BUILDING EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT STAFF: A REFLECTION

BUILDING EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT STAFF: A REFLECTION  

By Jim Mullen

By 2001, numerous national experts had cited Seattle’s emergency management team as one of the more creative and successful units in the country. A national conference invited me to present my concept of the ideal level of expertise, training and education for a municipal emergency management team. The question: How had Seattle’s staff been constructed? What combination of skills, education and experience were desirable? Diverging from other panelists’ focus on “professionalizing” of emergency management through degrees and certification programs, and an “accidental” emergency manager myself, it was an interesting opportunity to reflect on how that excellent staff from a multitude of backgrounds blended to serve Seattle so effectively by addressing the four primary elements of emergency management:

Preparedness: a PH. D specializing in disaster communications; she was a master presenter of information; exuding compassion, integrity and the belief that with the proper tools citizens could help not only themselves but others;

Admin Support: Her unique background included employment in a university development office, serving as a personal assistant to an iconic Washington Post political cartoonist, and working on a congressional campaign;

Mitigation: recruited from the private sector with a degree in political science, she possessed a wealth of personal and professional instincts enabling her to navigate challenging environments; also, an ability to inspire others, including me;

Response: a retired Air Force officer whose resume included a MBA from a civilian university; a post-military career path that included developing comprehensive disaster plans and candid after-action reports. He quietly assisted neighboring jurisdictions in King County to piece together their own basic plans. He was indispensable in bridging gaps (mine!) with regional partners. He ultimately acquired a CEM; he really didn’t need it;

Recovery: with experience mostly in business and education, he unlocked the FEMA financial vaults, mastered the language and the rules for disaster
reimbursement following a presidential declaration, rapidly building OEM’s credibility with city agencies. He also mastered the art of grantsmanship, enabling our acquisition of the largest share of federal emergency management funds passed through the state to local governments;

His work was aided and abetted by the individual hired to work with him, and eventually replace him, further strengthening our recovery management. Her background included work with the US Agency for International Development and a master’s degree in Urban Planning from Cornell.

Information Technology: again, from Cornell’s Urban Planning program, as one of the first in the nation to work as an in-house emergency IT manager, set the standard for the rest. Initially an intern, he’s still there.

Office Manager: a dual citizen with an English common school education (placing her on or above an intellectual level with the rest of us), organized, smart, cheerful. She worked harder than anyone. That Seattle staff’s common traits? Integrity, problem – solving skills, creativity, a sense of humor and varied personal/professional experiences. Without undervaluing current academic and professional credentials, openness to unique backgrounds
and diversity of experience are still keys to forming a successful emergency management team.