International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) - Experts & Thought Leaders

Carolyn J. Harshman, MPA, CEM, has taken office as 2021-2022 president of the USA Council of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM-USA). She was sworn in at the President’s Banquet during the Annual Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Other officers sworn in were IAEM-USA First Vice President Cathy M. Clark, MA, IAEM-USA Second Vice President Justin Kates, CEM, and IAEM-USA Treasurer Walter English, III, CEM. Expansion of emergency management  Upon taking office, Ms. Harshman expressed delight in the expansion of the range and growth of the profession of emergency management. Over the years, organizations have created positions dedicated to preparing for disasters" “Emergency managers now work in a broad spectrum of disciplines including government, health care, non-profit organizations, education, public health, and the private sector. Over the past several years, organizations and employers have created positions dedicated to preparing for, responding to, mitigating against, and recovering from disasters,” declared Ms. Harshman. “It’s an exciting time to be in a field that is represented in such a broad swath of disciplines and industries. During my term, I will open the doors wide to all of these organizations making certain that we meet the needs of all of our members as we collectively advance the profession of emergency management.” Work experience  Ms. Harshman, a certified emergency manager with more than 30 years of experience in the field, is the president of Emergency Planning Consultants based in San Diego, California. Like many other members of IAEM, she entered the field of emergency management as a second career. Her first career was in land use planning for the County of San Diego and City of San Diego during the 1980s and 1990s. During that time, she worked on subdivisions, development permits, zoning ordinance revisions, community planning, and redevelopment projects. Tucked in the middle of that career was a temporary assignment with the County of San Diego’s Office of Disaster Preparedness where she co-authored an update to the County’s Emergency Operations Plan and served as the public information officer. By the late 1990s, she left local government to pursue full-time consulting in emergency management. Consultant experience  As a consultant, she provides government entities services including plans, training, and exercises Ms. Harshman has extensive experience as an instructor of emergency management courses for FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute, California Specialized Training Institute, the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center, and numerous higher education institutions. As a consultant, she provides government entities services including plans, training, and exercises. Given her first career and knowledge of planning and land development, she specializes in hazard mitigation planning. As she enthusiastically explains, “It’s exciting to work with organizations who are dedicated to minimizing or eliminating threats associated with hazards. As studies have shown, every dollar invested in mitigation is seven dollars saved in response. I can’t imagine doing work that is more meaningful and impactful than mitigation planning.” IAEM experience and education Ms. Harshman is proud to have participated in the first cadre of the National Emergency Management Executive Academy. Equally important is her dedication to IAEM having served six years as the chair of the Conference Committee, two years overseeing the Leadership Symposium, and two years as chair of the Membership Committee. Next, she was elected regional president of IAEM-USA Region 9 which includes California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Pacific Trust and Territories including American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. After four years as regional president, she was elected to the IAEM-USA Presidential Team. A life-long native of San Diego, Ms. Harshman holds a Master of Public Administration from San Diego State University. She lives in San Diego with her spouse Mary Claire Cuthbert, RN, and loves pets Bodacious, Beatrice, and Brodie. 

The IAEM-USA Awards and Recognition Committee of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) has named Andrew D. Friend, CEM, the IAEM-USA 2021 Emergency Manager of the Year. The award will be presented at the President’s Banquet and Awards Ceremony on October 20 at the IAEM 69th Annual Conference & EMEX, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is being honored for his leadership during the COVID-19 response in 2020. Experience Friend led the COVID-19 response in two states during 2020. He was the chief of staff of the State Emergency Operations Center for the Maryland Emergency Management Agency from March through August 2020, before joining the Illinois Department of Public Health as deputy director. Identifying areas for improvement Friend realigned and conducted quality improvement of the state’s Incident Command System Organizational Chart In his Illinois position, Friend realigned and conducted quality improvement of the state’s Incident Command System Organizational Chart. Additionally, he identified areas for improvement and executed the improvements to the state Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) Receipt, Stage and Store (RSS) warehouse. This occurred before the vaccine roll-out nationally. He oversaw and managed the state’s mass vaccination program and as of Dec. 31, 2020, Illinois led the nation with more than 150,000 vaccinations given. Management skills The structure/system that was put in place, led to more than 11.1 million vaccinations given by the end of May 2021. In addition, Friend ran operations/strategic command for the state and worked with the Illinois National Guard to develop the strategy to deploy more than 1,500 troops to 70 of the 102 counties across the state. He also oversaw issuing all missions, which led to the National Guard giving more than 1.7 million vaccinations by the end of May 2021. Finally, Friend built coalitions and brought all local, state, and federal partners to the table, and negotiated and built relationships to execute the state's response. About Emergency Manager Award The Emergency Manager of the Year Award recognizes an emergency management practitioner at any level (federal, state, tribal, local, academic, military, non-government organization, and private) for outstanding contributions to the overall field of emergency management.

The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) and the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) released the joint annual report entitled Emergency Management Performance Grant: An Evaluation of the Nation’s Return on Investment Amid Coronavirus. About EMPG The Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) allows state, local, territorial, and tribal governments to make key investments to build capacity and enhance the capability of states and localities to respond to disasters. Even resource constraints faced amidst the COVID-19 pandemic response, emergency managers continued to demonstrate a commitment to building all-hazards emergency management capacity. For EMPG in the fiscal year 2020, there is much to highlight. 247 state and approximately 500 local emergency operations centers helped officials coordinate efforts for 19,752 events using EMPG funds State and local emergency managers developed, maintained, or updated 5,408 plans addressing all manner of emergency response, recovery, and mitigation needs, many of which were related to issues driven by the COVID 19 pandemic response More than 138,000 participants took part in 4,020 state and local workshops, drills, and functionalfull-scale exercises 16,978 individual and community preparedness outreach campaigns impacted nearly 115 millionresidents across the nation Grants put to use Capabilities afforded through EMPG allow many of these events to be managed without additional federal expenditures When the response to the COVID-19 pandemic began, jurisdictions were prepared to initiate cross government planning and coordination; begin procuring, distributing, and managing PPE and medical supplies; manage vaccine distribution and site logistics, and conduct public information and messaging due to sustained investments made through EMPG. Without a robust emergency management ecosystem at the state, local, territorial, and tribal levels, the responses to many disasters would falter or require unplanned federal support. Capabilities afforded through EMPG allow many of these events to be managed without additional federal expenditures. While disaster events remain unpredictable and no investment can fully eliminate risk, supporting the development of state, local, territorial, and tribal capabilities through EMPG is proven to minimize disaster effects on vulnerable populations and limit federal expenditures in the response and recovery phase. Supporting emergency operations centers Few federal programs boast EMPG’s 50-50 matching commitment from the state and local level. EMPG stands as the beacon of congressional commitment to ensuring communities and states have the ability to prepare, mitigate, respond, and recover from any number of emergencies and disasters. EMPG funds are often used to support emergency operations centers which are the coordination hubs for disaster response. The program also provides public education and outreach, enhanced interoperable communications capabilities, support for mutual aid agreement development, and the ability to manage statewide alerts and warnings.