Weekly Watch: Phelps' farewell and changes ahead

As we begin a new year full of unknowns and opportunities, I wanted to take this space in what will be my final Director’s Message to reflect on the past eight years, offer my most sincere gratitude to everyone who has welcomed me into the Oregon emergency management community since my arrival in 2015, and provide a reminder (to myself and to you) of the importance of our work.

I've been incredibly fortunate in my role, first as director of the Office of Emergency Management, to work with the most talented, dedicated, professional and passionate public servants in government. The people at OEM are extraordinary. I have great respect and deep gratitude for everyone at OEM with whom I’ve been privileged enough to work alongside. As a team, and with partnerships across the state, at the federal level, and in the private and non-profit sector, we’ve transformed our state’s hazard landscape, created communities that are more prepared, reduced our shared risk, and become better positioned to lead through whatever bad day may lie ahead, all while responding to and recovering from the most significant disasters in our state’s history.

Since 2015, I and the OEM team have led the state through dozens of state emergency declarations and nine federal disaster declarations, including the two most costly and impactful disasters in Oregon’s history: The COVID pandemic and the 2020 Labor Day wildfires. We’ve rewritten the state’s mutual aid system, allowing for any state or local resource to be shared anywhere across the state and providing a pathway for Oregon’s sovereign tribal nations to participate in the system. We’ve made incredible advancements in the state’s 9-1-1 system, including replacing aging statewide infrastructure, providing text-to-9-1-1 capability and successfully leading efforts to increase investments in the 9-1-1 system.

We’ve developed and adopted the state’s first Disaster Recovery Plan and continue to innovate the planning process through the Cascadia Playbook. Recognizing how important warning and emergency information is to Oregonians, we’ve implemented a statewide mass notification system, ORAlert, and became the second state in the nation with earthquake early warning detection via ShakeAlert. We’ve leveraged significant planned events like the Great Eclipse of 2017 and the World Athletic Championships in 2022 to better prepare for emergencies. I’ve had the privilege of leading our state through two of the biggest exercise initiatives in Oregon’s history with the 2016 Cascadia Rising exercise and the 2022’s National Level Exercise series. Oregon is also now viewed as a leader in emergency management, with our voice influencing national policy discussions and development.

Without question, however, the achievements I’m most proud of came over the past 18 months as we created the state’s first Department of Emergency Management and more than doubled staffing levels at the agency. This change will have an indelible impact on our state’s ability to prepare for, respond to, recover from and mitigate emergencies and disasters. We’ve built a solid foundation for the new department and I’m confident this new structure will continue to be successful.

The work of emergency management has no finish line. There's always more to do, especially here in Oregon. We must continue to prioritize investments in reducing our shared risk. We must ensure the work of emergency management is built on a foundation of equitable and accessible programs and processes. We must advocate for professional, competent and resourced emergency management programs at every level of government in Oregon. And we must continue to modernize emergency management in an inclusive way that considers the diversity and unique needs of our entire state.

I’m proud to have been a part of some remarkable accomplishments over the past eight years and to have had so many colleagues and partners that are now friends. As an Oregonian, I will continue to be deeply invested in how we reduce risk and manage the consequences of our bad days, and I hope you, too, continue to be a fierce advocate for our shared mission.

I intend to stay involved in emergency management in Oregon and nationally, and if we’re not already connected on LinkedIn, I’d love to stay in touch.

With gratitude for the opportunity to serve and optimism for the future, I offer a final reminder to take care of yourselves and each other.

Warm regards,

Andrew

OEM is rebranding the Weekly Watch newsletter to the Readiness Report. The Readiness Report will launch on Jan. 25 and be distributed bi-weekly every Wednesday moving forward. While the name and frequency will change, the newsletter will continue to feature all the same information on webinars, training, news, job opportunities and resources for emergency management partners. OEM is seeking feedback from its readers on what they find most important, what they’d like to see more or less of, etc. All feedback is appreciated; please send an email to OEM_PublicInfo@oem.oregon.gov and include "Readiness Report" in the subject line.

On Jan. 16, millions will reflect on the life and legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as one of the most influential nonviolent leaders in world history. Dr. King believed in the power of love, hope and justice for all humankind. He lived the words he spoke, and he made the ultimate sacrifice – his life – to help make the world better. In his April 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” he challenged the passivity, indifference and self-preservation of community leaders, stating, “We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.” These words are a reminder of the inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA) initiatives OEM is currently taking to fulfill its vision of an established, equitable culture of preparedness that empowers ALL Oregonians to thrive in times of crisis. OEM encourages its partners to use Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a reminder to continue to use their voices, both individually and collectively, while serving Oregon’s communities. Learn more about Dr. King’s life and work at The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute.

