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Monterey CA - March 2011

Forum Examines State of Emergency Management

Professionalization of the emergency management profession and issues facing that evolving field were among the topics examined as more than 30 people gathered Feb. 23-24 for the 2011 Lacy E. Suiter Policy Forum.

The forum was hosted by the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security and is named in honor of the late Lacy E. Suiter, former director of executive education programs at the Center and a universally respected figure in the emergency management profession who encouraged vigorous debate as a means to formulate better policy decisions.

"As expected, the Suiter Forum sparked a lot of thought and debate," CHDS Director Glen Woodbury said. "I believe the key take-aways weren't so much in the form of definitive answers, but a better understanding of the right questions the profession should be asking to advance itself."

The two days’ worth of discussion helps FEMA assess what the outlook is in working with new governors and state emergency managers as a result of last November’s election, said Andy Mitchell, Assistant Administrator, National Training and Education, National Preparedness Directorate, Federal Emergency Management.

"We have a lot of new governors elected, and a lot of new emergency managers at the state and local level, so it is critical we maintain active engagement," Mitchell said. "This forum provides us with that opportunity to look at where are we in emergency management as a practice or as a profession."

Convening away from the daily grind of the job enables participants to examine issues on the horizon that may not get the proper attention otherwise, such as budget constraints, he added.

Discussing the state of the profession and its future is important in outlining the basic skills and abilities that should come with the job, said Hui-Shan Walker of Chesapeake, Va., who is the First Vice President of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM).

"From the IAEM perspective, it is very important to promote as a profession as we are growing and evolving," she said. "Our members come from many different disciplines, but everyone is still working toward the goal of developing emergency management across the country and building that system."

A challenge facing the profession is how to provide learning and educational opportunities, amid tight budgetary times, that reinforce those core skills.

Related to the budgetary issue is how emergency managers can maintain their missions with less funding, said Matthew Bettenhausen, former secretary of the California Emergency Management Agency. That funding drain diminishes both recovery and preparedness efforts, he added.

"That is challenging because part of where our focus needs to be is on prevention and protection, Bettenhausen said. "Making those kinds of investments in tough times -- even though we know an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure -- it’s getting harder to do that."

Suiter would have likely relished the subject of emergency management as a distinct profession as he worked for more than three decades at the state and federal level in that occupation.

"The idea that we are having the Lacy Suiter annual policy forum is incredibly important because he was an inspiration and a phenomenal leader for so many of us," Benttenhause said. "It’s great that the Center has continued his legacy."

Suiter’s public service resume includes 30 years with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, where he served as director from 1982 to 1994. Suiter led emergency management operations on both the state and federal level. He moved into the federal ranks, joining the Federal Emergency Management Agency in 1994, where he served as Director of the Office of Policy, Assessment and Regional Operations. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1996 to serve as Executive Associate Director for Response and Recovery at FEMA.

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