Management Team
George E. Dickson, III, Chairman of the Board of Directors, CEO & President
Mr. Dickson has over thirty years of business experience. He worked closely with numerous start-up companies at
various levels including planning, raising capital, strategic alliances and recruiting key personnel. He co-founded and
was President of Dickson’s Cleartone, Inc. This company owns patented products that are distributed
internationally through a license and manufacturing agreement with Fishman Transducers, Inc. selling to major
musical instrument companies including Gibson, Fender, Martin and Guild. Mr. Dickson was the founder of
Calwave, Inc., and the interim CEO of Tectonics Research Group prior to its merger into SWS. Mr. Dickson
studied international management and marketing at San Jose State and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.
Michael Price, COO/CTO
Mr. Price has over thirty-five years of product design and development management experience. Before joining
Seismic Warning Systems, Mr. Price was President and Founder of a business process management startup
company. Previously, he was a VP of Engineering at Creative Technology where he was responsible for the
initiation and development of a highly successful consumer audio product line, a precursor of the iPod. Before that,
he was Sr. VP of Engineering and Manufacturing at Emu Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of Creative Technology
producing high-end professional electronic musical and sound editing instruments where he was responsible for all
new product development, R&D, manufacturing, service, and IT. Mr. Price was previously VP of Engineering at
Pixar, a 3D computer graphics and animation company, and part of the original startup team at Valid Logic
Systems, a computer-aided engineering software company at which he held many positions including VP of
Engineering. He started his career at Hewlett-Packard designing test equipment and software development systems.
Mr. Price obtained a BSEE from Carnegie-Mellon University followed by graduate studies at the University of
Colorado and Stanford University.
Scott Nebenzahl, Vice President Sales & Director of Government Affairs
Mr. Nebenzahl has over 25 years of sales, marketing, political and strategic development and management
experience in the public, private, and philanthropic sectors. He has served as Vice President, VP of Sales, VP of
Business Development, Regional Director and Executive Director in profit and not-for-profit organizations. Mr.
Nebenzahl was an independent business consultant and advisor to early stage security and technology firms focused
on Homeland Security and Hazard Mitigation segments. He has been involved in local, State and National politics
at various management levels including: fundraising and campaign management , campaign organization and field
outreach. He served as a local planning commissioner and volunteer fire fighter. He is an expert in federally
mandated disaster mitigation requirements and holds FEMA BCA and grant writing certification. Mr. Nebenzahl
holds a BS from University of California, Santa Barbara in International Relations & Govt. Affairs.
Dr. Gilead Wurman, Chief Seismologist
Dr. Wurman has been an active seismologist for over a decade. He spent three years developing the ElarmS
earthquake warning system, and helped to implement ElarmS for real-time testing that is currently underway in a
collaboration between UC Berkeley, Caltech, and USGS. He has conducted and published research about
earthquakes in areas as diverse as the Pacific Ocean near Mendocino, CA and the Dead Sea in Israel. Dr. Wurman
brings experience working in both academic and industry positions in fields including geographic information
systems and laser optics. He has worked at Arizona State University and UC Berkeley, and in private companies
ranging from startups to established defense contractors. He holds a B.S. in Geophysics from Caltech, and M.S. and
Ph.D. degrees in Earth and Planetary Science from UC Berkeley.
Dr. Douglas Dreger: University of California at Berkeley
Dr. Dreger received his Ph.D. in seismology from the California Institute of Technology in 1992. He has been a
member of the department since 1996, and an affiliate of the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory since 1992. His
research interests are in the areas of seismic wave propagation, earthquake and non-earthquake seismic source
processes, and in the development of methods for the reduction of earthquake losses and real-time earthquake
monitoring.
Royce 'Rocky' Saunders, Director of Sales
Mr. Saunders spent twenty years in state government, six years with the University of California, and ten years in
the private sector. Mr. Saunders has a broad-base of knowledge, skills and abilities including extensive knowledge of
the California’s legislative, executive processes and has been a featured speaker a numerous conferences. He is a
member of the Board of Directors for Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disaster (CARD), a local non-profit
organization that is focused on hard to serve communities. Previous positions include Principal Consultant to the
Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Services and Homeland Security, Chief of Staff to State Senator Cecil
Green, Chief of the Programs Branch in the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Services
Manager at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA), a
Certificate in Total Quality Management and he is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) through the
International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM).
Chief Blake G. Goetz, Regional Director and iHub Coordinator
Chief Goetz has over 35 years of fire service and emergency management experience and has been the incident
commander at hundreds of emergency incidents including numerous large scale complex multi-agency fires. Chief
Goetz has coordinated the local response and recovery for six Presidential Disaster Declarations and specialized in
Aircraft Rescue Firefighting at Palm Springs International Airport. Under his leadership, the City of Palm Springs
developed an a dvanced Technical Rescue Team which maintains two State of California Type II Urban Search andRescue vehicles.
Chief Goetz holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Fire Protection Administration and Technology from
California State University at Los Angeles, and a Certificate in Management Practices from California State
University San Bernardino. He is a Certified Chief Officer with the California State Fire Marshal’s Office and was a
Certified Emergency Manager (C.E.M.) from 1998-2009 with the International Association of Emergency
Managers (IAEM).