The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute and the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering in Taiwan are hosting a reconnaissance briefing webinar at 3 p.m. on Jan. 11 to discuss the earthquakes that struck Taiwan last September. On Sept. 18, 2022, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck near Taitung City, Taiwan, causing both geotechnical failures and damage to infrastructure. The earthquake highlighted the vulnerabilities of older non-ductile concrete buildings in seismic regions, concrete bridges and non-structural building components during an earthquake. This webinar will provide an overview of the event, including the earthquake seismology, emergency management, and geotechnical and structural engineering impacts. Click here to register.

The Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM)'s Community Wildfire Risk Reduction Grant is open until Jan. 31. The $18 million grant fund, geared toward helping communities be better prepared for wildfire, is open to local governments, special districts, structural fire service agencies and non-governmental organizations that can use the funds to support individual community members. OSFM is hosting a virtual webinar at 2 p.m. on Jan. 12 for those interested in learning more. Register at OSFM’s website.

Registration is now open for Oregon Prepared 2023, OEM’s Oregon Emergency Preparedness Workshop, which offers training and information on programs, current issues, lessons learned and best practices related to all phases of emergency management. The event will be held at Sunriver Resort March 21–23, with pre-workshop activities on March 20. The workshop is open to tribal, county, city, special district and state emergency management; public safety and health preparedness staff; DHS/FEMA preparedness grant recipients; and non-profit and private sector partners with a role in preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation. GSA rates are available to workshop attendees at Sunriver Resort for all condo room reservations made prior to Jan. 19 and hotel room reservations made prior to Feb. 16. Accommodations are limited, contact the hotel directly at 855-420-8206 to make reservations. Workshop registration is limited to 450; learn more and register at Eventbrite.

FEMA Region 10 and Washington Emergency Management Division are hosting a webinar from 11:30 a.m.-noon on Jan. 19. Titled “Kickstart your Preparedness Journey,” the webinar aims to help people learn and be inspired to get better prepared. The event is part of the monthly Third Thursday Tips webinar series hosted by the FEMA Region 10's Individual and Community Preparedness Team, in partnership with state, tribal and community partners. The first 20 minutes will be content driven, and the last 5-10 minutes includes time for questions and answers. Register in advance at Zoom.

Students with a passion for disaster preparedness and helping others are encouraged to apply to join FEMA’s Youth Preparedness Council starting Jan. 23. The YPC offers an opportunity for teens to share their ideas and feedback with FEMA, improve their leadership skills and develop preparedness projects. National YPC members also participate in an annual youth summit in Washington, D.C. with FEMA leaders and preparedness professionals to network and learn more about the field of emergency management. FEMA is hosting two webinars for potential applicants to learn more about the YPC application process: 5 p.m. on Jan 30 and 5 p.m. on Feb. 28.

The State Interoperability Executive Council has opened registration for the RADIO Conference, being held April 3-5 at the Best Western Plus Hood River Inn. The RADIO Conference brings together public safety executive leaders, radio system managers, 911 telecommunications personnel, emergency managers, and public officials who manage, operate, build and support public safety communications systems for law enforcement, fire service, emergency medical and other public safety agencies. Learn more and register at the conference webpage.

January is National Blood Donor Month, a time to celebrate those who generously roll up a sleeve to keep blood products stocked for hospitals providing critical care. As the threat of severe winter weather and seasonal illness cases continue to rise, January can be a tough time for donors to make and keep appointments. In partnership with the National Football League, those who come to give blood, platelets or plasma in January will be automatically entered to win a trip for two to Super Bowl LVII in Arizona, including access to day-of, in-stadium pre-game activities, tickets to the official Super Bowl Experience, round-trip airfare to Phoenix, three-night hotel accommodations, and a $500 gift card for expenses. To book a time to donate, visit RedCrossBlood.org, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, or call 1-800-RED CROSS.

FEMA has released its 2022 National Preparedness Report summarizing the state of national preparedness and discussing the risks the nation faces and how those risks drive whole-community emergency management capability requirements. The report analyzes Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) and Stakeholder Preparedness Review (SPR) data reported by communities across the nation in 2021 and compares this data against the National Capability Targets.  Emergency managers and whole community partners across the nation can look to this year’s report to help support decisions about program priorities, resource allocations and community actions. Click here to view the report.