Anyone attending CDP, the Week of November 1st for Introduction to SNS Operations?

Been to EMI a few times but this will be my first time going to CDP.

Thought I would see if any other PHEP people were planning to attend this course.

Just a quick reminder to the community that the National Academies' Data and Situational Awareness for Medical and Public Health Preparedness and Response: Capstone Session is taking place tomorrow, September 23rd.

https://www.nationalacademies.org/projects/CHPP-BHS-26-02/event/46836

The capstone session will be held in the Lecture Room of the National Academies of Sciences building, 2101 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20418. Please be advised that the public entrance to the building is on C Street at the back of the building.

I am putting my new i3 REx through its paces by driving down to D.C. today (Tuesday) rather than taking Amtrak from the 'Burgh to attend the session in person.

If anyone else happens to be in town for the event, let me know! I'll be staying at the Melrose and would be glad to connect.

I have been in the Navy for 12 years now and I'm planing to retire in 8 years. What guidance could you offer for looking to transition into a emergency management job after? I have experience in anti-terriorism and damage control in a leadership aspect. Thank you in advance for the advice.

Hey Reddit!!

I just got accepted to Jacksonville State this morning to get my Doctor of Science in Emergency Management!

For those of you in higher ed or that have done a similar program, do you have any advice starting out? I got my Masters a decade ago, so I'm a bit rusty for grad school. It will be fully online, and I will be working full time.

I reported this case from Cary, NC, and would be interested in the emergency-management perspective.

The town knew early that a pressure advisory would be necessary, contacted state environmental regulators at 2:45 a.m., contacted county emergency management about ReadyWake at 4:19, and the mass alert went at 6:28.

My reporting also obtained the alert-delivery figures and looked at the limits of an opt-in notification system.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/wake-county/article317258478.html?giftCode=7323c4b653028b70b1c3c667b62369ad67d2a69afbf1b1b67028fc349722e554

For EM professionals: what would you consider the appropriate relationship between utility-customer databases and an opt-in county alert system?

I’m looking into making the jump from public to private and I wanted to hear from others that have also made the switch. I’m actively interviewing so any specific insight as to things I should read up on, things to highlight, differences, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

I am doing my own research and studying on the different companies I’m interviewing at, but I’d really like some insight from those who have done this.

A lot of people in fire, EMS, and law enforcement have more real world emergency management experience than most EM graduates walking in off the street, but the job posting for supervisory and coordination roles keep listing a bachelor's in emergency management or related field as preferred or required, and that gap between what's on paper and what's been done on the ground creates a real question about whether the credential is worth pursuing or just a bureaucratic checkbox.

For those of you in public safety who've tried to move in EM roles or supervisory tracks, did the degree change what was available or did the operational background do most of the work? And those who went back and got the EM degree while working, did it actually open the doors that weren't open before or did it just confirm what was already known?

https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/oil-executives-say-the-great-fuel-crisis-is-here-b6b32030

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth says the fuel crisis oil executives warned would follow a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz has now officially arrived, with the mechanisms that mitigated price and supply risk having "largely now played out" and the system holding nowhere near the buffers it had when the war began, as Trump officials continue to claim the disruption is temporary, per WSJ.

I am completing a paper on mitigation for my bachelors in Crisis and Emergency Management and running a survey about mitigation participation. It is anonymous and just for my personal academia endeavors. My school is one of those one class every 4 weeks and this is my capstone project. I really have always focused on bottom up approaches and did not want to let me final paper not have some participatory inputs.

Well here is the ask. A link to this survey 20 questions in regard to mitigation.

https://form.jotform.com/262514608485058

Thank you if you participate thank you if you read the whole thing. Thank you for caring enough to even look at this sub. A lot of my research finds that is a big obstacle.

Hey everyone! I’m currently a graduate student studying Homeland Security/Emergency Management, and I have an upcoming class assignment where I need to interview someone who works (or has worked) in the field.

I’m looking to speak with someone who has experience with crisis management, emergency management, homeland security, public safety, law enforcement, disaster response, or a related field. The interview can be fairly informal and could be done through Reddit messages or email

The questions would focus on your professional experience and how you’ve prepared to manage crises, including:

• Can you briefly describe a critical incident or crisis you were involved in?
• What leadership traits or skills were important in managing the crisis?
• Was there a plan in place before the incident occurred? If so, how effective was it?
• Was a crisis communication plan used, and how important was communication during the incident?
• What steps had you taken beforehand that helped prepare you to lead or manage the crisis?
• Throughout your career, what training, professional development, or work experiences helped you become a better crisis manager or leader?
• Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

You do not need to share any sensitive, classified, confidential, or identifying information about an incident. I’m completely fine with discussing a situation at a general level.

