Staff

Lauren Cranford is the Director of Operations for the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS⁴) at The University of Southern Mississippi. Her role is to manage and coordinate all NCS⁴ operations including, but not limited to, overseeing all grants, projects, budgets, and staff. She assists the executive director with development and implementation of programs, special events, and training sessions.

Cranford received her Master of Public Health Degree from The University of Southern Mississippi with an emphasis in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Community Health Sciences with an emphasis in Health Promotion. She is also a Certified Health Education Specialist through the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing.

Daniel Ward is the Director of Training and Exercise at the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security at The University of Southern Mississippi. In this role, he engages professional, collegiate, endurance event, and interscholastic safety and security professionals to meet industry training requirements, validate plans and processes, integrate solutions, and implement best practices. Ward is responsible for ensuring the NCS⁴ effectively connects the academic and operational communities, preparing practitioners for the current, evolving threat environment.

In addition to his role at the NCS⁴, Ward has served in the United States Air Force since 2006. He has held a variety of roles in planning, incident management and emergency response. Ward has led organizational preparation, mitigation, response and recovery efforts for a wide range of natural, technological and human-caused disasters. He has also developed and led chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear response teams. In his 15-year career, Ward has supported preparedness and response efforts domestically and throughout Southwest Asia and the Republic of Korea. Most recently, he served in theater in support of Operation SPARTAN SHIELD as an Emergency Management Superintendent, where he oversaw emergency management efforts at three locations across the AOR.

Ward has developed and headed emergency management plans and programs for multiple disciplines and organizations, applying best practice and experience to a wide range of incident and event management. He is an Anti-Terrorism Officer, a Hazardous Material Technician, and was awarded the international designation of Certified Emergency Manager (CEM®) by the International Association of Emergency Managers in 2013. He has a bachelor’s degree in Emergency and Disaster Management and a master’s degree in Business Administration.

Dr. Allen is the Director of Research at the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS⁴) at The University of Southern Mississippi.  Dr. Allen is responsible for annual industry research reports, research seminar series, conducting academic scholarly research, managing the research affiliate program, and assisting with other duties and responsibilities pertaining to the mission and vision of NCS⁴. Dr. Allen comes to NCS⁴ from the College of Business and Economic Development, where he served as the Director of the Sport Management program and Associate Teaching Professor in the School of Marketing for over 15 years. 

Dr. Allen earned a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from William Carey University (2003) and completed a Master of Science in Sport Management (2004) and a Ph.D.  in Human Performance with an emphasis in teaching and administration and a minor in Educational Statistics (2011) at The University of Southern Mississippi. He has since then completed the graduate certificate in Sport Security Management in 2016.  Dr. Allen has collaborated with NCS⁴ from the early beginnings. His dissertation centered around Continuity of Operations Planning of NCAA Division I athletic departments. Since then, research areas have included fan perceptions of safety and security at sporting events, cost-effective ways of reducing school shootings/violence, rebranding of athletic logos, soft target hardening at sport venues, and feasibility studies of sport complexes. Dr. Allen is a veteran of the United States Navy serving aboard the USS Gettysburg CG-64 (’93-’96), and his hobbies include coaching baseball, hunting, fishing, and playing golf. 

Michael Broadus is the Curriculum Manager for the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS⁴) at The University of Southern Mississippi. He provides leadership and oversight for the development, implementation and strategies for the sport safety and security curriculums. In this role, he is responsible for managing the design and development of public safety training programs, curricula, instructional methods, and materials for various audiences.

Prior to joining NCS⁴, Broadus worked in research, training, and educational roles related to criminal justice and human services. Having previously served as a law enforcement officer, he transitioned into higher education as a graduate research and teaching assistant to pursue a Master of Arts degree in Criminal Justice at The University of Southern Mississippi. Broadus taught undergraduate-level criminal justice course sessions during this time and assisted with and led both educational and research related development pertaining to criminal justice broadly (e.g., police, courts, corrections). It was during this period, that his research and published thesis became focused on the concepts of legal liability, workforce training, and risk management involving law enforcement – but reserve officers specifically, given their differentiated training and sometimes “seasonal” utilization.

After graduating with a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice from The University of Southern Mississippi in 2018, Broadus engaged in both a Case Manager and Supervisor (i.e., Case Manager Supervisor) role for the Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS). During this time, he put his research and teaching experience to work in helping to train staff, but also in developing efficient and maintainable in-county training programs and resources for MDHS personnel that were engaged in serving the citizens of Mississippi through management of several economic and workforce development and support programs.

Broadus later returned to higher education with the goal of leveraging his experience in assisting the academic spectrum of public safety. To this end, he served as the Student Advancement Administrator and Academic Advisor for the School of Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, and Security, where he directly assisted the School’s students, faculty, and staff. It was here that Broadus was able to leverage his collective experiences by working as a curriculum committee member to help provide feedback and recommendations on both degree and course-related adjustments to help ensure degree progression, program efficiency, and student success.

