Madalena DeAndrea Survivor, Borderline Active Shooting Senior Manager of Strategic Projects, Recovery & Resiliency Jefferson Co. Public Schools
Madalena is the oldest daughter of Deputy Chief AJ DeAndrea( retired). The backdrop of her childhood were the events of her father’ s historic career. A Colorado Native, Madalena received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Strategy from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2018. During her time at CU, she served as Student Body President for her 30,000 classmates which gave her the unique opportunity to directly manage a $ 24-Million budget, lead a 500-person organization, speak to crowds of 8,000 + people, and work with world leaders like His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Vice President Joe Biden.
Following her undergraduate studies, Madalena worked for a non-profit in Los Angeles, CA. While serving in this role she went out for a night of dancing with her friends at Borderline Bar and Grill and the unthinkable happened- a gunman came in and started shooting. Madalena was able to find safety in the attic above the bar where she stayed for the remainder of the tragedy as 12 people, including responding Police Officer, Sgt. Ron Helus, were killed.
After surviving the Borderline tragedy, Madalena had to make a decision about what her future would look like. Within a week, she made a choice to not let evil win and to be a force for good in the world.
After serving four years as an Emergency Management Specialist for Jeffco Public Schools, the School District she grew up in, Madalena now proudly serves as the Senior Manager of Strategic Projects, Recovery, & Resiliency for Jeffco. In this first of its kind position, Madalena supports the proactive implementation of strategic safety initiatives and recovery planning prior to crisis occurring. She is a certified Threat Liaison Officer for the state of Colorado and is trained in CPTED, CIT, FEMA’ s Incident Command Series and Professional Development Series, and Single Officer Response to an Active Shooter.
In her spare time, Madalena travels the country telling her story and sharing her message of hope, resiliency, and post-traumatic growth with law enforcement agencies, school districts, businesses, and community organizations. Madalena is passionate about empowering individuals and communities with the mindsets and tools needed to build resiliency even in the face of life’ s uncertainties!
Robert J. Darling President & CEO, Turning Point Crisis Management-USA
Bob Darling is the President and CEO of TPCM-USA. Bob served as a Marine Corps attack helicopter pilot and a presidential helicopter pilot supporting President Clinton with Marine Helicopter Squadron One( HMX-1). He was subsequently selected to serve as an Airlift Operations officer for the White House Military Office( WHMO) under President George W. Bush where he stood shoulder to shoulder with our nation’ s highest leaders during the 9 / 11 / 01 attack on our nation. Bob is a graduate of Harvard University’ s seminar on Crisis Leadership, and an internationally recognized speaker on Crisis Leadership and Decision-Making. Bob is the author of 24 Hours Inside the President’ s Bunker; 9 / 11 / 01: The White House, and a contributing author on crisis leadership to The Routledge Companion to Risk, Crisis, and Security in Business.
As a public speaker, Lt. Col. Bob Darling has addressed numerous academic, government, military, and civic organizations to include the CIA, FBI, U. S. Marshals Service, Navy Space Warfare Center, U. S. Marine Corps, U. S. Air Force, Washington D. C. chapter of the Program Management Institute, Harvard University’ s John F. Kennedy School of Government, Iona College, Defense Language School, and the Military Officers’ Association of America. He is regularly featured as a guest lecturer about Crisis Leadership and Counterterrorism at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
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