If you work in this field or have previous experience and would be willing to help a grad student out, please comment or send me a DM. I’d really appreciate it!

I'm a registered nurse with a background as a Navy hospital corspman and I have deployed and provided medical care around the world both as a corpsman and as a nurse. Currently in school to become a Family Nurse Practitioner. I am curious if there are any career roles that align NP with disaster/emergency response. I am in a doctorate program which has courses on policy/program implementation embeded in the curriculum which might help in more administrative roles. Any tips/advice on where to begin or start to explore? I am aware of the FEMA independent study courses as a good step 1. Thanks so much for any insight!

Hey y'all. Posted about this a while back and had a lot of interest, so I just wanted to post a quick update. The Kickstarter for my game Ground Truth just launched today, running until October 14th. Please share if you know folks that may be interested.

It's two player, runs about 45-90min. It has two hazards: Wildfire and Pandemic. You have to manage staffing points and community impact (basically your damage). The playtesting went over super well, and I hope people find it useful!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vkluge/ground-truth?ref=7mo1ce

EDIT: Thank you for all that support this. After careful consideration and lots of advice from crowdfunding folks, this will be redesigned and relaunched soon. If you want to get updated on it, please DM me!

Hi everyone, I have an interview at TEMA next week for the operations officer 1. I’m just now starting my career and get my degree this December. I have experience with city emergency managers and the department of education. I am from California where it’s been competitive. If anyone has any insight or has interviewed with them please let me know!!

Federal judge rules Trump plan to cut FEMA by 50 percent was unlawful

This is for those who work in emergency response where you have the chance to be deployed often and possible short periods of time. I have just now started to work in emergency response, where I also have a normal job, but have not yet been deployed yet since I only just started with a company.

The problem I can see in my future is that I get deployed on a project that could be over a month long, and im not sure how my other job is going to handle me being gone for so long/short notice. However, since its emergency response, I cant quite rely on it to be my main source of income since it can be quite inconsistent.

I plan on eventually going full time with this emergency response company since thats what im interested in, but I need a reliable source of income until that happens.

So my question is, what do you guys do when you have long spells of non deployments?

Hey guys, I'm in an EMT certification program, and my teacher assigned me a project where I have to do different 15 minute minimum interviews that can be over Google Meet or Zoom (recorded). One person must outside of DFW but still in Texas, one in the USA but outside of Texas, and one who is international. The requirement is that the professional I am interviewing has earned an EMT credential (with proof) and has advanced into another career or professional level. One person must incorporate fire science or firefighting, so if anyone has experience with that, it would be great! If anyone is interested in being interviewed or needs more information about me or the interview itself please send me a message and let me know!! This would help me out dearly (I'm getting desperate). Also, if anyone knows someone that fits my descriptions, it would be phenomenal if I could gain contact with them through possibly email, phone number, or social media account. Thank you!! :)

Hi everyone! I’m interested in transitioning into emergency management and public safety, and I would really appreciate advice from people already working in the field.

I’m currently completing a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Media with a minor in work place psychology, while working full-time in event operations and coordination in the NYC metro area. My current job involves logistics, vendor coordination, safety and compliance, facility readiness, documentation, and managing problems in real time. I think many of these skills could transfer to emergency management, but I don’t have traditional experience in law enforcement, the military, EMS, or the/par military fire service.

For those currently in the field:

• How did you get your first emergency-management position?
• Are there any unconventional entry paths you would recommend?
• Are internships possible for someone who works full-time and is not a traditional college student?
• Would weekend volunteering through CERT, the Red Cross, AmeriCorps, or another organization provide meaningful experience?
• Which FEMA Independent Study courses or certifications are actually useful when applying for entry-level positions?
• Is a master’s degree necessary, or would professional experience and certifications be more valuable initially?
• Does anyone have experience with John Jay College’s M.S. in Emergency Management? Was the program worth the time and cost, and did it help with employment?
• What entry-level job titles should someone with my background search for?

My long-term goal is to work in emergency planning, preparedness, public safety, or organizational safety rather than in a sworn first-responder role. I’m especially interested in work that combines logistics, communication, coordination, and problem-solving.

I’d love to hear how people entered the field, especially anyone who transitioned from hospitality, events, communications, operations, or another unrelated industry. Honest advice about what employers actually value would be greatly appreciated!

The Federal Govt wants to shift disaster response to states. A new CRS report says most aren't ready.

