journalist and guest columnist to public safety industry and Homeland Security publications. He was a guest staff columnist to several local newspapers and wrote a weekly law enforcement column. Kurt was the editor of his agency's newsletter and won both the FAHRO and SERC-NAHRO "Best Newsletter" awards for a housing agency in 2003. Kurt has been a featured guest columnist for the Homeland Defense Journal, FireRescue1, Campus Safety Magazine, JEMS, Fleet Safety Magazine and other public safety industry publications. He also is a prolific blogger in the Federal Grants and Funding thread of Firehouse.com forums.
He is co-author of the recently published reference work “Grant Writer’s Handbook for Successful Public Safety Grant Proposals” which is the first reference body of work specifically targeted and directed at the public safety sector in this field.
His broad range of experience in public safety, grant writing and journalism makes him uniquely qualified to handle the needs of public safety agencies and others, seeking grants to supplement their shrinking budgets.
As a grants consultant and retired public safety administrator, Kurt brings a unique perspective to this field both as a former agency “administrator-in-need”, and as a grant professional. His experience will serve your department well as you compete for the billions of dollars in grant monies that have been made available through the Department of Homeland Security and other public and private sources of grant funding.
Contact Kurt
863-551-9598 O
863-287-3958 C
Email: KBradley@FirstResponderGrants.com
Amalio "AJ" Jusino
Amalio "AJ" Jusino is a 21 year career public safety and emergency management professional specializing in training and financial affairs management of public safety and first responder agencies.
After successfully graduating high school, he continued his formal education in Business Banking Financial Management and Motivational Public Speaking. While obtaining his college education, AJ still maintained his passion for public safety as a volunteer firefighter and worked fulltime during a 10 year stint in the banking industry, gaining valuable experience in the financial management world. It was during this time that he recognized the need for better financial management skills in public safety and first responder agencies. He decided to pursue a full-time career in public safety and emergency management and left the banking industry to focus on this career path. He is a certified law enforcement officer in the State of MA, certified volunteer FF and/EMT and holds State and National certifications in Emergency Management and Preparedness.
It was also during this time that AJ started developing comprehensive campus safety plans and conducting risk and needs assessments for institutions of higher education and directing them into partnering relationships with local emergency service providers. In 2009, Amalio received recognition from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for his work in development of vocationally oriented programs and training for college age students to form EMS and C.E.R.T. squads in support of the campus safety planning he had performed.
During the last six years, he has been a grant consultant to public safety and first responder agencies across the NE Regional area. He has been
directly responsible for winning several million dollars in grant funding awards for his clients and employers from private/corporate, State and Federal grant funding programs.
AJ’s financial education and public speaking background has put him in demand as an instructor, speaker and facilitator in performing risk and needs assessments, public safety and emergency preparedness planning at both the State and National levels. He is a dynamic public speaker having addressed local, State and National audiences at conferences and educational seminars across the nation and throughout his
career, on a wide variety of financial and emergency management topics.
AJ is a consummate, experienced public safety professional. He brings value to his clients through his research capabilities, understanding of the dynamics of all aspects of emergency services and his knowledge regarding large scale incidents and the equipment that is needed to meet the ever changing requirements of Homeland Security. His educational background and “in the trenches” experience, make him an incomparable and invaluable resource to his clients.
Contact AJ
Email: AJusino@FirstResponderGrants.com
413-822-8669 O
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