Solution Relationship Director, Advisory Services – KPMG LLP W. Ross Ashley, III recently joined KPMG as a Solutions Relationship Director. In this capacity Mr. Ashley supports a number of KPMG government initiatives spanning across all levels of government. Specific areas of focus include emergency management, preparedness, grants management and business case development for major government programs and procurements. Previously Mr. Ashley served as the Founding Executive Director of the National Fusion Center Association (NFCA) where he represented the interests of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recognized fusion centers. Mr. Ashley also served on the Board of Advisors to numerous corporate clients advising in the areas of Emergency Management, Grants Administration, Homeland Security, Justice, Defense and Intelligence. Mr. Ashley was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate in December 2007 and was the Assistant Administrator of the FEMA Grant Programs Directorate (GPD). Assistant Administrator Ashley managed over $10.1B across 53 federal grant programs and was the only DHS Senate confirmed individual asked to remain in the President Obama Administration after the inauguration. Before assuming his position at DHS, Mr. Ashley served as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Children’s Center (NCC). During his time with the NCC, Mr. Ashley led all aspects of the 1,100-employee agency including medical, residential and educational services for children and adults with special needs. In this capacity Mr. Ashley advised the mayor on preparedness planning for people with developmental disabilities within the greater Washington, DC metro area. In February 2000, Mr. Ashley founded The Templar Corporation. Working with the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), The Templar Corporation began the development of sophisticated data integration solutions with a single purpose in mind: to improve public safety and security agency’s capabilities to share information. Under Mr. Ashley’s leadership, Templar products supported over 100 federal, state and local government agencies. Mr. Ashley and his team sold Templar to ChoicePoint in February 2004. Mr. Ashley retired after 20 years of service in the Virginia Air National Guard and the United States Air Force Reserves where he was activated on many occasions to support response activities within the Commonwealth of Virginia. Mr. Ashley is also a Red Cross volunteer and most recently performed disaster assessments on St Thomas and led the bulk food and water distribution on St John following hurricanes Irma and Maria. Mr. Ashley is a distinguished graduate of the Academy of Military Science, holds a BA from George Mason University and a MS from the National Intelligence University. He and his wife Lauren, and their four children reside in Arlington, Virginia.