The Life Safety Alliance (LSA) has launched its inaugural Legends Program, recognizing extraordinary contributions within the global security and life safety professions.
As a not-for-profit organization, LSA aims to enhance life safety and security practices through collaboration and networking.
The Legends Program marks a new pinnacle of recognition within the sector.
Acknowledging Lasting Contributions
The Legends Program was conceived to define and uphold the profession’s most enduring contributions by honoring individuals whose work significantly impacted their organizations or fields. Describing the aim of the program, Michael Gips, CPP, CSyP, Life Safety Alliance president and co-chair of the Legends Committee, stated, “From the outset, we wanted this program to reflect the full breadth of our profession.”
Gips highlighted the evaluation of nominees across various fields, aiming to acknowledge individuals whose influence extended beyond any specific role.
Selection Process
The selection of the program's first class was meticulous, based on professional judgment, historical significance, and lasting impact in the field.
The nominees hailed from diverse disciplines and geographical locations, with only a select few qualifying for the elevated status of Legends.
Defining a Legend
Jonathan Perillo, Co-Chair of the Legends Committee, emphasized the purpose of identifying a Legend as surpassing traditional measures of excellence. Perillo said, “Legends are the few who turn the tide of theory or practice, whose stories are carried through generations.”
He expressed satisfaction in successfully identifying such figures across all areas of the security realm.
The Inaugural Class of Legends
The inaugural class of Life Safety Alliance Legends includes:
- Marene Allison, a trailblazer in converged security leadership for Fortune 500 companies.
- Steve Bellovin, co-inventor in the field of Internet security and key cryptographic methods.
- Jason Brown, who advanced global corporate security strategy and resilience.
- Russell J. Cancilla, known for elevating corporate security professionalism.
- Tim Crowe, a criminologist key to global CPTED development.
- Sandi Davies, who improved frontline security professionalization.
- Whitfield Diffie, pioneer of public-key cryptography.
- Eduard Emde, an advocate for global security collaboration and standards.
- Larry Fennelly, an influencer in physical security practices and education.
- Martin Gill, promoter of evidence-based security scholarship.
- Godfried Hendriks, a strategist and certification advocate in global security.
- Sandra Jones, known for advancing standards and mentorship in security.
- Bonnie Michelman, a leader in healthcare security strategy and collaboration.
- Ray O'Hara, a principal architect of ESRM and global standards.
- Don W. Walker, a pivotal figure in aligning security with business leadership.
These professionals represent key figures in areas including physical security, cybersecurity, governance, research, and more.
Ensuring Continuous Recognition
The Legends Program is designed to be a continuous endeavour, aiming to identify individuals with transformative impact.
Gips noted that this inaugural group sets a high standard, and the program will continue to honor those shaping security practices and community protection.
The Life Safety Alliance (LSA), an organization committed to improving global life safety and security through best practices, networking, and collaborations, announced the inaugural class of the Life Safety Alliance Legends Program, formally establishing the highest level of recognition within the global security and life safety profession.
The Life Safety Alliance is a not-for-profit organization open to all members of the security and life safety community.
Acknowledging contributions
The Legends Program was created to define, preserve, and uphold the profession’s most enduring contributions. It acknowledges individuals whose contributions have significantly benefited their organizations or fields. These leaders helped shape the modern practice of security, safety, and risk across sectors and generations.
“From the outset, we wanted this program to reflect the full breadth of our profession,” said Michael Gips, CPP, CSyP, Life Safety Alliance president and co-chair of the Legends committee. “We evaluated dozens of nominees across physical and cybersecurity, life safety, intelligence, loss prevention, resilience, governance, investigations, and so on. Our goal is to recognize those whose influence transcended any single role or sector.”
Selection of the nominees
The selection of the inaugural class was thorough and carefully considered. Nominees were assessed using a structured process based on professional judgment, historical importance, and long-lasting, influential contributions to the field.
From an exceptionally accomplished pool spanning disciplines, sectors, and geographies, only a select group met the threshold required for elevation to Legends status.
Measure of Legend
“We set out to establish the measure of a Legend, which is an order of magnitude above the top, the best, or even the most popular,” said Jonathan Perillo, Co-Chair of the Legends Committee.
“Legends are the few who turn the tide of theory or practice, whose stories are carried through generations, and whose efforts are frequently invoked to inspire greatness. To capture this, we abandoned traditional measures and instead collected what truly resonates as a Legend. I’m delighted to announce that we were successful in this pursuit across all fields of the security spectrum, and we are thrilled to announce our inaugural class of Legends.”
The Life Safety Alliance is honored to announce the Inaugural Life Safety Alliance Legends, listed alphabetically by last name:
- Marene Allison, a barrier-breaking security executive and among the first women to graduate from West Point, she pioneered the integration of physical and cybersecurity leadership at Fortune 500 corporations, setting the model for converged security functions.
- Steve Bellovin, an Internet security pioneer who co-invented encrypted key exchange, password-authenticated key agreement methods, and coauthored the seminal Firewalls & Internet Security: Repelling the Wily Hacker, helping define the technical foundations of modern network defense.
- Jason Brown, a transformative corporate security leader who advanced enterprise-wide security strategy, operational resilience, and executive engagement across global organizations.
- Russell J. Cancilla, a distinguished security executive and educator who elevated the professional stature of corporate security through leadership development, industry service, and standards advancement.
- Tim Crowe, a criminologist instrumental in the development and global adoption of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), reshaping how the built environment reduces crime and enhances public safety.
- Sandi Davies, a driving force behind the professionalisation of frontline security, she expanded education, certification, and global engagement through her leadership of the International Foundation for Protection Officers.
- Whitfield Diffie, a co-creator of public-key cryptography, whose groundbreaking work on asymmetric encryption and secure key exchange fundamentally transformed global communications security and enabled modern digital commerce.
- Eduard Emde, a longtime international security leader and standards advocate who strengthened global collaboration, certification frameworks, and professional governance within ASIS International and across the worldwide security community.
- Larry Fennelly, a prolific author and educator in physical security and CPTED whose publications and instruction shaped generations of practitioners and embedded environmental design principles into mainstream security practice.
- Martin Gill, a criminologist, researcher, academic, and longtime editor of Security Journal who elevated evidence-based scholarship and helped bridge research and real-world security practice.
- Godfried Hendriks, a global security strategist and certification champion who advanced international professional standards and strengthened cross-border collaboration within the security field.
- Sandra Jones, a respected public- and private-sector security leader who advanced professional standards, mentorship, and the development of diverse leadership talent within the industry.
- Bonnie Michelman, a pioneering healthcare security executive who elevated hospital and campus safety into a strategic discipline and championed collaboration between public safety and private security.
- Ray O’Hara, one of the principal architects of Enterprise Security Risk Management (ESRM) and an ASIS President, he helped align security strategy with organizational objectives while advancing global standards and certification.
- Don W. Walker, an ASIS President and cofounder of the CSO Center who played a pivotal role in aligning corporate security with business leadership, strengthening executive skillsets, and advancing professional standards and certification.
Collectively, these Legends represent the architects, stewards, and standard-bearers of modern security and life-safety practice. Their influence spans physical security, cybersecurity, risk management, governance, research, education, intelligence, and professional standards development.
Future of the programme
The inaugural class also lays the foundation for the program’s future. Designed as an enduring institution rather than a one-time recognition, the Legends Programme will continue to identify individuals whose careers demonstrate the same level of transformative and sustained impact.
“This first class establishes the standard,” Gips added. “In the years ahead, the program will continue to recognize those whose work has shaped, and will continue to shape, how our profession protects people, information, organizations, and communities.”
