Michael Schaff

Michael Schaff has spent more than three decades responding to disasters, medical emergencies, and complex crises in the United States and around the world. He retired from the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department in 2018 as a Battalion Chief in the Special Operations Division. In his final assignment, he served as Program Manager and Task Force Leader for USA-1/Virginia Task Force 1, one of the nation's premier urban search-and-rescue teams. He is also a nationally registered paramedic with more than 33 years of experience in critical-care air and ground patient transport.

Schaff's work has taken him from hurricanes and earthquakes to international disaster zones where decisions had to be made with limited time and incomplete information. His deployments include responses to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, the 2017 Mexico earthquake, and hurricane operations in Dominica. He has also served as a member of the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination system, working within international response structures that coordinate assistance with affected nations and relief organizations.

After retiring from the fire service, Schaff joined the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security as a disaster-response specialist, where he helped develop its global disaster-response capability. Today, he advises Salus clients on emergency policy, preparedness, mitigation, command and control, and real-time crisis operations. His approach is practical: understand the situation, put experienced people around the problem, make the decision, and get to work