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Bryan Saunders is the Operational Response Branch Chief with the Response Programs Division of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. He came to this position in 2017 with a longstanding knowledge of search and rescue, especially the Virginia Search and Rescue system, being an Adjunct SAR Instructor since 2005. Bryan has taught many classes to agencies throughout Virginia, and West Virginia, creating and maintaining valuable relationships with those jurisdictions.
A native of Marion, VA, Bryan has been a responder since 1988. He volunteered in Emergency Medical Services as an EMT, and as an ALS provider, adding Search and Rescue to his resume in 1998.
In 2002, he embarked on a journey to help build the Black Diamond Search and Rescue Council. This agency provides search and rescue resources to the most western fourteen counties of Southwest Virginia. He led that agency successfully from 2004 until 2015, when he planned his move to Richmond, VA.
Having responded to over 100 missions in, and outside of, the Commonwealth, Bryan fulfilled many roles on searches, including Search Mission Coordinator. He was also part of Black Diamond’s Technical Rescue Team, and Cave Rescue Team, and has responded to missions requiring those skills and specialty training.
Serving as the Vice President of the Virginia Search and Rescue Council from 2008 until 2017, Bryan built bridges, created multiple processes, and participated on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) committee. He has also chaired, or co-chaired, the Virginia SAR Conference for the past three years, during which time it has grown to be one of the biggest SAR conferences on the East Coast, drawing many attendees from out of state.
Bryan leads and coordinates with team leaders to oversee implementation of Memoranda of Understanding with 20 state contract special operations search and rescue teams and the strategic planning, budgeting, standard operating procedures, personnel and equipment readiness of those teams within a budget of approximately $0.5M. He coordinates with the Division Directors of Response Programs and of Training, Education, and Exercises for the annual training of new SAR students and the currency standards of approximately 600 SAR personnel statewide. Serving as the senior subject matter expert on all wilderness and lost person Search and Rescue issues and incidents in the Commonwealth for the State Coordinator, he may respond statewide or nationally during emergencies as a representative of the State Coordinator or Governor. Bryan works closely with law enforcement on SAR and missing person issues and collaborate on agency response as a member of local or state unified commands. He will also serve and represent VDEM and the Commonwealth on committees and task forces that influence national policy related to wilderness, missing persons, or lost persons search and rescue. Bryan also supervises the state Urban Search and Rescue, Swiftwater, Communications Caches, Incident Management and UAS teams as part of his day to day duties.
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