My work spans research, product definition, and validation for products that hand off to 911, dispatch, search and rescue, and emergency medical response. I have built those features, and I have been on the receiving end of them.
I work with product, engineering, safety, quality, research, and innovation teams whose products are used in high-consequence environments or depend on emergency response systems.
Your product depends on emergency systems, and you want to understand them from the inside.
You are defining how your product behaves in the moment that matters, down to the wording.
A decision is coming that has to hold, and you want independent evidence behind it.
You want to know how your product performs where people actually use it.
You are entering a new market and want to know how emergency response works there.
A product can perform exactly as designed and still fail in the field. Cold hands, low battery, poor connectivity, incomplete location information, stress, and downstream responder workflows all change how a system behaves.
For more than a decade, I've worked inside those conditions. I've led more than 1,000 mountain rescue and avalanche operations, forecasted avalanche hazard for the federal government, and worked as an AMGA ski guide and EMT. I've also consulted on consumer emergency systems used by millions, including satellite-based SOS, crash detection, and 911/PSAP validation for a Fortune 10 technology company.
That combination is why I started Gravity Strategy. I can work with a product team on the design of an emergency system and understand what happens to that system once a real user, dispatcher, rescuer, bad weather, limited connectivity, and incomplete information enter the picture. More about my background ↗
Map the emergency systems, agencies, and users your product depends on, and turn what you learn into decisions your team can act on.
Learn more ↗Decide how your product behaves when it matters, from alerting strategy and use cases through requirements and prototypes.
Learn more ↗Independent testing and analysis showing how your product performs under real conditions, before a decision that has to hold.
Learn more ↗Beyond the fixed-scope engagements above, I take on discovery and field research, emergency systems and regulatory mapping, product definition and alerting strategy, operational performance analysis, and implementation support. I also hold standing advisory and committee roles, which run ongoing rather than as a fixed-scope project. Start a conversation ↗
I typically work with product, engineering, safety, quality, research, innovation, and investment leaders responsible for products used in remote or high-consequence environments.
When a project requires it, I recruit and facilitate guides, forecasters, rescuers, dispatch professionals, medical professionals, field operators, experienced users, and representative consumers.
They contribute operational knowledge, research insight, or testing participation. They aren't a standing Gravity Strategy staff or the client the work is built for.
I'm based in North Conway, New Hampshire, where I can run projects in sub-zero temperatures, wet weather, complex mountain terrain, low-connectivity areas, and rapidly changing conditions. Depending on the project, I can also recruit experienced guides, avalanche professionals, rescuers, medical professionals, field users, and representative consumers.
Winter weather
Complex mountain terrain
Low or intermittent connectivity
Cold-related battery performance
Gloves and reduced dexterity
Poor visibility
Fatigue and time pressure
Multi-agency or responder workflows
Access to experienced professional users
Locations, permissions, safety plans, and participants are arranged on a project-specific basis. Gravity Strategy does not claim standing access to specific land, agencies, facilities, or personnel.
I don't think field testing should stop at whether a device functions outside the lab. For safety-critical products, the harder question is whether the complete system still works when the user is cold, distracted, under stress, working with incomplete information, or dependent on connectivity and downstream responders.
My research and writing look at those interactions across outdoor technology, human behavior, and emergency-response systems.
I'm an avalanche forecaster, mountain guide, search and rescue leader, EMT, and product consultant focused on safety-critical technology.
I lead every Gravity Strategy engagement myself. When a project requires expertise I don't have, I bring in specialists for that specific work rather than handing the project to junior staff. Read the full story ↗
Whether you're pre-launch or scaling, tell me what you're building and the conditions it has to work in. If you already know my work, the fastest path is a short call.