Liz Adams
Interim Emergency Management Director 

Liz graduated from George Mason University in 2017 with a BA in Government and International Politics followed by an MA in Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness in 2019 from Virginia Commonwealth University. She then began working as an All Hazards Planner with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, Northern Virginia Region. While working at VDEM, she served as Planning Section Chief for the Northern Virginia COVID response as well as Lead Planner for the Northern Virginia 2021 Presidential Inauguration Response effort. Liz served as a rotating member of the Planning Section during the summer 2021 Operation Allies Welcome, where 50,000 Afghan evacuees were welcomed into the country over a roughly one-month period. Liz worked on several planning products at VDEM such as Hazard Mitigation Plans and Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessments (THIRAs). In fall of 2022, Liz became a Senior Emergency Response Specialist at the Nevada National Security Site, where she assisted with the planning, implementation, and evaluation of several full-scale exercises. She planned and led the inaugural Integrated Preparedness Planning Workshop (IPPW) and wrote their Integrated Preparedness Plan (IPP).

Jon Keiser
Emergency Management Specialist         

Jon Keiser is a 1986 graduate of Southern Illinois University with a bachelor's degree in Fire Service Management.  Jon graduated from the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program in 1996.  Jon’s Fire/EMS career started in 1981 with Mt. Pleasant Fire Department, which consolidated into the South Shore Fire Department in 2009.  Jon retired from the Fire Service in 2019. Jon joined the Racine County Office of Emergency Management in May 2024 in a part time capacity as an Emergency Management Specialist. Jon’s professional certifications include multiple FEMA Incident Management and Critical Infrastructure courses.  He is a State of Wisconsin Licensed EMT Basic. Jon plans to continue to expand his Emergency Management educational background in 2026.

Tom Knitter
Volunteer Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator

Tom started his career in law enforcement and public safety in the mid 1970’s. His family had a background in law enforcement and as such, he developed an interest at an early age becoming a police explorer while in high school. His 33-year career spanned varied positions within municipal, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Including police positions at UW-Milwaukee, UW-Parkside, Caledonia Police and the US Marshals Service. During his career, Tom's assignments included patrol, investigations, training, shift supervision and management. His formal education includes an associate degree from Waukesha County Technical College, a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Milton College and additional course study at UW-Milwaukee and Northwestern University. Tom served as the Assistant Chief of Police at UW-Parkside Police Department in Kenosha and as needs evolved, became the first Safety Coordinator/Risk Manager for the university. Part of his responsibility in this role involved emergency preparedness for the university campus/community. After retirement, Tom has returned back to public safety, serving as a volunteer with this office since 2012. Since turning toward emergency management, he has completed numerous training courses and practical exercises in the field of emergency management. He has been president of Racine County Triad, a crime prevention/safety program for senior citizens, served on the board of Crime Stoppers of Racine County, been a member of the Caledonia Plan Commission and since 2015, has served with the Racine County Traffic Safety Commission.

In Memory of Skip Twardosz

Skip served as a Racine County Volunteer Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator from July of 2004 to November, 2023, contributing a wealth of knowledge and experience to County Emergency Management efforts. Skip also served as the Town of Burlington Emergency Management Director. 

Skip retired in 1999, after serving 32 years at the federal, state and local level in law enforcement, where he worked as patrol, SWAT, Officer Friendly, investigator, administrative director, training officer, crime scene technician and firearms instructor.

Skip retired from the Franklin Park, IL Police Department, a suburb of Chicago, where he was a member of the Fraternal Order of Police and received their Honor and Merit Award and Award of Excellence, among many other departmental citations. He is a past chairman of the Law Enforcement Division, Public Employees section of the National Safety Council and he received the William H. Cameron Award in 1978-79.

We are fortunate to have known Skip as a member of our team. We thank him and his family for their years of dedicated service to the community. He will be missed.