TEEX delivers emergency management policy and decision-making training for EMI Academy

The Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) provided emergency management training and exercises for the renowned Emergency Management Institute (EMI) in Emmitsburg, MD, as part of its National Emergency Management Executive Academy for senior executives. The Academy’s goal is to instill leaders with a deeper understanding of emergency management issues, debates and public policy.

The four-day, capstone course, “Exercising Emergency Management Executive Policy and Decision-making,” was delivered Sept. 12-15 by a six-member TEEX instructional team, led by Executive Programs Director Rick Comley.

The course focused on executive-level policy and decision-making through case studies, exercises and senior guest speakers, Comley said. Thirty-four executives who attended this year’s course represented emergency management at the state, local and federal government; non-governmental organizations and the private sector.

Along with TEEX, the Executive Academy is conducted in collaboration with Harvard University, the University of Hawaii, and the Naval Postgraduate School, with each delivering one course in the series.

“We are honored to have been selected to provide this training to leaders from across the nation for the past four years, and to have worked with colleagues from these esteemed institutions,” Comley said. “The positive feedback we have received and the connections we have made will only serve to strengthen our ties to the emergency management community and ultimately enhance our nation’s preparedness.”

Guest speakers for this capstone course included Rear Adm. Mary Landry, the USCG’s former Director of Incident Management and Preparedness; Ed Boyce from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response; Beth Freeman, the Regional Administrator for FEMA Region VII; Linda Langston, the National Association of Counties’ Director of Strategic Relations; a senior staffer from the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security; Robert Latham, the former director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency; and Ron Carlee, the former City Manager for the City of Charlotte, NC. Each of these speakers brought significant real world experience and insight to the group’s discussions, Comley said.

TEEX’s support to the course delivery was funded through the DHS/FEMA Homeland Security National Training Program’s Cooperative Agreement with TEEX’s National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center through the DHS/FEMA’s National Training and Education Division.

Members on the delivery team included (pictured l-r) Ronnie Taylor, Joe Lynch, Rick Comley, Tony Crites Steve Keim and Tom Panther. Course development was supported by Jenny Britton and Matt Sherwood from TEEX’s Emergency Services Training Institute Curriculum Team.

About the National Emergency Management Executive Academy

The National Emergency Management Executive Academy was developed and designed for senior executives at the pinnacle of their careers. The Academy is the final phase of FEMA’s Emergency Management Professional Program and is designed to challenge and enhance the talents of emergency management senior executives through critical thinking, visionary strategic planning, negotiation, and conflict resolution applied to complex real-world problems.

About the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service

TEEX is an internationally recognized leader in the delivery of emergency response, homeland security and workforce training and exercises, technical assistance, and economic development. Last year, TEEX served more than 173,000 people from every U.S. state and territory and 81 countries worldwide. TEEX makes a difference by providing training, developing practical solutions, and saving lives.