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Time for Fika
A place to slow down, share a cup, and make room for a thoughtful conversation.
Come inConnect
Main Street
The heart of the community. A welcoming place where conversations happen, ideas are shared, and neighbors come together.
Four places. One community.
Where would you like to stop?
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Newsstand
Fresh work from around the site, gathered in one useful place.
See what’s new03
Community Hall
Preparedness, resilience, volunteering, and the work of strengthening communities.
Join the work04
The Bench
A quieter place to notice, reflect, and see familiar things from a different angle.
Take a seatCommunity Bulletin Board
Useful ways to prepare, help, and connect.
These are independent community events. Inclusion does not indicate that Sarah will attend.
Orlando · Community resilience
Florida Climate Week Trash Blitz Cleanup
Help collect and record litter at Eagle Nest Park, 5165 Metrowest Boulevard. Supplies provided. 9–11 a.m. ET. Free; volunteer registration.
Event detailsOrlando · Safety
Teen Driver Challenge
Practical driving skills including emergency braking, evasive maneuvers, skid recovery, and off-road recovery.
Program informationSarasota · Veteran connection
Veteran Coffee Social at Goodwill Manasota
Connect with veterans and local support at University Community Resource Center, 8490 Lockwood Ridge Rd, Sarasota. 10 a.m.–noon.
Event detailsSanford / Orlando · Veterans
Honor Flight Central Florida Mission #37
A fall Honor Flight with opportunities for the community to support veterans at departure and return.
Learn moreTampa Bay · Veterans
Veterans Inshore Slam
A fishing fundraiser supporting Veterans Build and its Week of Service.
Event informationOrlando · Veteran support
VA Healthy Relationships Workshop & Resource Fair
Connect with VA and community partners at Lake Nona VA; a personal safety class starts at 11:30 a.m. 11 a.m.–2 p.m. ET. Free; RSVP…
Event detailsField Notes
Selected past briefings and conversations
Religious Terrorism: A Classroom Conversation
Guest session with University of Tampa students during their terrorism course’s Chapter 6 discussion of religious terrorism, focusing on how extremist movements evolve and how to evaluate threats.
Continuing the Conversation with Firearms Instructors
Sarah returned as a guest of the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors and attended the October 1 banquet.
Tactical Mindset with Black Mountain Police
Participation in the Tactical Mindset event hosted by Black Mountain Police in Marion, North Carolina.
Opening the first Active Shooter Symposium
Sarah opened Florida’s inaugural Active Shooter Symposium with a discussion designed to help first responders and public-safety leaders understand the changing threat environment. The work was not about creating fear. It was about recognizing warning signs, improving coordination, and giving communities more time to make sound decisions.
Connecting the homeland-security community
At the South Central Task Force Homeland Security Conference, Sarah spoke with emergency-management, law-enforcement, and homeland-security professionals about the evolving threat picture and the practical value of building relationships before they are urgently needed.
Official conference program →Fifty years of police leadership
As keynote speaker for the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police’s 50th Annual Training Conference, Sarah translated national-security experience into a local leadership setting. The conversation focused on domestic-terrorism threats, strategic warning, and the role trusted local institutions play before and during a crisis.
See more Field NotesCompleted conversations, classrooms, and community work
Preparing for the Next Homeland Threat
Presented “Understanding the Threat Picture: Preparing for the Next Event on the Homeland” at the Florida Police Chiefs Association’s 73rd Annual Exhibition and Training Conference.
Official conference agenda →Inside the intelligence network
A four-hour session for the Iowa Law Enforcement Intelligence Network combined three hours of instruction with an extended discussion. The format allowed Sarah to move beyond a prepared briefing and work through how intelligence professionals assess changing terrorist threats, share warning information, and challenge assumptions.
Taking the conversation into the classroom
Sarah joined students in PSAA 472, The Terrorist Threat to the Nation; And How it is Countered, at the Bush School of Government and Public Service. The classroom setting created room to discuss how threats are assessed, how institutions respond, and where judgment matters when the evidence is incomplete.
Building awareness before a crisis
A public-safety seminar brought together first responders, community leaders, and church-security teams to examine domestic-terrorism awareness and what it means to operate “left of the bang.” The emphasis remained practical: recognize indicators early, strengthen local relationships, and help communities make better decisions.
Official event listing →Readiness beyond the uniform
A North Carolina Gang Investigators Association program connected law enforcement with the wider community. Sarah’s session addressed emergency readiness, domestic-risk awareness, and the habits that help families, churches, and neighborhoods feel prepared without living in constant alarm.
Preparing campuses for the threat environment
At Tennessee’s Statewide Campus Security Conference, Sarah delivered the closing session for university leaders, campus police chiefs, emergency managers, and security professionals. The discussion connected national terrorism trends with the decisions campuses must make to protect open, complex communities.
Before the emergency
A first-responders forum at Emmanuel University focused on the indicators that can appear before violence, the relationships that help communities respond, and the responsibility to turn national-level threat knowledge into something useful locally.
Turning threat knowledge into public-safety practice
Through Jacksonville State University’s Center for Best Practices in Law Enforcement, Sarah delivered a four-hour program for law-enforcement professionals. The university setting created room to connect counterterrorism and threat-awareness lessons with the judgment, relationships, and practical decisions required in local public safety.
Service at America’s Dinner
An evening honoring veterans became an opportunity to talk about national security, global threats, and service after coming home. The setting mattered: the conversation was grounded in gratitude for the people and families who continue carrying the cost of national service.
Read the recap →Lessons from Benghazi
A South Florida fireside conversation connected investigative work, institutional accountability, and the decisions people make under pressure. It also showed how national-security lessons can support thoughtful civic and philanthropic communities outside government.
Conference recap →Disaster philanthropy in practice
A policy conversation about Ukraine brought together humanitarian, philanthropic, and development leaders. Sarah contributed the operational view: how local partnerships, information sharing, and coordinated networks can make assistance more useful during a fast-moving war.
View the panel →Careers, service, and the work behind the title
A conversation with students about intelligence and public service offered a chance to discuss what those careers actually ask of people: curiosity, humility, careful judgment, and a willingness to remain with difficult problems after public attention moves elsewhere.
For safety, upcoming speaking engagements and travel schedules are not published.
For our partners in blue
Roll Call
Threat briefs, practical exercises, and lessons from the field for law-enforcement professionals preparing for what may come next.
A quiet corner of remembrance
For all who served, and those we lost in the Global War on Terror.
Service is carried in many ways: by those who went, those who waited, and the families and communities who still live with its cost. This is a small place to remember them with gratitude, honesty, and care.
A promise to the families
CIA Officers Memorial Foundation
The Foundation supports the education and well-being of the children and spouses of CIA officers who died in service to the United States.
Learn about the Foundation