Jacques Island
Citizenship: USA
Languages: English, Spanish
An experienced crisis manager, he served for six years with the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service and was awarded a Meritorious Honor Medal for his leadership in evacuating the U.S. embassy in Nicaragua when it was under siege during the civil war. He also received seven commendation awards from the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) during a 20-year career as a Special Agent investigating organized crime, drug trafficking, and terrorism, and for service during emergencies as an F.B.I. crisis manager and hostage negotiator. In 1998 the U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Florida, named him “Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.”
As a Regional Security Officer with the State Department, Mr. Island was responsible for the safety and security of personnel assigned to the U.S. embassies, missions and consulates in Latin America. That included the preparation of complex vulnerability, risk and threat assessments, and managing the security of countless high-profile diplomatic special events in the U.S. and abroad. Ambassadors and consular officers also called on him frequently to deal with police on behalf of U.S. tourists and ex-patriots.
As an F.B.I.-certified police instructor he taught crime intelligence, crime scene processing, and hostage negotiations to prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and others in Latin America and Africa, as well as to new agent trainees and police managers at the F.B.I. Academy. He now teaches business continuity planning as a consultant for small and medium businesses.
Mr. Island left federal service in 2002 to apply his knowledge and skills to the private sector helping client corporations and governments to manage destabilizing or disastrous events; and prevent and mitigate losses of personnel, funds, structures or information through natural disasters, violence or terrorism.
Mr. Island graduated in 1974 from Florida State University and received a Masters of Public Administration degree from Florida International University in 1998.
