Board Members

Rachael accepted the role of Treasurer in 2024. She brings over 15 years of experience as a Corporate Controller of private equity backed companies with significant revenue and EBITDA growth. Controllership roles included ownership of Human Resources, Contracts and Procurement, as well as responsibility for annual year end audits, acquisition company due diligence and financial integration of purchased companies, and divestiture and shut down processes. Before moving to private equity, Rachael served as the U.S. Accounting Manager for Stiefel Laboratories, Inc., the largest privately held dermatology company in the world.

Rachael has extensive experience with Enterprise Resource Planning systems including Peachtree-Sage 50, Sage 100, Sage 300 (certified consultant 2017), SAP and currently supports clients on Acumatica, Xero and QuickBooks Online. Rachael is an independent consultant who acts as a Controller and Software Engineer for her clients. She provides monthly consolidated financials and represents her clients under audit. Rachael graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Maryland with a B.S. in Accounting and electives in Computer Science which allows her to design the accounting systems that interrelate to support business functions.

While Rachael is not a TX Task Force One responder, she is married to the Helicopter Team Manager, DJ Walker. Rachael is a lifetime caver and found her niche in rope racing, deep cave pits and long rope climbs. She still holds several world records for rope climbing and was the first woman to raise the U.S. flag at New River Valley Gorge Bridge Day in West Virginia. Rachael has served on the board for the Southeastern Cave Conservancy and implemented their original accounting system. She has been a National Cave Rescue Commission instructor for over a decade and is currently their National Financial Officer, a role she held previously for a decade. She has responded to numerous cave rescues as a team member of Chattanooga Hamiliton County Cave Cliff Technical Rescue Team.

Travis L. Maher is our Director for US&R. He is a Battalion Chief for the Austin Fire Department and a Task Force Leader with the Texas A&M Task Force 1 FEMA USAR team. He has 23 years of fire service experience and has been with TX-TF1 since 2001, when he first deployed to the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. He is a rope, swiftwater rescue, and swiftwater boat instructor.

Travis is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer program and has also earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Texas A&M University, Class of ‘96.

Kevin currently serves as the Director of EMS for Washington County where he oversees both the EMS and the Office of Emergency Management. He has worked in numerous roles within emergency services including as a flight paramedic for Baylor Scott & White in Temple Texas for nearly 7 years, an adjunct instructor for Blinn College and TEEX Rescue School. He also currently serves on numerous local, regional, and state committees such as the Homeland Security Advisory Committee for the Brazos Valley COG, the Brazos Valley Regional Advisory Trauma Council where he is the presiding chair for the pre-hospital committee, currently serving an appointment on the Governors EMS & Trauma Advisory Council. Kevin also serves as a swift water rescue instructor for TEEX (Texas A&M) where he is a primary instructor for Level I and II swift water technician classes. Kevin currently serves as a swift water boat operator instructor for Texas Task Force 1 and a Water Group Supervisor.