About Us

About Us

Dr. Nancy Grant is the CEO and Emergency Management Consultant with Business Survive and then Thrive, a company that assists small businesses and nonprofits to survive and thrive during and after disasters because of the integration of their preparedness activities and plans into daily operations and ongoing planning.

Now Professor Emeritus at The University of Akron, Dr. Nancy Grant and Dr. David H. Hoover, were founding directors of The Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security .

Policy Research. They traveled all around the country, researching and debriefing involved personnel to capitalize on what could be learned from the situation to mitigate damages in future disasters. They were involved in hurricanes, tornados, floods, building fires, forest fires and even called in as part of the investigative team on the crash of Flight #93 in Shanksville PA on 9/11.

Dr. Grant, with a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Urban Studies, began working in the field of Emergency Management following the passage of SARA Title III: Emergency Response Planning and Community Right-to-Know in 1986, by training Medical professionals, public safety personnel 

to the director of OEMA health personnel, and public safety responders how to prepare for hazardous materials disasters.  Grant and Hoover’s expertise with hazardous materials and emergency responders lead them to be in the middle of research with both the swine flu and H1N1 which broke out while Dr. Grant was researching with Purell on the use of the hand sanitizers by first response personnel.  This lead to being invited to Columbus Emergency Operations Center and ultimately giving an assessment briefing to the director of OEMA.   In 1998 Drs. Grant and Hoover worked with the State of Ohio to host an international terrorism preparedness and training conference. Following 9/11, they were asked to head the 2002 Ohio Governor’s Terrorism Task Force initiative to assess training and equipment needs across the state. Dr. Grant has been an instructor at the National Fire Academy, attended the U.S. Military National War College and been part of an international exchange training program in Israel and Korea.

The current team of Dr Jeanne Cross (COO) and Dr. Nancy Grant have worked together designing and delivering presentations and conducting research projects in emergency preparedness and response for over 25 years.  As such, and with a specialization in Emergency Management in her Masters degree, Dr. Cross, is uniquely qualified to convey unfamiliar concepts and terms related to continuity planning.

Dr. Jeanne Cross has experience in journalism and education technology and has taught English Composition for over 20 years.  She brings her writing, presentation and technical skills to Survive and Then Thrive, ensuring that the products we offer are user-friendly and professional.

Dr. Cross’s understanding of business continuity planning and the general area of emergency preparedness ensures that the content she designs is accurate as well as clear and concise.  Her expertise enhances the quality and usability of our products, ensuring that our customers are able to complete their Continuity Plans by using our products.

75% of small businesses do not have a disaster recovery plan in place
52% of small businesses say it would take at least three months to recover from a disaster
Only 18% of companies surveyed that have fewer than 50 employees have a disaster recovery plan
Only 25% of businesses that close due to a major disaster ever reopen