Sara Priebe is the Event and Membership Manager at the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security at The University of Southern Mississippi. In this role, she executes planning and logistics for NCS⁴ events. Priebe is the contact for vendors interested in securing sponsorships and exhibits at all NCS⁴ events. She works to develop and implement membership plans, strategies and initiatives for current member retention and new member recruitment. She also provides customer service to vendors and Solution Partners as well as members and event attendees. In addition, she provides graphic design for NCS⁴’s communications pieces.

Jonathan Ruffin is an Instructional Design Specialist at the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security at The University of Southern Mississippi. He manages instructional design for the NCS⁴ face-to-face and eLearning training courses. These duties include working collaboratively with subject matter experts and design team members to address training needs, prepare learning objectives, and define and sequence course content. Ruffin previously held the position of Training Manager at the NCS⁴, providing oversight for the training courses offered.

Before joining NCS⁴ , Ruffin served as Director of Internal Operations and Facilities at East Carolina University, overseeing daily maintenance and management of multiple athletic venues and was the primary game manager for multiple sports. Prior to that, he was Director of Facilities and Events Management at the University of Louisiana Monroe. During his time in athletics, Ruffin has been part of several conference/regional tournaments and various on-campus special events.

Ruffin received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from The University of Southern Mississippi. He then completed a Master of Science degree in Sports Management with a Safety and Security emphasis from The University of Southern Mississippi.

Tymika Rushing is the Business Affairs Manager for the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security at The University of Southern Mississippi. She is responsible for overseeing the daily financial operations of NCS⁴, which includes coordinating processes in budgeting and compliance for grants and externally funded projects, contractual amendments, and various fiscal responsibilities. Her role is to provide comprehensive financial management to include, but not limited to, budget planning, forecasting, compliance, and financial reporting.

Before joining NCS⁴, Rushing was a Contracting Specialist at the NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) and as a Grants & Contracts Coordinator within the Office of Research Administration at The University of Southern Mississippi.

Rushing received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The University of Southern Mississippi. She received her Master of Business Administration degree from William Carey University.

Jonathan Stanford is a Training Manager at the National Center for Spectator Sports and Safety and Security at The University of Southern Mississippi. He provides oversight for the training courses offered through NCS⁴. These duties include course and instructor scheduling, ensuring all targets are met, and maintaining the quality of each delivery.

Before joining NCS⁴ as a Graduate Assistant in 2021, Stanford received his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. During his time in Colorado, he served as Philanthropy Director, Greek Life Programming Director, and was a delegate on the Interfraternity Council for his fraternity of Alpha Sigma Phi. With raising thousands of dollars and performing hours of community service, his fraternity went on to win two Grand Senior President’s Cups, which is the highest award a fraternity can achieve. Stanford received an MBA with an emphasis in Sport Event Security Management from The University of Southern Mississippi in December 2022.

Roger Swartz is the Senior Training Manager at the National Center for Spectator Sports and Safety and Security (NCS⁴) at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM). He provides oversight for the DHS/FEMA training courses offered through NCS⁴. These duties include course and instructor scheduling, ensuring all targets are met, and maintaining the quality of each delivery.

In addition to his role at the NCS⁴, Swartz has served in the United States Coast Guard and United States Air Force since 2001, with a career focused around chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear operations. Swartz has a multi-disciplinary background in public safety and emergency management, operating at the Tribal, State, and Federal levels.  Swartz has conducted organizational planning to prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from a variety of natural and man-made disasters as well as developed and presented training supporting command and control, emergency operations, and HAZMAT/weapons of mass destruction response. Operational highlights include Operation Iraqi Freedom, Hurricane Katrina, Operation Enduring Freedom, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the COVID-19 response, and Hurricane Zeta.

Natalie Williams is a Training Manager at the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security at The University of Southern Mississippi. She provides oversight for the training courses offered through NCS⁴. These duties include course and instructor scheduling, ensuring all targets are met, and maintaining the quality of each delivery. She also manages the trainer certification process and leads the coordination and execution of the NCS⁴ awards for the annual conference.

Before joining NCS⁴ as a Graduate Assistant in 2022, Williams earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of South Alabama. Williams received her Master of Business Administration from The University of Southern Mississippi in July 2023.

Aayush Gautam is a Web Developer for the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security. He is an international student from Nepal currently working on his undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Physics at USM. He likes building things, be it apps or engineering projects, and always looks forward to learning new things. 

Lauren Villarreal is a Graduate Assistant for the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS⁴) at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM). She provides research development and collaborates on public safety training programs. 

Before joining the NCS⁴, Villarreal received her bachelor’s degree at William Carey University in Speech Communication and Public Relations. She served for three years as a member of the Speech and Debate team where she researched different communication theories to present at tournaments and conferences. Villarreal is currently working on her master’s in Public Relations at USM.