Scholarship Opportunity: 2012 Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshopin Broomfield, Colorado, July 14-17

  Apply Now for the Mary Fran Myers Scholarship

The Mary Fran Myers Scholarship Committee is now accepting applications. Recipients will receive financial support allowing them to attend the 2012 Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshopin Broomfield, Colorado, July 14-17. Recipients may also stay through July 18 to attend either the International Research Committee on Disasters or the Natural Hazard Mitigation Association add-on events for researchers and practitioners, respectively. Scholarships can cover part or all of transportation, meals, and registration costs.

The Mary Fran Myers Scholarship is awarded annually to at least one potential Workshop participant. Recipients are recognized at the Workshop and may be asked to serve as panelists, where they can highlight their research or practical experiences with hazards and disasters.

As the longtime co-director of the Natural Hazards Center, Myers recognized that many of the people and organizations that could benefit from and contribute to the Workshop—including local practitioners, students, and international professionals—were among those least likely to afford it. The scholarship was established in 2003 to fulfill Myers’ request that qualified and talented individuals receive support to attend.

Hazards practitioners, students, and researchers with a strong commitment to disaster management and mitigation and who reside in North America or the Caribbean are eligible to enter. Eligibility is based on current place of residence, not citizenship.

Applicants from outside North America and the Caribbean will be eligible for the scholarship in 2013. Previous attendees of the Natural Hazards Workshop are not eligible for the 2012 Mary Fran Myers Scholarship. Preference is given to those who can demonstrate financial need.

For more information on past scholarship winners and how to apply, visit the Mary Fran Myers Scholarship page at the Natural Hazards Center Web site. Applications must be received by March 26

STUDENT RESEARCH BREAKOUT SESSION: 15th Annual Emergency Management Higher Education Conference. June 4-7, 2012

v        STUDENT RESEARCH BREAKOUT SESSION: 

Each year during the Annual Emergency Management Higher Education Conference a breakout session is reserved for graduate and doctoral students currently enrolled in an emergency management program. 

The reserved breakout session is an opportunity for students to present thesis or dissertation research.  

In past years this has proven to be a very popular session with conference attendees.  Students wishing to present their research must be graduate or doctoral students currently enrolled in an emergency management program and have the recommendation of a faculty advisor.   

Presentation is “one student only” delivery.   

We do not allow group presentations for this session.  Presentation should be 10 minutes or less in length. 

For more information contact Barbara Johnson, Barbara.Johnson3@fema.dhs.gov or Shannon Cool, Shannon.Cool@associates.fema.dhs.gov

Student Volunteer Positions: 15th Annual Emergency Management Higher Education Conference. June 4-7, 2012

v        STUDENT VOLUNTEER POSITIONS FOR THE HI ED CONFERENCE: 

Students currently enrolled in a college/university emergency management program are needed as student volunteers for the 15^th Annual Emergency Management Higher Education Conference.  Students will be given reporting assignments and general conference duties.  The reports will be incorporated into the post-conference proceedings posted to the FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Program website -- Conferences section. 

Generally graduate students will be assigned primarily to take detailed notes during the concurrent breakout sessions and to write summaries of those breakout sessions for incorporating into the post-conference “proceedings”.  Reports will be 3-4 pages per session and will highlight the most significant aspects of the session.  Graduate students will be assigned at least one breakout session to report but may be assigned up to three reports during the conference. 

Generally undergraduate students are assigned various aspects of the conference i.e., passing microphones during plenary sessions, assisting with conference registration, passing out conference notebooks, taking hard copies of presentation materials to classrooms, posting breakout session classroom assignments and various other duties. 

In addition one or more students will be assigned to assist the Higher Education Program Manager and as well as the Hi Ed Program Assistant through out the week.    

Student volunteers are required to attend 100% of the conference beginning with Monday workshops and ending on Thursday afternoon with the last breakout sessions.  The typical volunteer obligations comprise about 20% of the conference.  When not acting in a volunteer capacity students are free to attend breakout sessions at their leisure. 

