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Fran Santagata
In
Hicksville
High Also Known As (AKA):
Same
Spouse/Partner...
Michael Hruza
Were you classmates at
HHS?
No
Where did you meet?
How long ago?
Michael and I met in 1988 at the Denver Bicycle Touring Club.
We were both members. At
a meeting, I asked for members to join me in planning a fundraising
bikeathon for the American Diabetes Association.
I was the lead planner/volunteer.
We became fast friends planning the event & bike riding
around
Colorado
. Michael was in the Air
Force at the time. We dated
for a while, but he was then PCS'd to
Germany
and we lost touch. Ten years
later, he retired from the Air Force and looked me up on Valentine's
Day 2001. We had a friendly
conversation but made no plans at that point. In August of 2001, he
called me again and asked to meet. Then
9-11 happened and everything changed.
I was offered a job back in DC with a company that supported DoD
and DOJ to assist in fighting terrorism.
My interview with Science Applications International Corporation
(SAIC) was on the same day he came over to University Hospital Anschutz
Campus to see me again. We
knew that were in love, but I was definitely going to DC- my Country was
calling me. Michael understood- I moved out first in December 2001, and
Michael followed me in May.
Married
How Long? Date Married:
We got married on Sept 11th, 2002, after the remembrance
ceremony at the Pentagon. I
was working there at the time, rewriting their Chem/Bio.Nuc/Rad Plans
for the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense.
I asked how they would feel about us getting married on that Day,
as a way to take the day back, and they were thrilled with the idea.
The Chaplain said it was going to be a tough day and this would
be a bright spot to look forward to.
It was a small ceremony- everyone needed to have a security
clearance but unbelievable in its significance for us.
We did a re-enactment for our families on Oct. 11th at
my brother's house in
Ringwood
NJ
.
Children/Grandchildren:
One
stepson Josh, and two grandchildren Ben and Allison
Where
do you currently live?
Roxborough
Colorado
. We moved back to
Colorado
in 2005 when our Governor asked me to be his Special Assistant for
Homeland Security.
Favorite
Subject in High School:
Matière
préférée au lycée:
French
Name
of my Favorite Teacher:
Madame
Dr. Kumpikas
Favorite
Place to meet Friends Outside of School:
Wickers
Favorite
Non-Academic
School
Club or Activity:
Swimming, bike riding
Occupation/Trade/Profession:
Homeland Security Professional
Education
Beyond
High School
:
BS Medical Technology
MS Exercise Physiology
Both from CW Post
Military
Service:
None
Hobbies/Pastimes:
Spending
time with Michael and Rocky (my
Akita
and running partner), Bike riding, hiking, reading, and snowshoeing.
I fell
in love with
Colorado
from my bicycle seat. I have traveled more of
Colorado
on my bicycle than in my car. I have traveled over
Trail Ridge Road
twice on my bike- the highest continuous auto road in the country at
12,200 ft. Michael and I have hiked so many trails in national parks as
well as county and state parks. Snowshoeing is my favorite winter sport.
Any trail you can hike, you can snowshoe. In 2005 we moved to Roxborough
which is paradise. We back up to the open space and foothills. We have
amazing views from our deck- tons of wildlife: deer, elk, black bears,
eagles, falcons, hawks & great blue herons. I don't actually have
to drive anywhere to get to a trail- we are surrounded by
Roxborough
State Park
,
Waterton
Canyon
(lots of bighorn sheep),
Chatfield
State Park
, and the Highline Canal Trail. We take full advantage of our location.
After work this time of year, I love sitting on my swing out on our
patio with a book enjoying the beauty and serenity that is Roxborough.
One
thing that no one knows about me is:
I have been running long distances for about 40 years.
I calculated that I have run about the distance of the circumference of
the earth
Now
the hard one. Tell us what
we need to know...50 years in the space below:
After
High School, I fell in love with a classmate
Tom
Reilly. I had originally
planned to attend SUNY Oneonta as a French major.
All that changed when we decided to get married.
I needed to plan a more practical path so switched majors to
medical technology. Tommy
and I got married in 1974 and I started working at
Central
General as a med tech. Though
our marriage did not last, our friendship did.
We both moved on. In
1984 I decided I wanted to change career fields to exercise physiology
working in rehabilitation. I
went back and got my
MS-
started working at Island Cardiac in
Plainview
while still a Med Tech at Central General.
By 1987
I was ready to make a big move to
Colorado
, where I had spent all my vacations hiking and biking for years.
I moved out and worked as an exercise physiologist for 15 years.
The market caved in on my field (due to changing insurance
reimbursements) so I went back to school to expand my skills and focus
on HAZMAT compliance and emergency response. I interned with a local
fire department in the HAZMAT Division and got my EMT certification.
I was then asked to join a Federal Disaster Medical Assistance
Team (DMAT)/National Medical Response Team-Weapons of Mass Destruction (NMRT)
where I served as their Admin officer.
This was a volunteer team. Our
sponsor was
University
Hospital
in
Denver
. Our liaison at the
hospital offered me a position as the Hospital Safety Officer/Emergency
Manager in 1997. I reshaped
the program there to include plans for mass casualty response and Chem/bio/nuc/rad
response. This was
fortuitous as we were a receiving hospital for the Columbine massacre,
and we were ready.
Then
9-11 happened and the Anthrax attacks.
Again, we were ready. I
had already started working part-time for SAIC the Summer before 9-11
preparing SLC for the 2002 Olympics.
Immediately after 9-11, SAIC hired me to work on public
health/medical preparedness and WMD response on contracts with DoD
(Pentagon), US HHS, and DOJ. In 2003 the Dept of Homeland Security stood
up and I was offered a position as a Preparedness Officer responsible
for five western states including CO.
In 2005 Governor Owens asked me to come back to CO as his Special
Assistant. After his term
ended, I took a position as the Administrator for the Denver Urban Area
Security Initiative (a regional homeland security program for the
Denver
metro area). 4 years later,
the Sheriff of my county (Douglas) asked me to be his Director of
Emergency Management. Since wildfires were a major concern for my county
I became certified as a wildland firefighter II at age 54. I did this
for 4 years and was then offered a position as the Preparedness Program
Manager for the State of
CO
.
7 years
later, I have come full circle to my HAZMAT Compliance focus.
I accepted a position back with the US DHS/Cybersecurity
Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within the Chemical Facility
Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program as a Regulatory Analyst.
It has been an amazing journey to get here, and I absolutely love
this program, the team, and the work. It will be the best "swan
song" I could have imagined. I
will be retiring on June 30th after 50 years of service
taking care of patients and securing the country.
All
through the career twists and turns, Michael has been at my side- he is
my rock and my joy. My
stepson Josh, his wife Amanda, and my two grandkids have brought an
amazing dimension to my life for which I am so grateful.
Lastly, my own family, Mom & Dad my brothers
Bob
(class of 1969) and Steve (class of 1980), and sister Anita (class of
1975)
taught
me the meaning of family, the importance of those family ties- how they
are the foundation of who we become later in life.
I am
truly blessed...
Finally, if you had to do
it all over again, I would...
Not
change a thing- I am exactly where I am supposed to be with exactly who
I am supposed to be with!
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