#FacesOfCalian: Steve Dowker

We are profiling employees from across Calian to build awareness and share the exciting work that our fantastic team does each and every day. Faces of Calian profiles will be posted on an ongoing basis—so stay tuned! And be sure to check out our social channels as we share these profiles with our growing online community.

Meet Steve Dowker. Steve is Product Manager for Calian ResponseReady™, our state-of-the-art online platform for developing, delivering and evaluating realistic emergency exercises.

Tell us about your background. 

I came to Calian when International Safety Research (ISR) was acquired in 2017. I had worked at ISR since 2015 on a large federal contract designing and delivering emergency management training exercises. Within Calian Learning, I continued to support our emergency management focused projects.

As our team expanded and we began winning new work, I was able to shift my focus and support clients with developing various components of their emergency management and business continuity programs. Through this experience, I increasingly became involved in project management which was much of my day-to-day role. In February of this year, I transferred internally and joined Calian Nuclear, a division of Calian Advanced Technologies.

What is your role at Calian? Tell us about the type of work you do.

I am currently working as the Product Manager for Calian ResponseReady. This product supports the development, delivery and evaluation of emergency management exercises and has been in use internally since 2014. Calian began offering this software to external clients as a licensed product in 2020 and, until recently, did not have a dedicated staff member supporting its strategy, sales, and marketing efforts.

One of my primary areas of focus is defining the short and long-term objectives for the software and working with stakeholders across Calian to put the necessary systems in place to achieve them. This process requires engagement with staff who currently use the software to identify the features and tools that will support them in delivering innovative exercises for their customers. I also work with other corporate departments to formalize marketing, legal and financial processes and procedures.

Along with developing the longer-term vision for the product, I am working to expand our customer base. Both private and public organizations are increasingly interested in software solutions to support their training and exercising. The need for validating plans and procedures through exercises has really been highlighted over the last few years and I am actively developing strategies to grow ResponseReady into markets that have not been directly pursued.

What do you like most about working for Calian?  

One of the things I have noticed working for Calian is that the growth of the organization organically creates opportunities for the growth of its staff. Roles that did not previously exist become critical for the continued growth of the company, allowing staff to define their own future in a way.

In my case, my extensive use of and involvement with ResponseReady for my work in the Emergency Management group really made for a natural and logical transition into this role. I have no doubt that many people across the organization are in the same process of unknowingly defining new roles for themselves as we speak!

Do you have a favorite story from your time at Calian? 

I have been lucky throughout my time with Calian to travel and deliver projects with my team in some great locations and through these experiences have gained several great stories. It would be hard to pick just one to highlight here. I believe that a common theme that most staff would agree with is that the best success at Calian is its people. If you are doing interesting work with a great team in unique locations, there is bound to be a good story or two that comes about!

What keeps you busy outside of work?  

Being a new dad there are no shortages of things to keep me busy these days! My wife, daughter and I spend most of our time with family and friends, cottaging, hiking, and exploring new places and new activities. We’re lucky to get to do all of this through a fresh set of eyes which makes it all that more fun. I am also an avid fisherman. When I can find some free time for myself, I try to get out on the water as much as I can.