Mr. Dickson has over thirty years of business experience. He worked closely with numerous start-up companies at
various levels including planning, raising capital, strategic alliances and recruiting key personnel. He co-founded and
was President of Dickson’s Cleartone, Inc. This company owns patented products that are distributed
internationally through a license and manufacturing agreement with Fishman Transducers, Inc. selling to major
musical instrument companies including Gibson, Fender, Martin and Guild. Mr. Dickson was the founder of
Calwave, Inc., and the interim CEO of Tectonics Research Group prior to its merger into SWS. Mr. Dickson
studied international management and marketing at San Jose State and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.
Michael Price, COO/CTO
Mr. Price has over thirty-five years of product design and development management experience. Before joining
Seismic Warning Systems, Mr. Price was President and Founder of a business process management startup
company. Previously, he was a VP of Engineering at Creative Technology where he was responsible for the
initiation and development of a highly successful consumer audio product line, a precursor of the iPod. Before that,
he was Sr. VP of Engineering and Manufacturing at Emu Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of Creative Technology
producing high-end professional electronic musical and sound editing instruments where he was responsible for all
new product development, R&D, manufacturing, service, and IT. Mr. Price was previously VP of Engineering at
Pixar, a 3D computer graphics and animation company, and part of the original startup team at Valid Logic
Systems, a computer-aided engineering software company at which he held many positions including VP of
Engineering. He started his career at Hewlett-Packard designing test equipment and software development systems.
Mr. Price obtained a BSEE from Carnegie-Mellon University followed by graduate studies at the University of
Colorado and Stanford University.
Scott Nebenzahl, Vice President Sales & Director of Government Affairs
Mr. Nebenzahl has over 25 years of sales, marketing, political and strategic development and management
experience in the public, private, and philanthropic sectors. He has served as Vice President, VP of Sales, VP of
Business Development, Regional Director and Executive Director in profit and not-for-profit organizations. Mr.
Nebenzahl was an independent business consultant and advisor to early stage security and technology firms focused
on Homeland Security and Hazard Mitigation segments. He has been involved in local, State and National politics
at various management levels including: fundraising and campaign management , campaign organization and field
outreach. He served as a local planning commissioner and volunteer fire fighter. He is an expert in federally
mandated disaster mitigation requirements and holds FEMA BCA and grant writing certification. Mr. Nebenzahl
holds a BS from University of California, Santa Barbara in International Relations & Govt. Affairs.
Dr. Gilead Wurman, Chief Seismologist
Dr. Wurman has been an active seismologist for over a decade. He spent three years developing the ElarmS
earthquake warning system, and helped to implement ElarmS for real-time testing that is currently underway in a
collaboration between UC Berkeley, Caltech, and USGS. He has conducted and published research about
earthquakes in areas as diverse as the Pacific Ocean near Mendocino, CA and the Dead Sea in Israel. Dr. Wurman
brings experience working in both academic and industry positions in fields including geographic information
systems and laser optics. He has worked at Arizona State University and UC Berkeley, and in private companies
ranging from startups to established defense contractors. He holds a B.S. in Geophysics from Caltech, and M.S. and
Ph.D. degrees in Earth and Planetary Science from UC Berkeley.
Dr. Douglas Dreger: University of California at Berkeley
Dr. Dreger received his Ph.D. in seismology from the California Institute of Technology in 1992. He has been a
member of the department since 1996, and an affiliate of the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory since 1992. His
research interests are in the areas of seismic wave propagation, earthquake and non-earthquake seismic source
processes, and in the development of methods for the reduction of earthquake losses and real-time earthquake
monitoring.
Royce 'Rocky' Saunders, Director of Sales
Mr. Saunders spent twenty years in state government, six years with the University of California, and ten years in
the private sector. Mr. Saunders has a broad-base of knowledge, skills and abilities including extensive knowledge of
the California’s legislative, executive processes and has been a featured speaker a numerous conferences. He is a
member of the Board of Directors for Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disaster (CARD), a local non-profit
organization that is focused on hard to serve communities. Previous positions include Principal Consultant to the
Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Services and Homeland Security, Chief of Staff to State Senator Cecil
Green, Chief of the Programs Branch in the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Services
Manager at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA), a
Certificate in Total Quality Management and he is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) through the
International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM).
Chief Blake G. Goetz, Regional Director and iHub Coordinator
Chief Goetz has over 35 years of fire service and emergency management experience and has been the incident
commander at hundreds of emergency incidents including numerous large scale complex multi-agency fires. Chief
Goetz has coordinated the local response and recovery for six Presidential Disaster Declarations and specialized in
Aircraft Rescue Firefighting at Palm Springs International Airport. Under his leadership, the City of Palm Springs
developed an a dvanced Technical Rescue Team which maintains two State of California Type II Urban Search andRescue vehicles.
Chief Goetz holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Fire Protection Administration and Technology from
California State University at Los Angeles, and a Certificate in Management Practices from California State
University San Bernardino. He is a Certified Chief Officer with the California State Fire Marshal’s Office and was a
Certified Emergency Manager (C.E.M.) from 1998-2009 with the International Association of Emergency
Managers (IAEM).