Management Team
Fred Rafilson, Ph.D. ~ CEO
Email: FRafilson@iosolutions.org
Biography:
Dr. Rafilson, co-founder and CEO of I/O Solutions, has spent his entire career in personnel selection. He holds a Doctorate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and has personally developed and implemented hundreds of assessment programs for federal, state, and county/ municipal agencies. Prior to establishing I/O Solutions, Dr. Rafilson led the research/development and marketing efforts for two of America’s most successful employment test publishing and human resources consulting companies. After these assignments, he joined a consulting firm to develop and market human resources products and services specifically for police, sheriff, and fire departments throughout the nation. He took that firm from a start-up to one of the nation’s largest human resource consulting firms.
Dr. Rafilson’s reputation and credibility are well established. His extensive knowledge of public safety selection serves as the underpinning of the firm, and his success in team building is carried forward and woven into every project I/O Solutions executes. He has routinely provided training and lectures to national law enforcement and fire service associations, has worked as a consultant with the U.S. Department of Justice, and has published many scholarly articles about public safety entrance exams, physical ability tests, and personality assessments. Major trade publications in which his articles have appeared include Police Chief magazine, Law and Order magazine, Law Enforcement News magazine, and Fire Engineering magazine.
John V. Harnisher, Ph.D. ~ President
Email: JHarnisher@iosolutions.org
Biography:
Dr. Harnisher oversees the operations of the nation's leading public safety human resources consulting firm. He brings with him many years of experience in the areas of psychometrics (test development), employee selection, and learning and development. Dr. Harnisher's previous role was Senior Vice President of a global HR consulting firm specializing in personality and cognitive ability testing. His work there included designing and advancing the corporate strategy, as well as planning and directing the scientific research necessary to develop and launch new product offerings. During his tenure with that firm, he also taught applied statistics and research methodology at both Columbia and New York Universities.
Dr. Harnisher’s breadth of knowledge and experience is aligned with I/O Solutions’ vision of leading the public safety testing and assessment field with cutting-edge and innovative solutions to select and promote those individuals who are best suited to serve in your communities. Dr. Harnisher holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology from NYU. He has an accomplished record of presentations and publications in the fields of employee selection and assessment and looks forward to working to continue I/O Solutions’ record of excellence.
Kimberly Rafilson ~ CFO
Email: KRafilson@iosolutions.org
Biography:
Ms. Rafilson co-founded I/O Solutions and is actively involved in its daily operations and business development initiatives. In addition to serving as an expert job analysis practitioner, test item writer, assessment center role-player and project specialist, she is busy marketing our portfolio, attending conferences and trade shows, meeting with police and fire chiefs and monitoring the financial strength of the organization. Ms. Rafilson exercises her journalism training to contribute to I/O Solutions' marketing and sales initiatives, ensuring that the highly technical nature of our product and service offerings are clearly communicated to our clients and prospects.
Brian J. O’Sullivan, Ph.D. (ABD) ~ Vice President of Consulting
Email: BOsullivan@iosolutions.org
Biography:
Mr. O’Sullivan specializes in public safety testing, and over the course of his 15+ year career has managed over 200 projects involving assessment centers, promotional test development, structured oral interviews, entry-level exam development, physical-ability test development, performance evaluation process development and candidate preparatory training programs. Mr. O’Sullivan started his career at I/O Solutions, Inc. in 2001 as a project manager, was promoted to senior consultant, director of consulting, and most recently, to VP of Consulting.
As the VP of Consulting, Mr. O’Sullivan provides leadership and guidance, ensures best practices and compliance with professional and legal regulations is maintained, and trains and mentors I/O staff in the use of the latest test development theories.
Mr. O’Sullivan is the consummate scientist-practitioner. He is routinely recognized by clients for his outstanding dedication and attention to detail. His statistical skills and knowledge of cutting-edge assessment practices are unparalleled.
Mr. O’Sullivan has earned his Master of Science degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the Illinois Institute of Technology and is ABD toward the completion of his Ph.D. in the same field.
Ms. Karen M Steiger, M.S. ~ Director of Technical Writing
Email: KSteiger@iosolutions.org
Biography:
Ms. Steiger has over 10-years’ experience at I/O Solutions writing and editing entry-level and promotional tests for public safety agencies across the nation. Ms. Steiger developed the item-writing and editing guidelines that have now become standard company practice. She supervises the entire Technical Writing Division, assigns and evaluates the work of other team members. Ms. Steiger acts as a member of the Research and Development Division, leading efforts to update and maintain our current off-the-shelf testing products as well as develop new examinations.
She has written and edited I/O Solutions’ entry-level and promotional off-the-shelf exams, including multiple forms of the NCJOSI, NFSI, NCJOSI2 , Fundamentals of Law Enforcement promotional exams and Core Concepts of Law Enforcement Management promotional exams, among many others. She continues to perform all technical writing duties as needed—including writing and editing entry-level and promotional tests for public safety agencies, developing and writing study guides, online practice tests and other candidate resources, and editing I/O Solutions’ technical reports and marketing materials.
Ms. Steiger earned her Masters in Writing, with Honors from DePaul University.
David Blitz, Ph.D. (ABD) ~ Senior Psychometrician
Email: DBlitz@IOSolutions.org
Biography:
David Blitz, Ph.D. (ABD) specializes in quantitative methodology and computer applications in the area of personnel research and selection. Dr. Blitz leads our assessment and psychometric capabilities in his role as Senior Psychometrician and is responsible for carrying out I/O Solutions’ research and development objectives, including test development goals and priorities, psychometrically reviewing and continually revising and updating current offerings, editing and/or producing technical materials and managing the development of new instruments.
Dr. Blitz has over 18 years of professional experience in corporate, consulting, public and academic/research environments and has worked in human resources management, management consulting, statistical consulting, computerized testing and measurement consulting, and healthcare measurement research. Dr. Blitz served as an adjunct faculty member at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology from 2002-2005 and as an Instructor of Psychology at the Illinois Institute of Technology from 2005-2006.
He received a B.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois and a M.A. in Personnel Psychology from New York University and will receive his Ph.D. in I/O Psychology at the Illinois Institute of Technology in the near future.
Hiry B. West III ~ EVP, Business Development and Client Relations
Email: HWest@IOSolutions.org
Biography:
Hiry B. West III is responsible for the oversight of the company’s client base, developing new business and bringing new solutions to serve client needs. He has a proven track record with over 25 years in sales and management. Mr. West began his career on Wall Street, where he specialized in developing client relationships that translated into driving revenue growth for his firm. He later parlayed his strong business skills to help small to mid-size companies across a variety of industries, meet or exceed their revenue targets. Mr. West’s vast experience in this area across a variety of industries, makes him uniquely qualified for this role.
Mr. West earned a management degree from the University of Rochester.
Rina Zito ~ PSR Manager
Email: RZito@IOSolutions.org
Biography:
Ms. Zito is the point of contact for all of our Public Safety Recruitment clients. Rina works closely with clients helping to ensure the recruitment and selection process runs flawlessly. Starting with posting your employment applications, determining deadlines for their receipt and establishing the dates for the administration of the written and physical ability testing, she will ensure that no detail is overlooked. With her marketing background, she will help you to design and place position advertisements and manage all incoming calls and questions from your candidates. Ms. Zito will also coordinate and oversee the day of test administration, ensuring that everything runs smoothly, your candidates feel well taken care of, and your agency is portrayed in the most professional and favorable light.
Please contact Rina with any questions about setting up your process.