Senior FEMA Leader Takes Lessons Learned from CHDS Back to the Front Lines
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Navy photo by MC1 Lewis Hunsaker
Senior FEMA Leader Takes Lessons Learned from CHDS Back to the Front Lines
By MC1 Lewis Hunsaker
Elizabeth A. Zimmerman, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Associate Administrator for the Office of Response & Recovery, attends the NPS Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) Executive Leaders Program in Watkins Hall, Aug. 26. Zimmerman oversees disaster response and recovery assistance to communities impacted by major disasters or emergencies throughout the U.S.
“After graduating college, my first job was working in a disaster field office,” said Zimmerman. “At the time, there were floods in Utah where I got hired on and I have stayed in this field since. This job has been my career and my passion.”
Most recently, this passion brought her to the front lines of flooding in Louisiana.
“We [FEMA] were watching the storm come in. It was similar to a no notice hurricane with the amount of rain that was dropped. Some areas received upwards of 31 inches of rain, causing areas that had never flooded before to flood,” said Zimmerman. “The governor made a verbal disaster request and within 90 minutes, the President declared Louisiana a major disaster declaration.”
Within the first three days, more than 80,000 households had registered for FEMA support.
“Once people are registered, we send out housing inspectors to assess the damage to their home, and provide up to $32,000 in assistance,” said Zimmerman. “We currently have over 120,000 households registered for assistance with expectations as high as 200,000. We have provided over $120 million in assistance in less than a week.
“The governor was incredible in getting the word out to the communities and encouraged people to call in and register,” she added.
After departing Louisiana, Zimmerman made her way to NPS to attend the Executive Leaders Program at CHDS, joining senior state, community and private sector leaders in the disaster management and homeland security fields.
“This class will help me go back and orchestrate conversations with my peers on how we look to do things in the future,” said Zimmerman. “It’s not just about putting more ideas on top of others. It’s getting you to think strategically, and hearing other perspectives, to brainstorm and get ideas. I have made some great networking opportunities during this class that I will use in the future.”
After nearly 24 years of experience in emergency management between Arizona and Utah, Zimmerman was presidentially appointed in June of 2009 to her current position with FEMA. She oversees approximately 3,000 full-time and 6,200 reservist employees, and is responsible for more than $10 billion annually in Disaster Recovery funds.
Elizabeth A. Zimmerman, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Associate Administrator for the Office of Response & Recovery, attends the NPS Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) Executive Leaders Program in Watkins Hall, Aug. 26. Zimmerman oversees disaster response and recovery assistance to communities impacted by major disasters or emergencies throughout the U.S.
“After graduating college, my first job was working in a disaster field office,” said Zimmerman. “At the time, there were floods in Utah where I got hired on and I have stayed in this field since. This job has been my career and my passion.”
Most recently, this passion brought her to the front lines of flooding in Louisiana.
“We [FEMA] were watching the storm come in. It was similar to a no notice hurricane with the amount of rain that was dropped. Some areas received upwards of 31 inches of rain, causing areas that had never flooded before to flood,” said Zimmerman. “The governor made a verbal disaster request and within 90 minutes, the President declared Louisiana a major disaster declaration.”
Within the first three days, more than 80,000 households had registered for FEMA support.
“Once people are registered, we send out housing inspectors to assess the damage to their home, and provide up to $32,000 in assistance,” said Zimmerman. “We currently have over 120,000 households registered for assistance with expectations as high as 200,000. We have provided over $120 million in assistance in less than a week.
“The governor was incredible in getting the word out to the communities and encouraged people to call in and register,” she added.
After departing Louisiana, Zimmerman made her way to NPS to attend the Executive Leaders Program at CHDS, joining senior state, community and private sector leaders in the disaster management and homeland security fields.
“This class will help me go back and orchestrate conversations with my peers on how we look to do things in the future,” said Zimmerman. “It’s not just about putting more ideas on top of others. It’s getting you to think strategically, and hearing other perspectives, to brainstorm and get ideas. I have made some great networking opportunities during this class that I will use in the future.”
After nearly 24 years of experience in emergency management between Arizona and Utah, Zimmerman was presidentially appointed in June of 2009 to her current position with FEMA. She oversees approximately 3,000 full-time and 6,200 reservist employees, and is responsible for more than $10 billion annually in Disaster Recovery funds.