Lauren Collins comes to Maryland ERS with expertise in the field of Emergency Management, with an extensive knowledge in Emergency Planning, Exercise and Training, and Incident Command System (ICS).

Prior to Lauren joining the ERS team, she worked in Local Government, first with the Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security and the City of Annapolis Office of Emergency Management. Most recently, Lauren supported a federal client providing consultative expertise in exercise and training as well as emergency preparedness planning. 

Lauren has over 9 years of experience in Emergency Planning, Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Operations, conducting and evaluating HSEEP compliant exercises, and operating with an Incident Management Team. She has designed and conducted numerous exercises to include Active Shooter, Point of Distribution, hazardous weather response and much more.

Lauren holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology and Investigations from West Virginia University and a Master’s Degree in Integrated Homeland Security Management and a Post Baccalaureate certificate in Security Assessment from Towson University.

Nicole Markuski is an Emergency Management Professional with over 10 years of experience in the areas of homeland security policy, homeland security grants management, emergency management, training and exercise facilitation and evaluation, and all-hazards planning. Nicole completed her undergraduate studies at Towson University, where she studied Sociology/Criminal Justice, respectively. She holds a Master of Science degree in the field of Integrated Homeland Security Management with a focus on Security Policy, as well as, a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Security Assessment and Management. She is also a graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security Emergence Program. 

Nicole is truly passionate about her work and is always eager to connect with other emergency management professionals. While she enjoys all aspects of her job, her favorite stage of a project is working with the stakeholder to understand their program priorities and help them to meet their objectives and achieve their goals. As she enters the collaborative process, the ideas start to flow and to her that is always the fun part!

Joe Coyne joined the Finance & Logistics Team at Maryland ERS in November 2016. His prior experience includes 20 years of financial and grants management with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service in Maryland. He guided their grant administration efforts from the application stage to project closeout and successfully led the department through detailed audits of grants totaling many millions of dollars. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish Language and Literature with a minor concentration in Economics from the University of Maryland. He also completed an Accounting Certificate program at Montgomery College in Maryland.

Hannah Thomas comes to Maryland ERS with experience in the field of Emergency Management and Public Health Emergency Response. Before joining the ERS team she worked in State Government with the Maryland Department of Health in their Office of Preparedness and Response. There she served as the acting State Coordinator for the Web-based Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP) where she oversaw 24 local Maryland Responds Units comprising over 4,100 medical and public health Responder profiles. Most recently, Hannah worked for the City of Annapolis Office of Emergency Management. There she gained experience in Emergency Planning, Exercise and Training, Emergency Response, UAS Operations, and Community Outreach. Hannah has real world experience in Active Shooter Response, Emergency Operations Center Activations, the implementation of the recovery process of a large scale public health emergency, and operating within an Incident Management Team. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a minor concentration in Leadership and Social Change from Virginia Tech.

Peter McCullough comes to Maryland ERS with experience in the field of Emergency Management from a legal perspective. Before joining the ERS team he worked at the Center for Health and Homeland Security (CHHS). In that position he was assigned to the District of Columbia Homeland Security Emergency Management Agency (DCHSEMA) to aid in the city’s preparation for the 2021 Presidential Inauguration. Additionally, he worked with the Anne Arundel County Office of Emergency Management to support their COVID-19 response efforts. Before working with CHHS he attended and graduated from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law with a concentration in Cybersecurity and Crisis Management Law. During his time at law school, he worked at the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office, Baltimore City Circuit Court, United States District Court Greenbelt Division, Maryland Law Pretrial Release and Parole Advocacy Clinic, and the Maryland Office of the Attorney General Organized Crime Unit. He holds a bachelor’s degree in History with a minor in Media Studies.

Oscar joins us with experience in the field of Emergency Management and Crisis Intervention from a community outreach level. Before joining the MDERS team, Oscar worked at the Housing Initiative Program and Interfaith Works in Montgomery County as a Service Coordinator. There he managed a caseload of 22 at-risk individuals providing social advocacy while maintaining inter-agency cooperation with various community healthcare providers, hospitals, and public service organizations. In this position, Oscar developed Support Service Plans outlining response, recovery, and prevention measures in collaboration with Aging & Disability and Adult Protective Services. Additionally, he served in a Trauma Subcommittee and the Lead for Impact Program through the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) gaining experience in Crisis Communication and Resiliency. Oscar participated in an Inter-Professional Scholars Program with DHHS working in interdisciplinary teams providing inferences on the effectiveness of integrated health and human services. Oscar holds a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology from the University of Maryland and a Master of Professional Studies degree in Homeland Security with a focus on Emergency Management and Political Violence from George Washington University.

William “Abe” Abuelhawa comes to Maryland ERS with over 28 years of law enforcement and project management experience. He is a retired police officer; his career included over 28 years of law enforcement experience as a Prince George’s County Police Department member at various ranks and assignments. His last assignment held was for leading 30 sworn police officers specially trained in Special Weapons and Tactics. As the Commander of the Tactical Section, he developed, coordinated, and executed multiple Incident Action Plans resulting in successful completion. Additionally, he has worked in coordination with the Conflict Management Team as Tactical Operations Commander, Supervisor, and officer on thousands of operations while serving in the Special Operations Division for 23 of his 28 years with the Prince George’s County Police Department. He is currently working to finish his undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice from Central State University. He is graduating with Honors in the Spring of 2023. He is a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success and the Honors Society. He received the Trilogy Award for completing the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association trilogy series of courses for leadership development. He has also obtained a MicroCert through Louisiana State University as a Homeland Security Specialist. He has attended Leadership training sessions with Harvard University National Preparedness Initiative (META Leadership, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution), Command Leadership, Direct Action Resource Center Tactical Supervisors Management Course, Tactical Energetic Entry Systems Command Control and Leadership, and the National Tactical Officers Association (SWAT Command Decision Making and Leadership). He helped develop and instruct the first Leadership School (ICS, Unified Command, and Rescue Taskforce) to front line supervisors and commanders.