Leading People

Regional Outreach – We can’t change the world from inside the Washington, D.C. beltway alone.  I fought hard to gain a regional private sector liaison in every one of FEMA’s 10 regions to partner with private sector close to home.  These liaisons are smart, motivated, dedicated and on board to make a difference. Their purpose is to communicate, cultivate and advocate for collaboration between the U.S. private sector and FEMA, to support FEMA’s capabilities and to enhance national preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation of all hazards

Field Operations – I have also developed and trained a nationwide disaster team to work side-by-side with you when disaster strikes. They are your advocates and partners on the ground to make sure the private sector is at the table with the rest of the emergency response team.

Private Sector Representative inside FEMA – While the response on the ground is heating up, I kept an eye on the big picture and organizing resources from the National Response Coordination Center. This is where the strategic decisions are made during response operations– and I am the architect that ensured the private sector has a seat at the table through a 90-day rotation program. Here I took transparency to a whole new level – an honest and daily “gut check.”

National Business Emergency Operation Center (NBEOC) – Many states and cities have shared great BEOC models at their levels, bringing the public and private together to form swift and meaningful responses. I developed a similar model, at a national level – the first-in-nation National BEOC – to enhance two-way information sharing in a synchronized manner, providing value to the rest of the team.

Exchange Programs – Building off these other successes, I invited other government offices to consider a rotation on our team. At the same time I researched how to send FEMA emergency managers into business rotations.

International – many of the practices I put in place have been recognized in international forums.