Student volunteers are encouraged to participate in all conference activities. 

Student Volunteer Criteria:  

Student must be enrolled in a collegiate Emergency Management program listed in the Emergency Management section of "The College List" on the FEMA EM Hi Ed Program website --    http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/collegelist/.   

·         Student should have the recommendation of a faculty member or department chair 

·         Students must be at least 18 years of age. 

·         Student volunteers must pay own transportation to and from the conference.   

·         Student volunteers must be able to participate in the entire four day conference. 

·         Student volunteers will receive from the Higher Education Program reimbursement of the NETC meal ticket for the week and a no-cost, on-campus dorm room (International students can not be reimbursed for the meal ticket and will be required to pay $40.00 per night for the dorm room and must go through a 8-12 week security clearance.)  

·         Students currently employed in any capacity by FEMA are not eligible for reimbursement of the meal ticket.

·         Student should be capable of taking good detailed notes.

·         Student will need to prepare a comprehensive report based on notes from the assigned breakout session.  These reports will be incorporated into the Higher Education Program website conference proceedings. 

·         In the event we do not have enough graduate volunteers students may be asked to participate in additional breakout sessions.   

·         Student will be contacted by the Student Volunteer Coordinator for their respective assigned break out session and to collect the final reports.  

·         Students must submit a conference application form and must return all requested information to the Mitigation secretary in a timely manner in order to be reimbursed for the meal ticket.

·         If you have questions about the Higher Education Conference Student Volunteer positions please contact the Higher Education Program Assistant Barbara Johnson at Barbara.Johnson3@fema.dhs.gov or (301) 447-1452.   

More information will be available on the Hi Ed website conference section at

       http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/educonference12.asp next week. 

Emergency Management Higher Education Conference. June 4-7, 2012

      15^th Annual Emergency Management Higher Education Conference 

 

·         Conference Background, Goals and Objectives

·         Conference Workshop Schedule, June 4, 2012

·         Graduate/Doctoral Student Research Presentation Information

v  Those interested in presenting at the Higher Education Conference can access the

“Call for Papers/Presentations” on the Hi Ed website at 

      http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/educonference12.asp.   

Make sure to include the form with your one page proposal.  Email both to Barbara.Johnson3@fema.dhs.gov. 

University of West Indies. African-Americans, ever thought of a different location for your education?

The University of the West Indies, established in 1948 initially as an external College of the University of London and made fully independent in 1962, is the oldest, fully regional institution of higher learning in the Commonwealth Caribbean. Supported by fifteen countries all current or former colonies of Great Britain, the UWI is committed to the development of the region through the training of its human resources, conducting research, delivering advisory services to governments as well as to the private sector and forging links with other institutions in the wider region and the rest of the world.

FEMA Think Tank conference call. Thursday, January 26, th 2012

Please join FEMA Deputy Administrator Richard Serino as he hosts the first FEMA Think Tank conference call, being conducted from the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

Thursday, January 26^{, th} 2012

2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Eastern (1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Central)

Call in number: 800-593-0692

Password is Think Tank January

Deputy Administrator Serino announced in November the launch of the FEMA Think Tank.

The January 26^th call will be the first of monthly calls to discuss ideas generated through the online process. Information about the Think Tank first appeared online in FEMA’s blog post and can be found at the following link: http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTIwMTI0LjUxODM0NDEmbWVzc2FnZWlkPU1EQi1QUkQtQlVMLTIwMTIwMTI0LjUxODM0NDEmZGF0YWJhc2VpZD0xMDAxJnNlcmlhbD0xNjgxNDI0NiZlbWFpbGlkPWJsYWNrZW1lcmdtYW5hZ2Vyc2Fzc29jaWF0aW9uQHZlcml6b24ubmV0JnVzZXJpZD1ibGFja2VtZXJnbWFuYWdlcnNhc3NvY2lhdGlvbkB2ZXJpem9uLm5ldCZmbD0mZXh0cmE9TXVsdGl2YXJpYXRlSWQ9JiYm&&&100&&&http://blog.fema.gov/2011/11/launching-fema-think-tank-forum-to.html.

