Subject Matter Experts & Speakers
Silverback Safety & Training Solutions, Inc.
SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS AND SPEAKERS FOR SILVERBACK SAFETY & TRAINING SOLUTIONS
Raffaele M. Di Giorgio
Raffaele M. Di Giorgio is an experienced law enforcement officer, tactical medical practitioner, instructor, author, and professional protector with more than 38 years of combined experience in military service, law enforcement, emergency medical services, tactical medicine, personal protection, and high-threat field operations.
Following honorable service in the United States Army, Raffaele continued his public safety career as a law enforcement officer and emergency medical provider before moving into international protective operations, tactical medicine, and specialized training support. His work has taken him throughout the United States and into complex operational environments including Afghanistan, Iraq, Kurdistan, Africa, Jordan, Pakistan, Italy, and Mexico.
Raffaele’s law enforcement background includes service as a patrol officer, deputy sheriff, field training officer, SWAT medic, police chief, and current criminal investigations division investigator for a county law enforcement agency. His operational experience gives him a practical understanding of patrol response, tactical team integration, investigative follow-up, officer safety, use-of-force realities, emergency medical response, and the command-level decision-making required during high-risk incidents.
As a special operations paramedic and tactical medicine instructor, Raffaele has worked at the intersection of medicine, tactics, and operational law for much of his career. His background includes support to tactical teams, protective details, government agencies, and military/law enforcement personnel operating in high-risk and non-permissive environments. He has provided instruction and mentorship to a wide range of candidates, including U.S. government and Department of Defense personnel, special operations units, protective security teams, tactical officers, medics, and partner-nation police and military units.
Raffaele has served as a senior instructor and team leader in programs involving VIP protection, tactical support teams, protection of national leaders, crisis response, advanced crisis response, explosive incident countermeasures, instructor development, tactical medicine, and operational field craft. His experience includes training and mentoring members of the Presidential Protection Detail in Mexico, the Iraqi National Emergency Response Unit, Iraqi Diplomatic Protection Unit members and medics, South African military personnel, Afghanistan National Police, Jordanian special protection and police special operations units, Yemeni protection units, and Pakistani police units.
He is the author of *Legal Considerations for Tactical Medical Responders* and *Emergency Medical Planning for Large Venues*. Through his writing, instruction, and field experience, Raffaele focuses on helping law enforcement officers, tactical teams, medics, emergency responders, and agency leaders understand not only how to perform under pressure, but also why tactics, medicine, law, policy, and command judgment must be integrated before a crisis occurs.
Raffaele remains active as a mentor, instructor, investigator, and operational practitioner. His teaching style is grounded in real-world experience, legally defensible decision-making, practical tactics, and the belief that responders must be trained to think clearly, move deliberately, communicate effectively, and solve problems under stress.
Rodney E. Andreasen
Rodney Andreasen is currently the owner of Xspct, LLC located in Marianna, Fl. He was born and raised in Marianna, located in Jackson County, Florida, graduating from Marianna High School in 1976. He joined the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1978 serving 21 years in a variety of assignments in the United States and overseas. He served as a Security Specialist and later as a Professional Military Education (PME) instructor and curriculum developer. He retired from active duty in 1999 with the rank of Master Sergeant.
In 1999 he was selected to develop trainers and training programs for the Florida Department of Revenue and in 2001 he was selected for the position of Emergency Management Director for Jackson County. In Sept 2004, he led the response to the tornadoes that were spawned by Hurricane Ivan and in October 2018, he led the response to Hurricane Michael that entered Jackson County as a Category 4 hurricane. He retired from that position in December of 2020 after serving 21 years in local and state government. In Jan 2021 he formed Xspct, LLC, conducting Physical Risk and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Assessments as well as Active Shooter Prevention Training for governmental and non-governmental organizations.
Education:
- Associates Applied Science - Industrial Security
- Associates Applied Science - Instructional Technology and Military Science
- Bachelor of Science - Liberal Studies
- Master of Science - Technical and Occupational Education
- Master of Science - Justice and Public Safety
- Master of Arts - Security Studies-Homeland Security and Defense
Certifications:
- Certified Emergency Manager (CEM)
- Florida Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Practitioner (FCP)
- School Security Specialist
- School Security Assessment Specialist
- Security Assessment Specialist
- Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Professional Designation (CPD)
- Incident Response to Terrorist Bombings Train the Trainer
- Prevention of Suicide Bombing Incidents Train the Trainer.
- Multi-Hazards Emergency Planning for Schools Train the Trainer
- Bomb Materials Awareness Program (BMAP) Community Liaison
- Bomb Materials Awareness Program (BMAP) Administrator and Trainer.
