EM Disaster Gaming partners with the finest collection of Disaster Game Designers and Creators worldwide.
Diverse Partnership
EMDG partners and supports Disaster Game Designers across the United States from a variety of backgrounds from first responders, the military, veterans, pracademics, and homeland security and emergency management.
All Domains, All-Hazards
We bring the best of disaster gaming to the forefront and offer a variety of games from our Disaster Game Designers spanning first response, emergency & disaster management, homeland security & national security, defense support of civil authorities and even general public emergency preparedness education.
Meet our Game Creators & Join Us!
Meet our amazing Game Designers and Creators below that have partnered with EMDG!
If you're a Disaster Game Creator and want to join EMDG please reach out to our Founder Dr. Arthur J. Simental at arthur@emdisastergaming.com
Dr. Rick White, PhD., USAF Ret.
Dr. White is a retired Air Force officer and university professor living in Colorado Springs. During his twenty-year Air Force career he served as a programmer analyst, network engineer, software engineer, Communications Director for Operation Provide Comfort, Deputy Communications Commander for Cheyenne Mountain, and professor of military studies at the Air Force Academy. He earned his Ph.D. in Engineering Security and conducted research in infrastructure risk analysis for the Department of Homeland Security while teaching in the Computer Science Department at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He has published five books and more than twenty professional articles on homeland security, including “A Theory of Homeland Security” in 2019. He also spent three-years developing homeland security exercises for USNORTHCOM. Dr. White is now mostly retired enjoying travel and time with his wife, children, and grandchildren.
Stephanie Poling, MSc, MA
Stephanie Poling is a specialist in One Health, simulation exercises, and mathematical modeling, with a career dedicated to translating complex challenges into clear, actionable strategies. She designs and facilitates simulations that mirror real-world conditions, enabling teams to test responses, strengthen collaboration, and refine decision-making under pressure. With a background that bridges scientific rigor and operational practice she brings systems thinking and analytical precision to every project. Her work is grounded in a commitment to practical, outcome-driven solutions. By combining mathematical modeling with the holistic perspective of One Health, Stephanie develops tools and frameworks that not only prepare organizations for emerging health and environmental challenges but also drive resilience and long-term impact. She thrives at the intersection of theory and practice, ensuring that every exercise or model leads to improvements that can be applied immediately and sustainably.
Joseph Leonard, Jr. CEM, CGEMC, NEMEA, MEP, MCP, (CDR, USCG, ret.)
Joe is a 45-year veteran of the emergency response community with emphasis on emergency management and preparedness. I am a recognized authority, speaker, and published author on All-Threat/All-Hazard incident management, comprehensive contingency plans, and effective training and exercise programs. Joe serves as the Chair of the Greater Harris County Local Emergency Planning Committee and as President of IAEM Region VI. I’m an Adviser on the Preparedness Leadership Council. Joe volunteer with the USCG Auxiliary where he serve as a Flotilla Commander and National Division Chief for the Auxiliary University Program. Joe is Coast Guard-qualified as an Incident Commander, Planning Section Chief, Operations Section Chief, and Liaison Officer. Joe is certified as a Master Exercise Practitioner (MEP) and Master Continuity Practitioner (MCP); a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM); a Certified Homeland Protection Professional (CHPP); and a Certified Port Executive (CPE). Joe holds the Coast Guard Emergency Management Credential (CGEMC) and an Executive Military Emergency Management Specialist (MEMS-E).
Todd Manns, Founder / Owner, The Blue Cell, LLC
Todd serviced in the United States Marine Corps Reserves in the early nineties. Military service led to a career as a Police Officer / SWAT Team member and law enforcement sniper, an interim Chief of Police, post 9/11 work as a surveillance operative, followed by seven years as an Emergency Manager for a Fire Protection District. Formally qualified as a type III Planning Section Chief and having passed S-420 as a planning section chief, Todd has incident management team experience and over 30 all-hazard deployments to both Incident Command Posts and Emergency Operations Center locations, on local and state level intermediate and complex incidents and planned events. Todd’s natural entrepreneurial drive led him to combine his commitment to service and education into a successful business model. Todd has owned and partnered in numerous business ventures since the 1980’s Todd is the Founding Owner and Managing Partner of The Blue Cell, LLC which was established in 2009. The Blue Cell, LLC currently does business in all 50 states, multiple US Territories to include all levels of government and the private sector with students engaging from all over 17 countries. Through the covid years The Blue Cell, LLC operated as a consulting firm to over 20 Fortune 500 firms and expanded its substantial list of government clients to over a dozen high profile Federal Agencies. In 2021 The Blue Cell, LLC became the world’s most active in person and virtual training and exercise company in the Incident Command System and Consequence Management field. In 2025 The Blue Cell, LLC in partnership with Simental Industries, LTD. released the Disaster Wargame, Emergency Operations Center, Complex Coordinated Attack 8.
