Living in a data-driven world, Victoria Kluge knows how valuable data is for decision making, especially within emergency management.
Kluge (Emergence 2402) is the Program Administrator for the Division of Emergency Management at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and is transforming how her agency approaches hazard preparedness with data.
Through her change initiative entitled ATL Readiness Dashboard: Transforming Plans and Drills into Actionable Readiness, she took a hard look at the “all-hazards approach” and is modifying it to view various hazards, and ways to mitigate the damage.
With every change initiative, Emergence participants are guided to search for the problem first, and then find the solution for their agency. For Kluge, the problem laid in the “all-hazards” approach.
“We had a very limited scope of what we were planning for and I could already tell that we were relying heavily on all-hazards, which is a pretty standard trend throughout emergency management,” she said, adding that, historically, there’s been too much reliance on the “all-hazards” approach. “The problem with that is, that they’re very high-level plans. They’re not getting into specifics of how to deal with a very specific hazard.”
But Kluge sees data as the tool to solve these problems. And the timing couldn’t be better. With national policy pushing emergency management toward more data-driven models, her project is ahead of the curve. “Data is still grossly underutilized in emergency management,” she explained. “Now is the time to change that.”
So how will data help the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport?
Kluge describes the Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL) as a “city within a city,” where many hazards can potentially take place. Hazards can be in the form of a fuel fire, an aircraft crash, or perhaps even a major pile up on the freeway which affects direct access to the airport.
Kluge started thinking about the need to evaluate the strength effectiveness of Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL)’s emergency plans. Her initial solution was to use the data to show exactly where preparedness gaps existed. Building on her skills with dashboards and visualization, she developed a “readiness dashboard” that scores preparedness for each hazard on a scale of one to ten.
The dashboard combines risk assessments with after-action reports from drills and real-world incidents, creating a clear picture of which hazards Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL) is best prepared for and which need additional evaluation.
“Data is still grossly underutilized in emergency management. Now is the time to change that.”.”
– Victoria Kluge, Emergence 2402
Using AI integration and predictive modeling, her innovative approach immediately stood out.
“I did some network modeling to show the interaction between our plans and the hazards, and now you can actually see it on the network graph.”
Her work sparked excitement among CHDS advisors and her own agency, Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL)’s Division of Emergency Management decided to move forward with her proposed initiative, which, consequently, reshaped her role at the airport. After graduation from the Emergence Program, Kluge was promoted to a new position focused on data stewardship and knowledge management.
“It’s exactly what I want,” she said. “I get to grow it, bring in other systems, and really shape how our department uses data.”
To top it off, her work is also gaining traction beyond her agency as she recently began consulting to help other organizations adopt similar data-driven approaches.
“I’ve been getting a lot of people asking about this readiness dashboard and how they can apply it to their agencies,” she said.
As for her final thoughts on the Emergence Program?
“I loved it,” she said. “I’m trying to get more people from my agency to go to CHDS.”
Kluge’s story is a testament to the power of innovation, mentorship, and professional development. Her readiness dashboard is not only improving preparedness at one of the world’s busiest airports—it is inspiring emergency managers to embrace data, technology, and change.
She credits CHDS not only with giving her the space to tackle a meaningful problem, but also with opening doors to something she is passionate about.
