We make fire safety possible, for everyone.

Danielle is the Founder and Executive Director of Kindling. She is a fire safety engineer with 13 years’ experience working as both a researcher and practitioner on diverse building, infrastructure, and development projects across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Before founding Kindling, Danielle was a Senior Fire Safety Consultant with Arup based in Boston, London, and Hong Kong. She served as an Assistant to Expert Witness Dr Barbara Lane on Phase 1 of the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry and led Arup’s global program on fire safety in informal settlements.

Jim has a PhD in refugee camp design, and more than 15 years field experience in disaster-preparedness, post-disaster shelter and settlements, and camp planning. Jim’s experience in the field has included countries in Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. Jim has worked for the United Nations, the Red Cross movement, and a number of international NGOs. Jim has also conducted research into fire safety and shelter for the UK government and is involved in ongoing projects to integrate fire-safety planning with other aspects of safety and protection in camps.

Darren has more than 15 years’ experience designing and delivering urban and economic development programs for organizations like the World Bank / IFC, UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, European Investment Bank, United Nations, and private foundations. He is currently Associate Director and International Advisory Team Leader for Sustainable Futures at AtkinsRealis. Darren works as an integrator across disciplines and sectors to deliver policy recommendations, program design, urban strategies, project pipelines and infrastructure investment advice. His pioneering work on fire safety in informal settlements at Arup was a catalyst to the founding of Kindling.

Kathleen served the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) as Vice President, Research, until her retirement in May 2019. She has a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Ottawa, Canada, and is a registered professional engineer in the State of Maryland. Prior to joining the NFPA in 2004, Kathleen was the Executive Director of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) and held research and management positions with the Civil Engineering Research Foundation, the American Iron and Steel Institute, and the National Academy of Sciences. 

Lori Glover is a nationally recognized leader in industry-academic partnerships and Chief of Strategic Alliances at Columbia University’s Data Science Institute. With more than 20 years of experience at institutions including MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and Columbia University, she builds global collaborations across AI, cybersecurity, healthcare, and emerging technologies. Known for connecting academia, industry, and government, Lori helps transform research into scalable, real-world solutions. She is the author of Innovation Alchemy, a speaker on innovation ecosystems, and a licensed attorney recognized for strategic leadership, negotiation, and consensus-building.

Robert provides support throughout the SOCOTEC team as a resource for the application of code-based and analytical solutions to unique building designs and innovative and novel construction assemblies and techniques. He joined the (SLS) SOCOTEC staff in June 2020 after spending a 34-year career at the National Fire Protection Association — NFPA where he served as the Director of the Built Environment Codes and Fire Protection Systems group. Prior to joining NFPA, he worked for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) in Charleston, South Carolina.