PSCR Leadership

Dereck Orr is the Division Chief for the Public Safety Communications Research Division at NIST’s Communication Technology Laboratory, and has held that position since December 2002. In that role, he leads the Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) program that serves as an objective technical advisor and laboratory to FirstNet, the Department of Homeland Security, and public safety to accelerate the adoption and implementation of the most critical public safety communication standards and technologies. From October 2003 until October 2004, Mr. Orr was detailed to the Department of Homeland Security to serve as the Chief of Staff of the SAFECOM Office within the Science and Technology Directorate, to help establish the new program. Prior to working at NIST, Mr. Orr served as a professional staff member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, and Related Agencies under Senator Fritz Hollings. In that position, Mr. Orr was responsible for the appropriations accounts relating to state and local law enforcement issues. Prior to that, Mr. Orr served four years at the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) at the Department of Justice. Mr. Orr received a Masters in Public Policy from the College of William and Mary and a Bachelor of Arts in American History from the University of Texas at Austin.
Email: dereck.orr [at] nist.gov (dereck[dot]orr[at]nist[dot]gov) | Phone: 303-497-5400

Ellen Ryan is the Deputy Division Chief for the Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Division, within the Communication Technology Laboratory (CTL), NIST. She develops and manages best-practices processes for the PSCR division in operational areas such as lab deployment, safety and security. In addition, she leads the PSCR Open Innovation (OI) team and ensures all aspects of the OI programs are planned and executed according to the OI standard operating procedures (SOP) and meet the goals of the PSCR mission. Ellen's background is in operations, systems verification and new product development, with over 20 years of industry experience in telecommunications research and development. Her technical areas of expertise include telecommunications networks. Ellen's education includes a Master's of Science degree in Computer Science and two Bachelor's of Science degrees, one each in Computer Science and Geography.
Email: ellen.ryan [at] nist.gov (ellen[dot]ryan[at]nist[dot]gov) | Phone: 303-497-5151