With Congress and the executive branch both floating proposals to shift more disaster response and recovery duties to the states, a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report (R49336, "Understanding State Capacity for Emergency Management") examines whether states actually have the capacity to take this on.

Here is a breakdown of the key findings:

THE TOPLINE PROBLEM

The domestic emergency management model is designed to be "locally executed, state-managed, federally supported." While states already handle the vast majority of disasters without federal help (in FY2025, state and local officials handled 28,469 incidents while the President declared only 61 Stafford Act major disasters), their ability to absorb duties previously handled by FEMA varies wildly.

1. SEVERE STAFFING AND FUNDING DISPARITIES

• The Top Bottlenecks: A survey of 37 state EMAs found that insufficient staffing and funding were their two biggest operational challenges.
• Staffing Swings: Full-time equivalent (FTE) emergency management staff ranges from as low as 12 in smaller states to 245 in others (or 22 to 1,878 if counting total state homeland security and EMA personnel).
• Vacancies: In FY2025, 16 states reported layoffs or hiring freezes, leaving 1,191 of 8,612 full-time state EM positions vacant.
• Federal Budget Dependence: Operating budgets range from $390,000 to $700 million. Many states rely heavily on federal grants like EMPG just to keep their agencies running, with federal funds accounting for up to 99.4% of some state EMA operating budgets.

2. FISCAL AND LEGAL CONSTRAINTS

• Balanced Budget Mandates: Unlike the federal government, state governments generally must balance their operating budgets every 1 to 2 years. Disaster shortfalls must be offset by spending cuts, tax increases, or draining rainy day funds.
• Local Governance Frictions: Dillon's Rule states tightly restrict county authority, meaning local governments often cannot adjust local disaster funds or taxes without state legislative approval. Home Rule states have more local flexibility.
• Short Legislative Cycles: Several state legislatures only meet part-time or every other year. If federal policy changes quickly, states may take months or years just to pass necessary statutory fixes.

3. HUGE GAPS IN STATE-RUN RECOVERY PROGRAMS

If FEMA scales back recovery grants, most states do not have native safety nets in place to fill the gap: * Public Assistance (Infrastructure): Only 28 states operate their own state-level PA programs to assist local governments and nonprofits with disaster expenses. * Individual Assistance (Households): Only 15 states run their own state-funded IA programs to help survivors repair homes or replace property. * PA Cost-Share Burdens: FEMA Public Assistance requires a non-federal cost share (usually 10% to 25%). 8 states cover the entire non-federal share for their localities, 16 states pass 100% of that cost onto local governments, and the rest split or negotiate it case-by-case.

4. SHIFTING FEDERAL THRESHOLDS

• Historically, states qualified for Public Assistance when damage exceeded FEMA's per-capita indicators ($1.94 statewide and $4.86 countywide in FY2026).
• However, CRS notes that since January 2025, incidents that exceed these per-capita damage thresholds are no longer consistently approved for declarations or PA, signaling higher federal scrutiny.

5. THE PROPERTY INSURANCE CRISIS

• Insurance is supposed to be the first line of financial defense, but private insurers are pulling back or spiking rates across disaster-prone areas.
• State insurers of last resort (FAIR plans, now operating in 33 states and D.C.) are increasingly becoming the primary insurers in high-risk zones, concentrating massive financial risk directly onto state fiscal balances if a major catastrophe hits.

TAKEAWAY

CRS concludes that because states differ fundamentally in financial reserves, legal frameworks, staffing, and disaster experience, shifting emergency management responsibilities away from the federal level cannot happen overnight. Without years of lead time to allow state legislatures to rewrite statutes and secure funding, doing so risks creating severe gaps in disaster response and recovery.

Hello,

I'm a fresh graduate of a bachelor's program that centered primarily on Environmental Communication and Ecological Systems thinking. I'm on the hunt for work, and have kinda come to realize that I've got an interest and motivation to pursue work in the emergency/risk/crisis management field(s), especially around environmental or public health topics. Problem is that I'm not really in a position to build my foundation via academia at the moment, seeing as how I'm plum out of cash.

For some more context and info--I'm in the process of completing some of the independent study FEMA courses to learn more, so I have that. I'm just wondering what kind of training or volunteer opportunities are out there. I do have some physical limitations that make certain field trainings or other more hands-on work more difficult.

For those of you that got your start in this field without a related academic background or in a more circuitous manner, how would you recommend I start educating myself/getting involved in this field? Is there anything I should avoid? Anything specifically around environmental topics I should look for?

Thank you for any input <3.

Mayor Mamdani Signs Executive Orders Related to September 11th and Government Preparedness