Madalena DeAndrea is a speaker working with Kirkland Productions through Safe and Sound Schools.

About

Madalena DeAndrea is an active shooting survivor, resiliency advocate, and the oldest daughter of Deputy Chief AJ DeAndrea (retired). The backdrop of Madalena’s childhood was her father’s historic law enforcement career which included serving in a leadership role in three school shootings that changed the fabric of American society and police response to active shootings around the world.

A Colorado Native, Madalena received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Strategy from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2018. During her time at CU, she served as Student Body President for her 30,000 classmates which gave her the unique opportunity to directly manage a $24 million budget, lead a 500-person organization, speak to crowds of 8,000+ people, and work with world leaders like His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Vice President Joe Biden.

Following her undergraduate studies, Madalena worked for a non-profit in Los Angeles, CA. While serving in this role she went out for a night of dancing with her friends at Borderline Bar and Grill and the unthinkable happened - a gunman came in and started shooting. Using the skillsets and mindsets she learned growing up, Madalena was able to find safety in the attic above the bar where she stayed for the remainder of the tragedy as 12 people, including responding Police Officer Sgt. Ron Helus, were killed.

After surviving the Borderline tragedy, Madalena made a choice to not let evil win and to be a force for good in the world.

After serving for four years as an Emergency Management Specialist for Jeffco Public Schools, the School District she grew up in, Madalena now proudly serves as the Senior Manager of Strategic Projects, Recovery, & Resiliency for Jeffco. In this first-of-its-kind position, Madalena supports the proactive implementation of strategic safety initiatives and recovery planning prior to crisis occurring. She is a certified Threat Liaison Officer for the state of Colorado and is trained in CPTED, CIT, FEMA’s Incident Command Series and Professional Development Series, and Single Officer Response to an Active Shooter.

In her spare time, Madalena travels the country telling her story and sharing her message of hope, resiliency, and post-traumatic growth with law enforcement agencies, school districts, businesses, and community organizations. Madalena is passionate about empowering individuals and communities with the mindsets and tools needed to build resiliency even in the face of life’s uncertainties!

popular programs

A HERO'S DAUGHTER: A SURVIVOR's JOURNEY
(1 to 2-hour presentation)

Audience: Civilians & Law Enforcement

In this keynote, Madalena DeAndrea deep dives her experience of surviving the Borderline Bar and Grill shooting in Thousand Oaks, CA in November of 2018 where 12 people were tragically killed, including a responding police officer. Madalena is a current Senior Manager of Strategic Projects, Recovery, and Resiliency for Jeffco Public Schools Department of School Safety and the daughter of Deputy Chief AJ DeAndrea (Retired), who was in a leadership role in three school shootings that changed the fabric of American society and police response to active shootings around the world. 

Madalena shares how the protective factors she learned growing up ultimately saved her life and the unfiltered reality of what it takes to experience post-traumatic growth after a profound experience of evil. Madalena also empowers attendees with real-world takeaways, mindsets, and tools they can put into place today to make themselves, their loved ones, and their communities more resilient prior to crisis occurring. 

This keynote culminates in an opportunity for audience questions if time allows. 
remember who you are: a story of resiliency and purpose after trauma
(1 to 2-hour presentation)

Audience: Highschool-aged Youth & Above; Civilians & Law Enforcement

​Madalena DeAndrea shares the unfiltered reality of her experience healing from and finding post-traumatic growth after surviving the Borderline Bar and Grill shooting in Thousand Oaks, CA where 12 people were tragically killed, including a responding police officer. Madalena dives into a high-level overview of her survival experience; insights on how the protective factors she grew up with ultimately saved her life and primed her for healing; and the mindsets, skillsets, and tools she used to rebuild her life into one of purpose following a profound experience of evil. 

Madalena also empowers attendees with real-world takeaways, mindsets, and tools they can put into place today to make themselves, their loved ones, and their communities more resilient prior to crisis occurring.

​This keynote culminates in an opportunity for audience questions if time allows.
ACtive Shooting Survivor Panel
​(1 to 2-hour presentation)

Audience: Civilians & Law Enforcement

In this panel, Madalena DeAndrea and other active shooting survivors each break down their experiences surviving and healing from an active shooting. Each panelist will give a high-level overview of the event they survived, their experience, and their healing journey. 

This panel culminates in an opportunity for audience questions facilitated by a member of your organization.

Specific additional panelists will be coordinated on a case-by-case basis for each request. 
DARK NIGHTS OF THE SOUL: WHEN TERROR HITS HOME
(3 to 4-hour presentation with Madalena DeAndrea and her father, AJ DeAndrea, also a Safe and Sound Schools speaker)

Audience: Civilians & Law Enforcement

Deputy Chief AJ DeAndrea (Retired) was in a leadership role in three school shootings that changed the fabric of American society and police response to active shootings around the world. He takes a deep dive into these tragic events and more importantly analyzes the positive things that came from them in decision making, improved tactics, and mental health practices. 

He is accompanied by his oldest daughter, Madalena DeAndrea, who survived the Borderline active shooting incident in Thousand Oaks, CA in 2018. Madalena, a current Senior Manager of Strategic Projects, Recovery, and Resiliency with Jeffco Public Schools Department of School Safety in Colorado shares how the protective factors she learned growing up the daughter of a lifelong law enforcement officer ultimately saved her life. She shares her insights as a survivor of an active shooter, and her choice to experience post-traumatic growth following an experience of evil.

​This keynote culminates in an opportunity for audience questions if time allows. 

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One of the most unique and inspiring voices in school safety today, Madalena DeAndrea shares her personal and lived experiences with a kind of bravery and pure intention few people can come close to demonstrating in their lifetime. From growing up as the daughter of a police officer to surviving a deadly mass shooting, DeAndrea reflects thoughtfully on her own heroic journey forward, finding purpose in pain and healing through helping. Now Senior Manager of Strategic Projects, Recovery, and Resiliency for the Jeffco Public Schools and lauded public speaker, Madalena delivers powerful inspiration and practical takeaways to all who hear her message.

Michele Gay
Executive Director & Co-founder
Safe and Sound Schools

MORE REVIEWS

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Bestselling Author of Permanent Midnight and I, Fatty

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Denver 7 News: Post-traumatic growth: After Columbine, father and daughter use their experience to try to help others

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Bestselling Author of Permanent Midnight and I, Fatty

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Rocky Mountain PBS: Daughter of Columbine SWAT Officer Survives Mass Shooting

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Bestselling Author of Permanent Midnight and I, Fatty

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CU Bold: Experiencing a Mass Shooting First Hand - I was not going to let evil win​

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Bestselling Author of Permanent Midnight and I, Fatty

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