The FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) team is excited to introduce the 2017 External Stakeholder Working Group (ESWG). Please join us in welcoming the 2017 ESWG members:
State and Territory Representatives
- Miles Anderson, Florida
- Tom Hughes, Pennsylvania
- Sarah White, Massachusetts
Tribal Nation and Indian Tribal Representatives
- Tracy De Pew, Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians
- Kaylynn Gresham, Oneida Nation Emergency Management
- Paula Gutierrez, Santa Clara Pueblo
Local and Regional Representatives
- Chris Blinzinger, Provo City, Utah
- George De La O, County of Los Angeles, California
- Mark Schneider, Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Dubuque & Jackson Co, Iowa
Federal (FEMA) Representatives
- Dorothy Cook, Region VI
- Karen Helbrecht, FEMA Headquarters
- Jeff Herd, Region VIII
The FEMA HMA team would like to thank everyone who expressed interest in being a member of the ESWG. FEMA received over 120 applications from many qualified State, Territory, Tribe, and Local level hazard mitigation stakeholders. It was very challenging to make selections for the 12 ESWG positions from such a talented pool of applicants. The ESWG reflects a diverse membership with representatives from communities across the country with a broad range of hazard risk profiles, demography (e.g. rural to urban), and jurisdiction makeup (e.g. multi- or single-jurisdiction units). The 2017 ESWG is ready to begin:
- Opening the channels of communication between federal and state, territorial, Indian tribal, and local mitigation staff
- Gathering insight into mitigation and/or HMA program issues from the state, territory, Indian tribe, or local perspective
- Increasing transparency in HMA goals, program priorities, and policy development
- Helping HMA provide a consistent, predictable experience for external stakeholders, and
- Delving more deeply into issues identified during the HMA Café at the 2016 HMA Workshop
We hope you will continue to engage with both HMA and the ESWG frequently to provide your thoughts and input on how to make HMA more effective and successful. Please note that the ESWG membership positions are filled on a rotating basis to ensure continuity and smooth transitions.
Please stay engaged to keep up to date on ESWG opportunities and activities. FEMA communications such as the FEMA Bulletin and the GovDelivery listserv are great sources of information to keep current with the ESWG updates. We encourage anyone interested to apply for future opportunities for an ESWG member position.
Thanks again to all who applied and congratulations to those who were selected.
Please submit any questions or requests for information to [email protected].