See the bad things coming in time to prevent bad outcomes.
We help first responders understand human error, reduce the impact of situational awareness barriers and improve dynamic decision making.
About Us
We help first responders improve safety by ensuring members understand how to develop and maintain situational awareness while working in high-stress, high-consequence, time-compressed environments.
We also help departments identify opportunities for improving high-risk decision making outcomes and show them how to implement strategies to help members improve critical thinking and resilient problem solving skills.
As a result of our work, departments often share with us members are better equipped to develop and maintain situational awareness and they make better decisions on emergency scenes.
Meet our Team
Richard B. Gasaway
PhD, CSP, MBA, EFO, CFO, CVP
President and Principal Consultant
Richard B. Gasaway serves as the President of Situational Awareness Matters where he leads a team of expert instructors and thought leaders to train and consult on safety and leadership topics worldwide.
Dr. Gasaway is widely considered a trusted authority on human factors, situational awareness and the high-risk decision making processes used in high-stress, high consequence work environments. He has authored 7 books on topics related to situational awareness, high-risk decision making and leadership and his research has been featured in more than 400 book chapters, research papers, periodicals and websites.
He served 33 years on the front lines as a firefighter, EMT-Paramedic, company officer, training officer, fire chief and emergency incident commander. His doctoral research included the study of cognitive neuroscience to understand how human factors can flaw situational awareness and impact high-risk decision making outcomes.
More than 500 agencies and 90,000+ program participants have trusted the company’s programs to help improve situational awareness, high-risk decision making and operational safety. Program and consulting have been conducted throughout the United States, Canada, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.
Bart van Leeuwen
Certified Master Instructor
European Operations Manager
(based in Amsterdam)
Fire, Public Safety Information Technology
Bart van Leeuwen combines a unique set of experiences that combines the fire service, information technology, and academia. This allows him to provide a uniquely fresh perspective on issues involving data usage and human factors. As a public safety thought-leader, Bart helps fire departments integrate information technology toward solutions that improve situational awareness and high-risk decision making.
In addition to being a Certified Master Instructor, Bart runs the European Division of Situational Awareness Matters and is able to deliver our programs in Dutch, English, and German.
Bart has served 25+ years in the Dutch fire service in various positions in both career and part-time fire departments. He currently serves as a company officer in a large career fire department. Previously he served as instructor and has been involved in various innovative projects at various departments.
Bart serves as a group associate at the Human Centric Data Science group at VU University in Amsterdam where he regularly lectures on subjects related to using smart data for the fire service. He guides both bachelor and master students during their thesis projects.
He has delivered various keynote addresses at both technology and fire related conferences around the world and he is a frequent speaker on Smart data for Smarter Firefighting.
Drew Moldenhauer
MS, BS
Certified Master Instructor
Law Enforcement, Security,
Executive Protection, Use of Force
Drew Moldenhauer provides situational awareness training and consulting services on topics for law enforcement, private security, executive protection, active shooter response, crisis intervention, and use of force.
Drew has served nearly 2 decades in Law Enforcement with two police organizations in Minnesota. During this time, he has served as Active Shooter Instructor, Use of Force Instructor, Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Instructor and Field Training Officer.
In addition to serving as a police officer, Drew also teaches law enforcement programs for the Anoka County STEP Program and he holds adjunct professor positions at Hamline University, Concordia St-Paul University, Metropolitan State University, Normandale Community College and Hennepin Technical College.
Mr. Moldenhauer holds a Masters Degree in Public Safety Executive Leadership from St. Cloud State University.
Steve Gillespie
EdD, MS, BA
Certified Master Instructor
Fire & EMS
Steve Gillespie provides situational awareness programs, assessments, consulting services for public safety organizations.
Starting his public safety career in 1993, Dr. Gillespie is currently a professor with Columbia Southern University’s College of Safety and Emergency Services, teaching fire service and leadership courses to current and aspiring leaders. Dr. Gillespie’s research focuses on increasing knowledge transfer and decision-making in high-consequence time-compressed environments. Dr. Gillespie has presented on topics ranging from the use of simulation technology, decision-making and knowledge transfer in the United States, Canada, and in Asia.
Dr. Gillespie has held all ranks within the fire service, has served as a fire chief for two organizations, and also served as the Statewide Incident Management Program Chief for the Colorado Department of Transportation prior to joining the SAMatters team.
Dr. Gillespie earned a Doctor of Education degree in Organizational Leadership and Development and a Master of Science degree in Executive Leadership, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership, and an associate of Science in Fire Science Technology. Dr. Gillespie is also a certified self-defense instructor.
