PASS Announces Volunteer of the Year and New Board Member

PASS Announces Jim Crumbley as Volunteer of the Year and Don Hough as New Board Member

PASS presented its Volunteer of the Year award to Jim Crumbley, president and CEO of Risk Response Team, Inc. (RRT) and co-chair of the PASS Technical Committee. The award was also presented at the PASS ISC Town Hall. Crumbley has decades of experience in risk consulting, crisis management, project management, and investigative services across the public and private sectors in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and South America.

Crumbley serves on the PASS Advisory Council and co-chairs the Technical Committee. His expertise has been instrumental in developing the PASS Safety and Security Guidelines for K-12 schools, particularly in video surveillance. His presentations on camera usage and moderation of surveillance technology webinars have helped cement PASS as a leading authority in school safety and security. For more than a decade, Crumbley has been a primary contributor to PASS. He was previously named the Security Industry Association (SIA) Volunteer of the Year in 2015 for his role in establishing the alliance. His commitment to education and security, along with his role as a founding member of PASS, made him among the strongest candidates for this award

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Partner Alliance for Safer Schools also appointed Don Hough to its board of directors in April. Hough serves as vice president of COSECURE, a national consulting practice specializing in holistic physical security, cybersecurity, and emergency preparedness.

Hough brings more than 15 years of national leadership experience in safety, security, and technology integration. He most recently served as deputy associate director for school safety at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and as managing director of the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse.

During his tenure at DHS, Hough led the nation’s school safety strategy, shaping interagency coordination across DHS, the Department of Education, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Health and Human Services. He directed major federal program portfolios, oversaw large multidisciplinary teams, and guided the development and nationwide rollout of foundational K-12 safety resources, including SchoolSafety.gov, the K-12 School Security Guide Suite, the Anonymized Threat Response Guidance, the K-12 Bystander Reporting Toolkit, the K-12 Digital Infrastructure Brief: Defensible and Resilient, the Bombing Prevention Assistance for K-12 Schools program, the National Summit on K-12 School Safety and Security, and the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse External Advisory Board.

Prior to his federal service, Hough was a senior manager at Grant Thornton, where he directed major federal portfolios supporting national security and education, working with school districts, colleges, and universities to address emerging threats and strengthen safety ecosystems. At COSECURE, he leads the firm’s public sector practice, driving strategic growth across federal, state, and local markets and expanding the firm’s ability to support public institutions facing evolving safety, security, and resilience challenges.

His contributions have positioned him as a national thought leader in integrating physical security, cybersecurity, and emergency management for schools and public institutions. Hough is widely recognized for building coalitions with state agencies, school districts, national associations, technology innovators, and industry partners. His leadership has earned multiple distinctions, including the DHS Secretary’s Award for Excellence in 2024 and for Innovation in 2023. PASS is honored to welcome him aboard.

The Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS)is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) bringing together expertise from the education, public safety, and industry communities to develop and support a coordinated approach to making effective and appropriate decisions with respect to safety and security investments. You can download the complete PASS Guidelines, or check out our PASS Safety and Security Checklist for quick tips on how to get started.  These resources — as well as white papers on various topics including barricade devices, lockdown drills, and more — are available at no cost.