The call will be open to a national audience of State, local, and tribal governments, and to all members of the public, including the private sector, the disability community, and volunteer community, who share an interest in improving the Nation’s role in emergency management. Individuals who would like to access the captioning for this event may do so by following the link below: http://fedrcc.us//Enter.aspx?EventID=1897142&CustomerID=321.

During this call we will discuss three innovative ideas generated from the online forum. The ideas we will discuss are:

Community Mapping to Implement the Whole Community Concept

U.S. National Grid as the Response Language of Location

Incorporate Preparedness into School Curriculums

The individuals that submitted these ideas will provide a brief presentation. We will then open up the call to a national audience for further discussion and a Q&A (see agenda below).

We look forward to your participation in this first of many important discussions on how we plan and implement innovative ideas captured in our online forum. We also encourage you to continue to visit the online forum at www.fema.gov/thinktank to submit your own ideas, comment on others, or participate in conversations that will help to generate creative ideas. 

  

Kickoff Think Tank Conference Call

Milwaukee, WI
January 26, 2012; 1:30-3:30 p.m.

AGENDA

1:30-1:45         Opening Remarks by Deputy Administrator Richard Serino

1:45-1:55         Idea 1 Presentation

1:55-2:05         Discussion with Deputy Administrator Serino

2:05-2:20         Open discussion with national audience

2:20-2:30         Idea 2 Presentation

2:30-2:40         Discussion with Deputy Administrator Serino

2:40-2:55         Open discussion with national audience

2:55-3:05         Idea 3 Presentation

3:05-3:15         Discussion with Deputy Administrator Serino

3:15-3:30         Open discussion with national audience

Community Participation: How Recovery Is Ingrained in Waffle House’s Culture

By: Elaine Pittman on January 19, 2012

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate has been sharing one of his more unique ways of determining how badly hit a community is after a disaster: He looks at Waffle House restaurants. If they’re closed after a storm or emergency, Fugate knows he needs to get to work.

“No matter how bad it was, the first thing that got open invariably was a Waffle House,” he told attendees at the International Disaster Conference and Expo on Jan. 17 in New Orleans.

And on Wednesday, Jan. 18, Waffle House CEO Walt Ehmer described how recovery is ingrained in the company. He said the culture of the company revolves around two words: Show up. Getting restaurants open as quickly as possible following an emergency not only gives Waffle House the competitive advantage, but it also allows employees to return to work and provides a sense of normalcy for residents who may not have had a hot meal in days.

Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, more than 100 Waffle House restaurants were closed. “It was something unlike we’d ever seen before,” Ehmer said. The company set up a command center and brought in supplies to reopen its locations. In areas where there wasn’t power, gas grills were used to cook food and boil water. Word spread that the company was on a mission to reopen its restaurants – while on their way to check on more locations following Hurricane Rita, company representatives entered Beaumont, Texas, where they were told, “We were expecting you.”

Ehmer shared lessons that the company has learned through the years:

• get momentum going quickly after a disaster;
• think of itself as locals in a community and get to know customers;
• prepare employees before a disaster happens with information like what to do during and after a storm; and
• do a better job of building relationships with government.

But with more than 1,600 restaurants in 25 states, working with government in advance isn’t always easy. Government rules like curfews in disaster-impacted areas can prevent companies from operating as efficiently as possible, and Ehmer reminded attendees that open businesses like restaurants not only benefit the public but also first responders who work round the clock following an emergency.

“The challenge is that every county, municipality and state has different people that we need to talk to,” Ehmer said. Building relationships across government and industry has been promoted more frequently, and examples range from FEMA hosting private-sector representatives in its coordination center to localities including industry organizations in their EOCs. With more partnerships and coordination, the nation will be better prepared to respond to a disaster.