Episode 3 | The Female Indiana Jones, Over 40 Adventures in Disaster Response | Gail Rowntree

In Episode 03, we’re joined by Gail Rowntree, Director of Learning and Development at Frontier Risks, a security and crisis management expert with over 30 years of experience. Known as the “Female Indiana Jones”, Gail’s career spans aviation, emergency response, mental health, and risk training.Starting as cabin crew at British Airways, she later trained flight deck and crew in safety and emergency procedures. After retraining as a clinical counsellor in Organisational Psychiatry and Psychology, she responded to 43 international and UK-based crises, often as a Senior Incident Director or Head of Mental Health.A former Associate Professor at Buckinghamshire New University, Gail has lead the MSc in Aviation Operations Management and delivers strategic lectures worldwide.In episode 3, we explore:The link between aviation, crisis management, and security trainingThe role of mental health in emergency responseGail’s experiences in high-risk environments.With her wealth of expertise, this conversation is one you don’t want to miss!(0:00)Intro(0:21) - Gail's story and the SRMC (3:03) The tsunami in Phuket & an overview of Gail's role in crisis management(14:51) Insurance & politics in relation to emergency response(17:53) Gail's role and experience in aviation(20:43)Understanding more about the role, how it's evolved over time, the type of people it attracts and attributes required(32:40) Training, support and impact on mental health (39:55) Stepping into academia, current goals and being a woman in the industry (45:09) Further discussion around Gail's experiences with plane crashes and other emergency environments (49:34)Gail's impact on the sector, future goals and other experiences