Mark Borland, DM
My name is Mark Borland. I’ve been playing family games since I was old enough to roll dice. I discovered Dungeons & Dragons at age twelve, which sparked a lifelong passion for storytelling, world-building, and RPGs. Since then, I’ve played nearly every major role-playing game system ever made and competed in tabletop war gaming tournaments. Over the years, that love evolved into teaching narrative design and sharing storytelling techniques with others, including serving as a panelist at Denver Comic Con. In 2004, I began my journey in emergency and disaster services starting in wildland and structural firefighting, search and rescue, and law enforcement support before moving into emergency management. Since then, I’ve worked across local, state, and federal levels, from tabletop exercises to large-scale disaster operations. With over 20 years of experience and deployments to more than 40 major federal declarations nationwide, I’ve learned the value of leadership, resilience, and communication in crisis Now, I’m bringing both worlds together—merging my passion for emergency management with storytelling, gaming, and education to inspire, train, and empower others to think strategically, act decisively, and adapt under pressure.
Victoria (Maxwell) Kluge, MA, GA-CEM, CM
Victoria Kluge is a consultant and game creator specializing in emergency management training and resilience design. Drawing on a background in crisis coordination and policy implementation, she develops immersive tabletop and simulation based exercises that translate complex emergency operations into actionable learning environments. Her work bridges operational planning and creative design, using game mechanics to explore decision-making under pressure, cross-agency coordination, and adaptive leadership during disasters. Victoria’s approach integrates academic research, real-world incident
experience, and participatory methods to strengthen preparedness and response capacity across organizations and communities.
Sarah Lux M.A., MPIO, PIO3-AHFounder | Lux Communications
Sarah Lux earned a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Central Florida and a master’s degree in Public Relations from Full Sail University. Sarah has practiced Public Relations for over 13 years, specifically focusing on community education, government affairs, and crisis communications. She has deployed to aid communications in other communities ten times, including Fort Myers Beach after Hurricane Ian. She earned her Master PIO certification in 2024, a federal training program that has accepted and certified fewer than 200 PIOs nationwide. Lux prides herself on her ability to clearly explain complex governmental matters to citizens in her community. She currently serves as Community Information Manager for the City of DeLand and owns her own communications consulting firm, Lux Communications Strategies.
Andrew Boyarsky, MSM, PMP, CBCP, cABCF, President of Pinnacle Performance Management
Andrew Boyarsky, MSM, PMP, CBCP, cABCF, is President of Pinnacle Performance Management, and an emergency management, business continuity, and disaster recovery
specialist with 30 years of experience in project management. He is also a Clinical Associate Professor in Project and Emergency Management at NYU and John Jay College of Criminal
Justice (CUNY). In the early 1990s, he managed large-scale emergency programs overseas in former Yugoslavia and in the Caucasus with the Red Cross and Catholic Relief Services. From 2007-2016, Prof. Boyarsky was Program Manager helping the NYC Office of Emergency Management in emergency preparedness. His clients have included FEMA, the Regional Catastrophic Planning Team of NY-NJ-CT-PA, Los Angeles Emergency Management Dept., NYC Emergency Management Dept., NYC Dept. of Health, and Baltimore City Health Dept. He is the author of Riding the Wave: Applying Project Management Science in the Field of Emergency Management (CRC Press).
Philippe Borremans
Philippe Borremans is a Crisis, Risk & Emergency Communication Consultant and Managing Director of RiskComms FZCO. He has spent more than 25 years working across 50+ countries, building crisis and emergency communication plans and delivering crisis simulation training for international agencies — WHO, ICRC, ECDC, IAEA — alongside governments and corporations. His career began at Porter Novelli in Brussels, before he joined IBM. There, he spent a decade in corporate and crisis communications, establishing his first crisis room. He has held the positions of former President of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) and former Vice President of IARCC. Philippe is the author of two books: Mastering Crisis Communication with ChatGPT: A Practical Guide (2023) and Building Your Crisis Communication Plan — The Complete Step- By-Step Workbook for 2026. He has also contributed to the Global Resilience Standard (GRS 1001-RN:2026) and co-authored a peer-reviewed paper in Health Communication (2026). His proprietary frameworks — including the GATE Model, the Cascade Containment Framework, and Narrative Bio-Security — form the backbone of his consulting and training work.
He produces the Wag The Dog newsletter and podcast (roughly 2,000 subscribers, with a
64–68% open rate), where he lays out his approach: technology, data, and empathy, working together to help organisations navigate crises and emergencies that don't wait politely for a plan. www.riskcomms.com