James Colleran is an Account Manager with RedLand Strategies. In this capacity, James (Jimmy) works closely with all members of the RedLand team to cultivate a deep understanding of the capabilities, needs, and objectives of all RedLand clients. Jimmy’s day-to-day responsibilities include providing project support, monitoring business opportunities, and staying up-to-date with New York legislation for our clients. In addition, Jimmy supports the RedLand executive team and our clients by conducting extensive research and offering in-depth analysis on a wide variety of topics, including technology, legislation, healthcare, emergency management, and much more.
Colleran’s involvement in his community goes above and beyond. He has volunteered time with the Feeding America food drive, Relay for Life, Let’s Move Olympics, as well as fundraisers for Rady’s Children’s Hospital, Life Rolls On, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation
James Colleran graduated with honors Magna Cum Laude, from the University of San Diego where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a Minor in English. He later went on to attain his J.D. from the University of San Diego and is now a member of the California Bar Association.
With more than 30 years of executive leadership experience, Tom DeJesu contributes invaluable knowledge in government affairs, public relations, marketing, public policy, and emergency management. As former Director of Government and Public Outreach for the New York Racing Association (NYRA), Tom regularly interfaced with various state agencies and officials, such as the New York State Economic Development Corporation, PSEG, LIRR, and the NYS Office of Homeland Security.
After earning his Juris Doctor from Hofstra University, Tom was appointed Director of Regional Affairs in the New York State Department of State by Governor Mario Cuomo in 1983. He later joined Rubenstein Associates, where he provided crisis management and strategic planning support to various municipal, health, and institutional clients.
As Vice President of Government and Public Affairs at the New York Power Authority, Tom served as a trusted advisor and counsel to the CEO, Board of Trustees, and other senior management as it related to critical legislative, regulatory, and policy issues. In this role, he developed successful public relations campaigns for the Hudson Transmission Project and the Great Lakes Off Shore Wind Project Initiative (GLOW).
In recognition of his expertise, Tom was awarded high-level positions with the Long Island Power Authority and KeySpan. He remained with both companies for over twenty years, a testament to his dedication. Today, Tom is an active member of the Long Island Association, Long Island Housing Partnership, Business Council of New York State, and the New York Building Congress. As Vice President of Government Affairs for RedLand Strategies, Tom delineates strategic public relations campaigns for clients and continues to grow his professional relationships with state officials.
As Project Manager, Jessica Nott plays an integral role within the RedLand Strategies Team. Jessica works closely with senior executives to develop various emergency management and business continuity plans and supports the facilitation of client training sessions. In addition, Jessica supports our clients by conducting research, monitoring state legislation, and preparing white papers.
Since joining the company over five years ago, Jessica has remained dedicated to furthering her understanding of government and emergency management. In 2019, she became an Associate Member of the Business Continuity Institute after completing her final examination and certification requirements. Throughout the course, Jessica learned how to design Business Continuity Management solutions and threat mitigation strategies, as well as how to conduct a business impact analysis and risk assessment.
In 2020, Jessica began her pursuit of a Master of Science in Enterprise Risk Management at Columbia University. Rather than focusing on risk at the individual level, this master’s degree focuses on risk at the enterprise level, a unique approach to risk management, governance, messaging, and quantification. She is expected to graduate from Columbia University in December 2023.
As an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, Jessica was selected for the University’s Federal Semester Fellowship Program seminar on Homeland and National Security Policy. This led to a subsequent internship within the Emergency Management and Safety Branch at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a component of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). There she was exposed to various emergency planning, testing, training, and exercising.
Jessica graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Politics. Her involvement in Sigma Delta Tau sorority demonstrates Nott’s ongoing desire to connect with her surrounding community through various service projects and philanthropic events.
Mary Gracey-White serves as a Healthcare Consultant and Advisor to RedLand Strategies, specializing in issues related to long term health care and emergency management planning and preparedness. Gracey-White has been a registered nurse for 30 years, including over 23 years in the Post-Acute Care Industry as well as 7 years in the Acute Care setting. Her Post- Acute Care experience includes 6 years as a Wound Care Director providing direct care, conducting Wound Rounds and In-service programs as well as serving as a liaison to community hospitals to ensure residents received continuity of care to promote wound healing. Presently, Mary is the Director of Clinical Compliance and Quality Assurance at Greater New York Health Care Facilities Association. Present responsibilities include promoting and assisting approximately 75 Nursing Home members achieve and maintain regulatory and clinical compliance.
Mary is highly experienced in the development and refinement of processes, procedures, and outcome measures for health care organizations. Based on this extensive knowledge of and hands on experiences in various healthcare settings she offers a view of what improvements can be made to move forward in the ever changing health care industry. She focuses on strategic objectives and develops strategies to produce positive outcomes.
Her experience also involves being a participant in legal and legislative matters pertaining to healthcare. Her involvement with the NYS Department of Health is extensive and she has been instrumental collaborating with this agency to develop initiatives to enhance many healthcare programs.
Mary Gracey White is a certified Nurse Aide Trainer, a member of the Advisory Board of the NYC Department of Health Long Term Care Emergency Management Program, a member of the Long Term Care Disaster Planning Council and a member of the American Association of Directors of Nursing Services.
Colonel Anthony Basile lends his extensive experience from his 31 years of military service to our team, advising on issues related to aviation, safety, crisis management, and media relations.
Colonel Basile earned his degree from Fordham University in 1977, and then completed undergraduate pilot training in 1981. He then served in various roles throughout his military career:
John Gibb, in his role of Strategic Emergency Management Advisor provides the RedLand Strategies’ team and clients with insight from his 30-plus years of comprehensive emergency management and homeland security experience. He specializes in prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery across a broad array of technological, natural and terrorism-related hazards.
