Captain Ron J. Catudal has served for 39 years in the U.S. Coast Guard and Coast Guard Reserve.  His expertise in incident management and contingency response to large scale disasters has been frequently relied upon. Since September 11th, 2001, Ron has been mobilized for eleven contingencies including nine hurricanes and was the only Coast Guard presence in the U.S. Virgin Islands when hurricane MARIA made landfall, devastating St Croix and Puerto Rico.  He was credited with assisting thousands of Cruzians and providing humanitarian relief to many more. Recently, Captain Catudal also responded to hurricanes ISAAC and FLORENCE. His personal awards include three Meritorious Service & four Commendation Medals, and three Humanitarian Service Medals.

 

Ron's domestic experience includes being a subject matter expert in maritime protective security, active threat prevention, contingency/response planning, and exercise design.  Ron firmly believes that "Conducting numerous preparedness exercises for all hazards response and active threats ensures we are aware of each other's capabilities & limitations, and helps us better understand ourselves and our colleagues reactions"

​​

Professionally, Ron has been involved with many nonprofit organizations and boards associated with veterans groups.  He enjoys mentoring junior service members, especially helping them succeed, get recognized and promoted. Personally, his proudest accomplishment is his son and daughter, who are currently earning graduate degrees while working full and part time.

​​

Ron earned a Masters of Liberal Arts in Environmental Management & Sustainability from Harvard, a Master of Arts degree from the U.S. Naval War College in National Security, and a Masters in Business Administration from Johnson & Wales University concentrating in International Business.  His undergraduate degree is from Rhode Island College. He also holds a Level I Joint Professional Military Education, FEMA Master Exercise Practitioner, and other certifications.