He has trained as a Protective Detail Specialist, as well as numerous active shooter prevention programs and has provided active shooter training, and consultation, to organizations and various programs to prepare personnel to meet active shooter threats.
Awards:
- 2005 Mark Trail Award - National Weather Service
- 2010 Emergency Manager Award- Fl Governors Hurricane Conference
- 2013 Chad Reed Emergency Management Professional of the Year - Florida Emergency Preparedness Association
- 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award- Fl Governors Hurricane Conference.
Dr. Kathy Platoni
Psy.D., DAAPM, FAIS, COL (RET), US Army, COL, Ohio Military Reserve/State Defense Forces
Dr. Kathy Platoni is a clinical psychologist with 44 years of practice and a retired U.S. Army Colonel. Across four wartime deployments, she provided combat stress control and clinical leadership at Guantanamo Bay, in Iraq, and in Afghanistan. She also supported the reintegration of soldiers returning from combat and developed combat stress control, debriefing, and crisis management programs used throughout the Army. She served for six years as the Army Reserve Clinical Psychology Consultant to the Chief, Medical Service Corps.
A survivor of the 2009 Fort Hood mass shooting, Dr. Platoni has devoted substantial work to military trauma, post-traumatic stress, critical incidents, and the needs of first responders. She currently serves as psychologist to the Dayton Police Department SWAT team and mental health advisor to its Hostage Negotiation Team. She has also provided disaster mental health support to New York City police officers and communities affected by hurricanes and tornadoes.
Dr. Platoni has written and taught on war trauma, PTSD, officer-involved shootings, mass-shooting survival, and related subjects. She co-wrote and edited two books on war trauma and serves as editor of Combat Stress Magazine. Her recognition includes the Legion of Merit and induction into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame. Her work brings clinical depth and direct operational experience to Silverback’s subject matter expert team.
Dr. Eric Serrano
MD
Dr. Eric Serrano is a physician whose work spans family medicine, sports medicine, exercise physiology, nutrition, and human performance. Athletes and other high-performing clients seek his expertise in evaluating complex health and performance concerns and developing individualized approaches to training, nutrition, and recovery.
Dr. Serrano earned his medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine after studying biology and exercise physiology at Kansas State University. He served on the faculty at The Ohio State University, where he received teaching and attending-physician recognition. His professional work has included medical practice, teaching, research, and consulting with athletes, coaches, and sports teams across multiple disciplines.
He has lectured on nutrition, sports medicine, injury prevention, and rehabilitation; contributed to sports and fitness publications; and held medical advisory and medical director roles. His combination of clinical practice and performance experience adds a valuable physician perspective to Silverback’s subject matter expert team.
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Gary M. Jackson
PhD
In Memory of Gary M. Jackson, PhD
Dr. Gary Jackson was a valued member of the Silverback Subject Matter Expert team, a next level intellectual operator , and a friend and mentor.
We are proud to keep his books here so others may continue to benefit from his knowledge and experience.
Rest easy, Doc. You made a difference.
Dr. Gary M. Jackson was the CEO and President of ANBECO, LLC. Trained as a behavioral psychologist with specialties in artificial intelligence and automated assessment, Dr. Jackson designed and developed scores of advanced applications across both corporate and U.S. Government settings. Dr. Jackson’s career spanned academia as a professor, director of R&D and treatment development in various clinical settings, research psychologist within the U.S. Secret Service Intelligence Division, Intelligence Officer and Chief of three advanced technology branches within the Central Intelligence Agency, vice president and director of research and development for a major psychological test development company, Director of the Center for the Advancement of Intelligent Systems (CAIS) for the American Institutes for Research, and founding President and CEO of Psynapse Technologies in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Jackson had extensive R&D and operational field experience in counterterrorism, counterintelligence, counternarcotics, and asymmetric warfare prediction, tracking, and locating. He held B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and an M.A. degree from the University of Illinois-Springfield. He also completed additional postdoctoral training in neurophysiology at the University of South Florida Medical School.
Dr. Jackson was the inventor of the patented automated behavior assessment Checkmate network intrusion protection system, Inmate network misuse detection system for insider threat, and Automated Behavior Analysis (AuBA) technology and tools. His previous book, Predicting Malicious Behavior: Tools and Techniques for Ensuring Global Security (Wiley & Sons, 2012), described the developed and patented automated behavior analysis (AuBA) technology and its applications. His most recent book, Surviving Mass Victim Attacks: What to Do When the Unthinkable Happens, described how to survive mass victim attacks and provided strategies for survival gleaned from past attacks.
Primary Areas of Expertise
- Design of fused behavior and computer science predictive applications
- Behavioral/psychological assessment
- Artificial intelligence/pattern classification
- Cyber threat within global and network domains
- Insider threat
