Annie Kitch is the Principal of AEK Public Strategies, based in Colorado, where she specializes in advocacy strategy, public policy research, and government relations consulting. Her topic areas of expertise include traffic safety issues such as impaired and distracted driving, as well as emergency medical services and 911 systems.
With over a decade of experience in transportation and state government, Annie has a proven track record of supporting policymakers through research, publications, and legislative testimony. At the National Conference of State Legislatures, she supported state lawmakers on state traffic safety and 911 policy. Previously, as a researcher and constituent services staff member for the Colorado Legislative Council Staff, she staffed the Colorado Senate Transportation and Energy Committee and connected hundreds of Coloradans with essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as safe transportation and food assistance. As a process improvement expert with the Colorado Governor’s Office, she collaborated with agencies like the Colorado Department of Transportation to enhance operational efficiency and employee engagement. Annie is currently on contract with Responsibility.org.
Annie has also designed and delivered professional development programs to over 1,000 state legislators, legislative staff, and state agency leaders, focusing on legislative approaches to address traffic safety challenges as well as strategies for improving state agency operations.
Annie holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from Northern Arizona University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado-Denver. She serves on the Board of Urban Peak, a Denver-based non-profit that provides services to youth experiencing homelessness.
Brian Swift and his family’s life drastically changed on March 20, 2013, when his mother and father were hit by a logging truck driver. His father, Thomas, died on the scene, and his mother, Barbara, was transported to a hospital and ultimately died of her injuries three days later. The driver who killed Brian’s parents ran a red light and struck their car. The driver would be charged with operating a commercial motor vehicle with a suspended license, driving recklessly, and driving under the influence of a controlled substance. He tested positive for THC, the primary psychoactive and impairing component of cannabis, and was convicted. His sentence for killing Barbara and Thomas — five years imprisonment.
The devastating death of his parents inspired Brian to take action to prevent impaired driving. Brian built a coalition and successfully pushed for Michigan Public Act 242 and 243 in 2016, affectionately known as the Barbara J. and Thomas J. Swift Law, the first legislatively mandated statewide oral fluid drug testing program in the country. The pilot program began in five Michigan counties run by the Michigan State Police. It was expanded a year later to include all Michigan counties. In this effort, the idea for NASID was born.
Brian is a staunch advocate for implementing effective laws, programs, tools and technology to help prevent and stop impaired driving. NASID is proud to have Brian as its spokesperson to push for better impaired driving laws and programs throughout the United States to save lives.
Dr. Ryan C. Smith is a Transportation Specialist in the Office of Research and Engineering at the National Transportation Safety Board. In this capacity, he serves as a technical expert in the domains of drug impairment, health, human performance, and statistical analysis. Dr. Smith’s primary responsibilities are to conduct safety research studies, support crash investigations, and provide technical assistance within his areas of expertise. He was a study manager for NTSB’s recent safety research report on Alcohol, Other Drug, and Multiple Drug Use among Drivers.
Dr. Smith joined the NTSB in 2019 as a project manager and senior accident investigator in the NTSB’s Office of Highway Safety. Prior to joining the NTSB, he was a Research Scientist at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and founding group leader of the Impaired Driving Research, Evaluation, and Analysis group. This included leading a diverse team of faculty and over $5M of research that spanned the topics of impaired driving and advanced vehicle technologies.
Dr. Smith currently serves as a member of various impaired-driving-prevention working groups and committees for the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs, and Traffic Safety, Transportation Research Board, and Association of Transportation Safety Information Professionals. He is a peer reviewer for numerous scientific journals including, Addictive Behaviors, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, American Journal of Public Health, Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, and The British Medical Journal. He also serves on the Editorial Board of The Journal of Safety Research. Dr. Smith has over 150 combined scientific conference presentations, peer-reviewed journal articles, technical reports, and book chapters.
He obtained his Ph.D. and Master’s Degree in Industrial and Organization Psychology from Virginia Tech. He also holds Bachelor’s Degrees in Psychology, Sociology, and Political Science – all from Virginia Tech.
Chuck DeWeese is the President of Connecting Clients Consulting, LLC, based in Saratoga, New York. He provides strategic consulting services in traffic safety, including initiatives targeting impaired driving, distracted driving, Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety, younger drivers, speed, pedestrian and bike safety, automated vehicles, traffic enforcement issues and risky driving behaviors. He has over thirty years of experience in federal and state government, including 17 years as a Special Agent and Field Office Supervisor for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulating the trucking industry. Most recently, Chuck served as the Assistant Commissioner of the New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee from 2007-2022. Chuck was the Governor’s State Highway Safety Office director and administrator of the $60 million National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) grant program, administering over 500 grants annually in all 62 counties. He coordinated traffic safety grant activities of the 14 agencies comprising the committee and created, implemented and evaluated the state’s annual Highway Safety Plan. He was additionally responsible for the $20 million statewide STOP-DWI program and the $3 million Office of Cannabis Management sub-allocation. In addition, Chuck served on the executive board of the Governor’s Highway Safety Association and was Chair from 2020-2022. Chuck currently is on contract with Responsibility.org and speaks at conferences across the country on the benefits of roadside oral fluid screening.
Mr. Christopher Kirby is the Impaired Driving Enforcement Law Enforcement Liaison for the State of Indiana. He assists agencies across the state with training officers, issuing equipment that is provided by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, and implementing measures such as OWI checkpoints. He joined the Highway Traffic Safety Department in Indiana in 2021 after serving for over thirty years as a City Police Officer in Muncie Indiana.
While serving as an Officer in Muncie Indiana Chris served as a road Sergeant, Traffic Unit Commander, Traffic Crash Reconstruction Team Commander, Drug Recognition Expert, Standardized Field Sobriety Test Instructor, Drug Recognition Expert Instructor and Hostage Negotiator. He has also serves as a Deputy Coroner for Blackford County Indiana. He is also a proud Veteran that served in the United States Army as a Military Police Officer.
Mr. Bill Lindsey has 20 years of experience as an attorney in Alabama and currently serves as the Deputy Director of the National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI). He started his prosecutorial career in Tuscaloosa County and served there for a decade. He then became Alabama’s only Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP) for the next 9 years providing education and resources on traffic-related issues to judges, law enforcement, prosecutors, other traffic safety professionals, and the public at-large.