About

Who We Are

Knudsen Taylor Limited was founded in Vancouver, Canada, with a specific goal in mind: to help organizations build the capacity to be ready for anything. We focus on total business planning and organizational resilience to help you be ready for the day-to-day and prepared for the worst. KTL’s consultants have advanced degrees in their fields, and at least 15 years of real-world, direct, and complimentary experience. This holistic and diverse union of perspectives, theory, and practice is essential to our analytic, data-driven, pragmatic, and flexible approach.

Our network of consultants and technical experts have over 80 years of combined hands-on problem-solving expertise and are supported by a dedication to continuous improvement, including LEAN and Six Sigma practices. We believe that, while organizations face similar risks and challenges, how they prepare and respond is what sets them apart from the competition. Understanding what makes each organization different helps us identify each client’s specific needs and how best to meet them. You can count on your projects being skillfully managed by our team of experts,  delivered on time and on budget, and verified and scrutinized by leading industry experts. We pay attention to the smallest details and ensure alignment with applicable standards and best practices. 

With KTL, you’re ready for anything.

Founding Partners & Executive Leadership

Jared Knudsen (he/him/il)

Jared has over 20 years experience in public safety, security, emergency and disaster management, and business continuity. He earned a graduate degree in Disaster and Emergency Management (MDEM), and is proud to be a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM®) through the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM).

Jared has lead and guided emergency management and business continuity for many high-reliability, high-availability organizations, including government, health care, post-secondary education, aviation, and broader transportation portfolios; his expertise is regularly sought out by stakeholders in both the private and public sector. Certified in LEAN/Six Sigma methodology by the Council for Six Sigma Certification (CSSC), his approach to policy design and implementation focuses on efficiency, standardization, and continuous improvement. His emergency management and public policy philosophies centre around a belief that connected communities and pragmatic strategies maximize resilience, and that communities, industry, and government are stronger, together.

In his spare time, Jared enjoys spending time with his two large-breed dogs, exploring the Pacific Northwest, and getting up into the mountains for “coordinated falling” (also known as downhill skiing). He takes pride in serving his community every chance he gets, including joining the volunteer Canadian Ski Patrol in 2001, serving on an IAEM regional board, and mentoring new Emergency Managers joining the profession.

Ian Taylor (he/him/il)

Ian has an extensive background in administrative management, project management and organizational strategy development. He holds a graduate degree in Business Administration (MBA), and has experience in private, public, and federally-regulated sectors.

Ian’s project management success emphasizes pragmatism, aligning actions with overarching organizational goals and ambitions. His professional work has allowed him to refine a mastery of public sector management, including navigating complex regulatory and legislative contexts, and highly unionized environments. Ian prioritizes meaningful, sustainable outcomes in his project leadership, and offers a calm, deliberate approach to difficult and high-stakes changes, emphasizing stakeholder buy-in and building internal capacity through process improvement. He believes a shared organizational vision is fundamental to project and operational success, and strives to building understanding at all levels of an organization to achieve better, more effective results.

When he’s not solving tough problems for clients, Ian enjoys challenging himself physically through weight-training, playing guitar, and wrestling his strong-willed dogs in busy downtown Vancouver. He can often be found in the North Shore mountains hiking, skiing, or generally exploring all the west coast has to offer.

Senior Partners

Scott Brewer  (he/him/il)

Scott is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM®) and has over 15 years of experience in all-hazard incident management, emergency and disaster management, business continuity, public safety, and security. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in earth and atmospheric science, and has a keen interest in environmental climate change, and its effects on emergency preparedness and disaster vulnerability.

Scott spent nine years developing his leadership style in front-line wildfire fighting, specializing in rappel (Rapattack) and air operations. During this time, he became a staunch advocate and expert in the Incident Command System (ICS), and has brought this passion into his work training and developing incident management capacity in organizations. With a strong community focus, Scott’s hand-on experience and expertise in incident management training, exercise facilitation, and continuous improvement are instrumental in our holistic approach to emergency management, and connecting theory to practice for our clients. He is passionate about developing programs and services that meet clients’ unique needs, and has a knack for navigating complex legislative and regulatory contexts with ease. Scott believes clear processes and open communication are essential to effective emergency planning and he brings this approach to his professional practice.

In his spare time, Scott enjoys human-powered pursuits in the mountains. He can often be found in a pair of hiking boots or skis, riding a bike, or losing a few fishing lures on a river. In any case, his dog is never far behind to share the adventure.

Michael Yee  (he/him/il)

Michael has over 15 years of experience guiding organizations in emergency management, business continuity, IT disaster recovery, public safety, security, risk management, project management, and occupational health & safety.

In addition to industry certifications, Michael holds a bachelor of commerce degree, and brings high performance sport coaching and military training experience to our team. His personal and professional experience has refined his unique holistic perspective, which has benefitted a diverse client group ranging from non-profits, government entities, and private sector businesses. He takes pride in his approach to understanding each client’s unique position and needs, much like the thousands of athletes he has coached over the years. Michael’s strength in rapidly connecting stakeholders to a shared vision and effective project leadership style will enable this project’s short turnaround time to delivery.
 

Our Network Consultants and Technical Experts

Amanda Barros  (she/her/elle)

Amanda has more than 12 years experience in Emergency Management, focusing on social services, mass fatality response and recovery, and the intersection between law enforcement and community planning. Amanda holds a graduate degree in Disaster and Emergency Management, which culminated with her thesis on emergency preparedness for adults with developmental disabilities and residential supports.

Amanda has front line experience in both the Southern Alberta Floods (2013) and Fort McMurray Wildfires (2016), is an active member of Canadian Task Force Two and an approved ICS Canada instructor (I-300). She knows how critical community led recovery is to long term resilience, and is passionate about integrating a community perspective into all-hazards emergency planning. In her free time, she volunteers as much as she can, and currently serves as president of her community league, coach of several soccer teams and is active on numerous community boards. 

Chris Lammiman  (he/him/il)

Chris is a collaborative emergency management professional with leadership experience in both municipal and provincial governments, as well as the non-profit sector. He holds a Master of Arts in Disaster and Emergency Management and has published his graduate research on gendered vulnerability to disasters.

A compassionate and thoughtful leader, Chris has a high level of political acumen and is adept at “leading up”. His relational style enables him to support a wide range of stakeholders, from team members to elected officials. In addition to extensive incident management experience, Chris is a strong communicator and is skilled in developing emergency response plans, post incident assessments, standard operating procedures, communication plans, incident situation reports, and executive briefings. Chris’ own passion for learning makes him a natural educator, with experience developing emergency management exercises and delivering Incident Command System training and other courses.

Outside of his vocational pursuits, Chris tries to spend as much time as possible outside, whether on a canoe, backpacking, hiking, camping, gardening, or just out for a stroll. He is a passable bass guitar player and has recently been trying his hand at the drums.

Kim Nelson (she/her/elle)

Kim is an innovative emergency manager with 20 years experience within health and government sectors. Kim holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences and English, which complements her expertise in national consensus building and knowledge of complex systems. Kim builds strong networks in order to develop robust and integrated emergency plans.

Kim is passionate about incorporating principles of change management and resiliency, and develops emergency management programs with an all-hazards approach. She firmly advocates for emergency management programs that integrate with existing organizational culture and strategy. Kim believes emergency management and business continuity need to be more than a plan on a shelf. She works collaboratively with clients to generate value whether responding to an incident or during regular operations.

In her spare time, Kim enjoys running, building Lego, and cooking with her two children. 

Bettina Williams

Chelsey Dawes

Clint Vair