Jeremy Saul
MSEM, BS
Certified Master Instructor
Fire & EMS
Jeremy Saul provides situational awareness programs, assessments, and consulting services for fire and EMS organizations.
Mr. Saul completed 22 years of military service with the Air National Guard as a Firefighter, Crew Chief and Ground Safety Officer for the 193rd Special Operations Wing. His public safety career launched in 1995 when he became a volunteer firefighter in the suburbs of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In 2008 he joined the Harrisburg (PA) Bureau of Fire where he holds the rank of Captain/Acting Battalion Chief.
Captain Saul is trained in special operations, serving as a member of Pennsylvania Task Force One, Urban Search & Rescue (Hazmat Specialist), Dauphin County HazMat Team, and Harrisburg City’s Special Operations (Dive Team). He also serves as the apprenticeship coordinator for new hires.
Captain Saul has obtained multiple IFSAC/Pro Board certifications including Fire Officer IV, Fire Instructor II and Fire Inspector II. Captain Saul is credentialed as a fire suppression instructor through the Pennsylvania Fire Academy where he teaches a wide variety of firefighting, hazardous materials and specialized fire training topics.
Jeremy earned a master’s degree in Emergency Management from Millersville University and his bachelor’s degree in Fire Science & Emergency Management through Purdue University Global.
Jim Baldwin
BS, AAS
Certified Master Instructor
Corrections, Law Enforcement,
Fire & EMS
Jim Baldwin provides situational awareness programs, assessments, and consulting services for correctional officers, law enforcement, SWAT medics, fire and EMS personnel.
Since completing his service in the United States Marine Corps, Jim has served 32+ years in progressively responsible fire service roles including: Firefighter, EMT-Paramedic, SWAT Medic, Company Officer, Training Officer, and Fire Chief.
Jim also has 20+ years in law enforcement, serving as a Deputy Sheriff, Constable, Juvenile and Adult Corrections Officer, and Chief Administrator for a 276-bed correctional facility.
Chief Baldwin has also served as a training consultant for multiple first responder agencies and he works closely with the Tennessee Corrections Institute, to develop classes and statewide certification programs.
Esther Eberwijn
European Operations Coordinator
Administration, Logistics, Graphic Design
Our Focus
Human Error
- Understanding how human error occurs from:
- Slips in judgment -Inadvertently doing something different than what you intended to do.
- Lapses in memory –Forgetting to do something or losing your train of thought in the middle of a task.
- Flawed decision making –Doing the wrong thing while believing it was the right thing to do.
- Human error can happen to anyone at any time, even your most experienced and most well-trained members.
Situational Awareness
- Situational awareness (SA) barriers flaw and impact the (recurring) three-step SA development process:
- Perception –Gathering intel about what is happening (size-up).
- Understanding –Comprehendingthe meaning of the intel(sense-making).
- Prediction –Anticipating the outcome of future events (visioning).
- Situational awareness is the foundation for dynamic decision making.
Dynamic Decision Making
- Dynamic decision making involves making high-stress decisions that are:
- High-risk–The decision-making environment is very hazardous.
- High-consequence–Decision errors can cause catastrophic outcomes.
- Time-compressed –Quick decisions are essential due to rapidly changing condition.
- Dynamic decision makers usually only get one chance to get it right.
Our Programs
Flawed Situational Awareness: The Stealth Killer of First Responders
(live or virtual)
Learn best practices for developing and maintaining strong situational awareness. Customizable message ranging from a one-hour keynote to a full-day interactive workshop.
Firefighter Safety: Mistakes & Best Practices
(live or virtual)
Learn about ten common mistakes that lead to tragedy and best practices for improving outcomes.
Three-hour interactive workshop.
Training for Failure: Understanding How Training Practices Impact Safety(live or virtual)
This program will change your entire paradigm about how training should be conducted.
Three-hour interactive workshop. Can also be presented as a hands-on session.
Mental Management of Emergencies: Improving Decision Making Under Stress
(live or virtual)
Learn best practices for improving high-risk decision making outcomes.
Two-day interactive workshop.
The Competent Commander: 21 Essential Skills for Improving Incident Outcomes
(live or virtual)
Learn essential skills to improve high-risk, high-consequence decision making.
This is a full-day interactive workshop.
Situational Awareness Matters Online Academy(virtual program)
Learn everything you need to know about situational awareness & high-risk decision making. You can enroll in the 14 courses, individually, or sign-up for the entire academy.
Testimonials
