Behind The Shield

Dr Ken Ford is a Navy veteran, former NASA computer scientist and the Founder and Chief Executive Officer Emeritus of the Florida Insitute for Human and Machine Cognition. We discuss his journey into the military, living in Guantanamo Bay, the genesis of computers in the military, the moon landing, exploring Mars, Tier One operators, the firefighter workweek, exoskeletons, sleep for performance and so much more.
With campuses in Pensacola and Ocala, IHMC has grown into one of the nation’s premier research organizations with world-class scientists and engineers investigating a broad range of topics related to building technological systems aimed at amplifying and extending human cognition, perception, locomotion and resilience.
Dr. Ford is the author of hundreds of scientific papers and six books. Dr. Ford’s research interests include: artificial intelligence, cognitive science, human-centered computing, and entrepreneurship in government and academia. Dr. Ford received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Tulane University. Ford is a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and a charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.
Ford has received many awards and honors including the Doctor Honoris Causas from the University of Bordeaux in 2005 and the 2008 Robert Englemore Memorial Award for his work in artificial intelligence. In 2012 Tulane University named Ford its Outstanding Alumnus in the School of Science and Engineering. In 2015, the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence named Dr. Ford the recipient of the 2015 Distinguished Service Award. In 2017 Dr. Ford was inducted into the Florida Inventor’s Hall of Fame.
In January 1997, Dr. Ford was asked by NASA to develop and direct its new Center of Excellence in Information Technology at the Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. He served as Associate Center Director and Director of NASA’s Center of Excellence in Information Technology. In July 1999, Dr. Ford was awarded the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal. That same year, Ford returned to private life and to the IHMC.
In October of 2002, President George W. Bush nominated Dr. Ford to serve on the National Science Board (NSB) and the United States Senate confirmed his nomination in March of 2003. The NSB is the governing board of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and plays an important role in advising the President and Congress on science policy issues. In 2005, Dr. Ford was appointed and sworn in as a member of the Air Force Science Advisory Board.
In 2007, he became a member of the NASA Advisory Council and on October 16, 2008, Dr. Ford was named as Chairman – a capacity in which he served until October 2011. In August 2010, Dr. Ford was awarded NASA’s Distinguished Public Service Medal – the highest honor the agency confers.
In February of 2012, Dr. Ford was named to the Defense Science Board (DSB) and in 2013, he became a member of the Advanced Technology Board (ATB) which supports the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). In 2018, Dr. Ford was appointed to the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence.
In 2020, Florida Trend Magazine named Ford one of its Living Legends, a list of all-time influential Florida leaders in business, medicine, academia, entertainment, politics, and sport.

Mike Wynn is the Director of The Quell Foundation’s First Responder Resilience Project (FRRP), where he leads the development and execution of strategic programming focused on supporting the mental health and well-being of first responders nationwide.
A former Chief of Police for the Pittsfield (MA) Police Department, Mike brings nearly 30 years of leadership experience in law enforcement, training, and community engagement. He has served as a use-of-force and defensive tactics instructor, developed department-wide training programs, and was appointed by Governor Charlie Baker as an inaugural commissioner on the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST-C).
Mike is deeply passionate about officer wellness and resilience, and throughout his career has championed progressive training, mental health awareness, and leadership development. He is a member of several national law enforcement organizations, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), and regularly consults on policy, leadership, and use-of-force standards.
Mike holds a Bachelor of Arts from Williams College and a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice from Anna Maria College. He is also the author of Rising Through the Ranks: Leadership Tools and Tactics for Law Enforcement. He lives in Pittsfield with his wife and their two adopted sons.
https://thequellfoundation.org/leadership/mike-wynn/

Leah Pells is a three time Olympian in athletics, published author of “Not about the medal” and registered clinical counsellor. Leah and runs her own private practice where she mainly works with firefighters. We discuss her own turbulent childhood, catharsis through running, compassionate coaching, burnout in youth athletes, her journey to mental health counseling, sleep deprivation, EMDR and so much more.

Dan John is an elite athlete, author and revered strength and conditioning coach. We discuss the impact of war on his family, training the youth athlete, physical education, gut biome, rehabilitating the tactical professions and so much more.
Dan has spent his life with one foot in the world of lifting and throwing, and the other foot in academia. An All-American discus thrower, Dan has also competed at the highest levels of Olympic lifting, Highland Games and the Weight Pentathlon, an event in which he holds the American record.
Dan spends his work life blending weekly workshops and lectures with full-time writing, and is also an online religious studies instructor for Columbia College of Missouri. As a Fulbright Scholar, he toured the Middle East exploring the foundations of religious education systems. Dan is also a Senior Lecturer for St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London.
His books, on weightlifting, include Intervention, Never Let Go, Mass Made Simple and Easy Strength, written with Pavel Tsatsouline as well as From Dad, To Grad. He and Josh Hillis co-authored “Fat Loss Happens on Monday.”
In 2015, Dan wrote Can You Go? on his approach to assessments and basic training. In addition, Before We Go, another compilation akin to Never Let Go became an Amazon Bestseller.
In early 2017, Dan’s book, Now What?, his approach to Performance and dealing with “life,” became a Bestseller on Amazon. Hardstyle Kettlebell Challenge, published also in 2017, focused on the keys to the kettlebell.
His most recent book, Attempts, is a collection of short essays for both the professional coach and trainer and the “rest of us.” He is currently working on a new edition of “Easy Strength” with Pavel.

JD Madden is a retired Deputy Fire Chief, USAR Task Force Leader and Board Member of the SIREN Project. We discuss his journey into the fire service, Hurricane Katrina rescues, the importance of proactive preparedness, recruitment, his powerful mental health story, saving lives with psychedelics and so much more.
https://www.thesirenproject.org/