Our Team
David Ellis, Founder of GEMSEC Consulting
David Ellis is the founder of GEMSEC Consulting LLC and a seasoned security professional with extensive experience in managing safety and security operations for high-profile organizations and events. As a former Director of Security for a Major League Baseball team, David spearheaded long-term strategic security initiatives, significantly enhancing the organization's risk management and resiliency. His responsibilities encompassed incident and crisis management, event-specific security planning, executive protection, internal investigations, and the development and delivery of comprehensive training programs. He served as the primary liaison to local, state, and federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies, ensuring seamless coordination and security excellence.
David's expertise extends to managing security for major special events, including multiple Super Bowls, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game and World Series, the NCAA Bowl Championship Series, and numerous concerts and festivals. His role as a security consultant has involved supporting various entities with vulnerability assessments, training development, special event planning, and post-incident assessments.
Before his tenure in professional sports, David was part of the leadership team at a major university's Public Safety Department, where he managed the campus-wide event security program. The university hosted over 900 events annually, ranging from Division I sports to concerts and social gatherings. His leadership ensured the safety and security of these events, including managing game day security for large-scale football games.
With a comprehensive background in security management, David holds numerous emergency management and security-related credentials, including certifications from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, Center for Homeland Defense and Security, and the International Association of Venue Managers. His extensive training covers areas such as incident response, threat and hazard identification, and public safety and security operations. Additionally, David holds Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor certifications from the Federal Aviation Administration, underscoring his diverse skill set and commitment to safety and training in all aspects of his professional endeavors.
David is actively involved in the Event Safety Alliance’s Event Security Task Group and the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security, which recognized him with the Industry Leader Under 40 Award in 2016. He is a former chair of the Phoenix Area Security and Stadium Operations Working Group and a founding member of the Cactus League Spring Training Operations Committee. David has contributed to the American National Standards Institute ES1.40-2023, Event Safety – Security standard, and is involved in developing the second version of the Event Safety Guide, the United States’ first published safety guidance directed specifically at the live event industry. Since 2023, David has served as the ASIS International Phoenix Chapter Secretary and currently holds the position of Chapter Vice Chair.
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Michael Snader
Law Enforcement Consultant
Michael is a 25 year law enforcement veteran having served in multiple roles including patrol, investigations and as a supervisor. He has also served as a Resident Security Agent for Major League Baseball since 1997 where he supported physical security and special event operations around the world.
After leaving law enforcement, Michael was the Director of Cyber Investigations for a large consulting company where he leveraged his law enforcement and investigative experience to deliver cyber security solutions to major corporations.
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Eric Serednyj
Physical Security Consultant
Eric Serednyj is a United States Navy Veteran and Security Management Professional with over 10 years of experience in security, safety, investigations, and compliance operations. He has excelled in developing and executing policies and procedures for high-security facilities.
Eric's extensive knowledge of law enforcement and military principles, criminal investigation techniques, security equipment, and emergency management ensures the safety and compliance of complex environments.
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Jonathan Bearup
Physical Security Consultant
Jonathan Bearup is a highly experienced physical security professional having spent the last 8 years protecting our nation’s nuclear generating stations. During that time, he has served as a Nuclear Security Officer and as a member and Logistics Coordinator for Adversary Forces conducting penetration tests and delivering training.
His latest assignment is as a Security Program Specialist where he is responsible for ongoing development and review of security protocols, policies, procedures, and training.
Our Partners
NAVMC Veteran Consulting LLC
Providing Technical Surveillance Counter Measures to detect and locate electronic eavesdropping and illicit surveillance devices to protect your organization from information theft.
NAVMC Veteran Consulting deploys the most up to date spectrum analyzers to mitigate eavesdropping and illicit surveillance.
News and Links
Industry Leaders Under 40 to Receive Recognition during Sports Security Conference
5 Ways Event Security Leaders Can Face an Unknown Future with Confidence
Axon Accelerate 2022
Dave Ellis to present at the August ASIS Phoenix Chapter Meeting
ASU students float new idea for event security: Industry collaboration between the ASU Luminosity Lab and Axon leads to innovative Guardian Balloon system for campus and football game safety
A full day of security and public safety industry professionals coming together to prepare for the threats of tomorrow. Make sure not to miss this exciting event featuring a presentation by GEMSEC Consulting on the unique challenges facing the event security industry.
ANSI ES1.40-2023, Event Safety – Security, is a new standard. Developed by the Event Safety Working Group, this standard is intended to be a companion piece to ANSI ES1.9‐2020, Crowd Management, in that event security is an essential component of crowd management, and some of the reasonably foreseeable risks and risk mitigation strategies will overlap. It distinguishes between privately retained or volunteer security providers, and public safety officials such as police, sheriffs, constables, or firefighters who perform crowd control.
In this episode of The Event Safety Podcast, Danielle and Steve discuss the creation of the newly released ANSI ES1.40-2003 Event Security Standard with two contributing members of the standard's working group, Dave Ellis and Manny Marquez. Topics include an overview of the standard’s development, its "modern" approach to event security, what it addresses and what it does not, and why becoming involved in the standard-writing process is both professionally and personally worthwhile.