Gibb served four New York State Governors as a leader of the State’s emergency management and homeland security agencies. Gibb was at the forefront of the complex integration of state homeland security and emergency management agencies when New York State created the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. His involvement in that merger postured him to take the helm of the new agency as Acting Commissioner.
Prior to this post, Gibb held a long list of positions, including:
Gibb received his Bachelor of Arts in Geography from the University of Albany. His extensive emergency management knowledge knows no bounds. He is proud to share his expertise with RedLand Strategies’ diverse client base.
Stephanie Balboni is RedLand Strategies’ Director of Operations and oversees the firm’s daily business operations, service coordination, staff direction, and facility management. Balboni draws on more than 20 years of business experience to keep the RedLand Strategies team and office organized and on the mark. She works closely with the senior executive team to ensure a continued flow of information is established and ensures the team meets and exceeds client expectations.
Prior to joining RedLand Strategies, Balboni spent 15 years in the television, real estate, and insurance industries in marketing, sales and business development roles. Most recently, she served as Vice President of Business Development for a major title insurance agency in the New York metropolitan area. She’s also had a front-row seat for local political campaigns as well as the inner workings of state and local government. Balboni holds an Undergraduate Degree in Education from SUNY Cortland and a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Dowling College, Oakdale NY.
Balboni wears many hats at RedLand Strategies. To guarantee every client’s utmost satisfaction, she closely tracks all assignments to ensure prompt and quality responses. She also manages internal and external business operations, internal human resources, information technology, brand marketing and executive special events. Balboni also serves as RedLand Strategies’ compliance officer and maintains awareness of the New York State and New York City Lobbying laws to ensure that both RedLand Strategies’ and its clients are always in compliance with lobbying regulations.
James M. Sherry brings decades of unmatched service in government, homeland security, and crisis management to his role as Senior Vice President of RedLand Strategies. He keeps the RedLand Strategies train on the tracks, and recently led the RedLand Strategies team that built and redesigned, tested, and exercised the crisis management plans for large healthcare, and financial services clients.
Sherry’s past leadership roles in New York State government include service as Deputy Commissioner for Downstate Operations, Executive Deputy Commissioner, and Acting Commissioner of Homeland Security. He has regularly collaborated with NYC and its suburban counties and has also worked as Special Advisor for Public Safety in the New York State Governor’s Office.
Sherry’s past positions include:
Sherry’s political experience includes managing state legislative campaigns in competitive districts. At the age of 18, he won a competitive race for the 1984 Mineola School Board.
Sherry is a graduate of St. John’s Law School and St. John’s University. In 2012, he graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security’s Executive Leaders Program. Sherry was recognized by the New York National Guard for “exceptionally meritorious service” and has received the Conspicuous Service Medal.
Hon. Michael A.L. Balboni is the President and Managing Director of RedLand Strategies. Balboni has both the expertise and strategic knowledge to understand and react to the most difficult problems that you might face in both government and business. Before entering the private sector, Balboni served the public in New York State for 19 years, beginning with his election to the New York State Assembly in February of 1990. He was re-elected to the NYS Assembly four times before winning a seat in the NYS Senate. He then served in the New York State Governor’s Office as Deputy Secretary for Public Safety and Homeland Security Advisor for New York State, overseeing 13 state agencies.
In March 2023, Balboni achieved the National Association of Corporate Directors CERT Certificate in Cyber-Risk Oversight, a certification created in partnership with Ridge Global and the CERT Division of the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. From 2017 – 2023, Balboni, appointed by the NYS Governor and confirmed by the NYS Senate, served as Chair of the Cyber and Physical Security Committee to the New York Power Authority’s Board of Trustees. He is currently a Board Member of the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security (CCHS) at George Washington University, a member of the Board of Trustees for Adelphi University, and a Trustee for the New York State Trooper Memorial Foundation. In 2019, and in response to his public safety and homeland security experience and leadership, Michael Balboni was appointed to the U.S. Department of Transportation Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee, commonly known as the Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC).
Balboni currently serves as the Executive Director of the Greater New York Health Care Facilities Association, a trade association providing regulatory compliance and life-safety services to more than 80 nursing homes in the NYC metropolitan area.
In addition to his New York State government service as an elected official, Balboni has held other leadership positions, including:
Balboni’s government, homeland security, and healthcare expertise is the cornerstone of RedLand Strategies. Balboni’s drive and resourcefulness have proven to be invaluable to his wide-ranged client base. He’s available 24/7 to his clients and is always looking for ways to help them succeed. He’s deployed to work side by side with clients during communication crises.
Balboni completed his undergraduate studies at Adelphi University and earned his Juris Doctorate degree at St. John’s Law School.
Balboni appears on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC and is often invited to speak at national and international conferences. Balboni recently delivered a keynote speech for the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism’s (ICT) 2018 World Summit on Counter-Terrorism in Israel. He focused on four mega trends that will drive opportunity, touching on topics such as ubiquitous computing, data is the new oil, everything is cyber and cloud computing. He then spoke about four mega trends that will drive vulnerability: fake news, compromised Internet of Things, Industrial Controls Manipulation, and Low Cost / High Impact Attack Platforms. Balboni provided his expert insight and possible solutions going forward. He also emphasized the need to protect critical infrastructure and the weaponization of social media.
Balboni previously presented at the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) World Conference in London and the Non-Conventional Threat (NCT) Europe Conference in Germany. His speaking engagement topics include terrorism, cyber security, crisis communications, politics, technology, intelligence sharing, immigration, media strategy, brand protection, and emergency response.