International Events and Security Consultants (IESC)

International Events and Security Consultants (IESC) is a division of the J Street Group, LLC. The management team is comprised of Debra Schiff (JSG founder), Susan Ralston (SBR Enterprises, LLC founder) and Joe J. Funk (US Safety & Security, LLC founder).  Learn more about Event Security Consulting Services.

Debra Schiff

Debra Schiff, founder of the J Street Group, LLC,  a full-service event design and production firm that specializes in delivering exceptionally unique and creative, high-impact events.  Debra has more than 25 years of event management and protocol experience.   

Before starting J Street Group, LLC, Debra served as President of her own event consulting firm, Debra Schiff & Company where she provided clients with a complete range of event management services. Prior to that, she was the Vice President of Development for Ovations, an event production and destination management company.

Debra served as Assistant Chief of Protocol at the U.S. Department of State where she coordinated high profile functions on behalf of the President, Vice President and Secretary of State.  She was also instrumental in the planning and overseeing highly sensitive and visible events surrounding the Mid-East peace talks that included Wye River, Shepherdstown and Camp David.

Prior to her presidential appointment at the Department of State, she worked in the Executive Office of the President of the United States as a member of the Oval Office Operations staff.  In this capacity, she assisted the President in maintaining his schedule among other executive management responsibilities. As a liaison with the travel industry and the White House Travel Office, Ms. Schiff also traveled with the President and the White House Press Corps.

Debra hails from the Lone Star state where she has held various management positions in the airline industry and owned a successful advertising business.  She also serves on the board of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and has been actively involved with the Lombardi Cancer Center, Child Rite, American Heart Association and many other charitable organizations.

Susan Ralston

Susan B. Ralston is a consultant helping companies with strategic partnership development, public affairs and public relations activities with a strong background in project management, outreach, coalition building and event management. With eight years of government affairs experience and six years of high-level executive branch experience, Ms. Ralston is uniquely qualified to provide strategic consulting services and develop partnerships for clients to achieve their goals. Most recently, Ms. Ralston was the Special Assistant to the President and a deputy to Karl Rove, the Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor at The White House. She was responsible for managing the activities that comprised the Office of the Senior Advisor, including the development of policy, strategic planning, political affairs, public liaison, and intergovernmental affairs efforts of the White House. She was also responsible for managing the domestic issue campaigns, including Education, Healthcare, Social Security, Immigration, Energy, Budget and Economy, Environment, National Security, Iraq, Global Diplomacy and the Gulf Coast, as well as the development and production of presidential and major surrogate events.

As a Filipino-American, Ms. Ralston was actively involved in the strategic planning and Asian Pacific American outreach efforts of the White House, including the creation of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. She was a member of the Presidential Delegation to attend the Inauguration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, of the Republic of the Philippines, in June 2004. During the 2004 re-election campaign, Ms. Ralston was the White House Liaison to Bush-Cheney ’04, coordinating the activities between the two entities. She also served on the Advisory Committee for “W Stands for Women,” the campaign’s outreach effort to women. Prior to her public service, Ms. Ralston was the Assistant Director of Governmental Affairs at Greenberg Traurig and has also worked for the lobbying firm of Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds, LLP.

Joseph J. Funk

Joe J. Funk, President of US Safety & Security, LLC is responsible overseeing all daily operations including all domestic investigations, physical security and executive protection.

Mr. Funk is a twenty-one year veteran of the United States Secret Service, completing his career as the Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge of the Washington DC Field Office. Mr. Funk’s career with the U. S. Secret Service was equally divided between criminal investigations and executive protection.

During his career Mr. Funk spent over eight years assigned to the protection details of Presidents George H. Bush and William J. Clinton. He was assigned to the protection of numerous foreign Heads of State including, Pope John Paul II, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Great Britain. Mr. Funk spent three & half years assigned to the elite Secret Service Counter Assault Team attaining the rank of Team Leader. He has extensive experience and knowledge in providing executive protection and conducting complex security assessments and surveys. Mr. Funk has received extensive training and experience in counter terrorism tactics. Among his accomplishments was the security director for the 50th N.A.T.O. Conference and two Presidential Inaugurations. His latest clients include Senator Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney.

Mr. Funk also gained valuable experience, training and knowledge in conducting complex multi-jurisdictional criminal investigations. At the time of his retirement Mr. Funk was the supervisor for the Washington Field Office Metro Area Fraud Task Force. This unit specialized in investigating the most complex and intricate criminal cases in the greater Washington DC area. For his efforts Mr. Funk has received numerous awards from the U.S. Secret Service, local financial institutions, the U.S. Attorneys office’s in Maryland, Washington and Virginia as well as numerous civic organizations.

Upon his retirement from the Secret Service Mr. Funk joined the General Accounting Office in March 2004. He was a Senior Special Agent assigned to the Office of Special Investigations. His investigations were conducted primarily for the Select Committee for Homeland Security and the Select Committee for Intelligence.

Mr. Funk began his law enforcement career as a County Detective with the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, in Paterson NJ. He was assigned to the Narcotics/Organized Crime Unit. His work focused primarily on organized crime figures, narcotic traffickers, violent crimes, homicides and insurance fraud.

Mr. Funk has authored numerous papers for the U.S. Secret Service on the topics of criminal investigations and security procedures. Mr. Funk was responsible for developing new security policies and procedures for the Washington Field Office in the wake of 9/11. He has been featured on many local television stations instructing the public on protecting themselves from financial fraud. He has also testified before Congressional committee on Homeland security matters.

Mr. Funk holds a B.S. degree in Criminal Justice from the William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ. He has also done postgraduate Master’s level work in the area of Urban Planning at William Paterson University and has successful completed the Johns Hopkins School of Upper Management Program.

Mr. Funk possesses a Top Secret security clearance.

IESC News

International Events and Security Consultants:
The company that countries and diplomats don’t know they need.

Diplomatic Courier - Volume 3, Issue 1, Winter 2009 - Read the story in PDF here.