Welcome to the Core Values Chronicle, brought to you by the Office of Response and Recovery (ORR) Core Values Team. The Chronicle’s intent is to remind us to live our core values daily, at work and home. Since the team’s stand up in 2018, many ORR employees have dedicated their time and efforts to help make FEMA the best it can be.

The Core Values team provides quarterly updates to ORR leadership and employees. This year forced us to rethink how best to communicate as the agency, our team and nation adapts to the impacts of COVID-19. We are developing new ways to consistently keep in touch with ORR staff, especially those in the field, and opportunities to highlight events, updates, and people who embody FEMA’s Core Values.

We hope the Chronicle will remind us that although we are apart, our Core Values are alive and stronger than ever. Each month the Chronicle will showcase FEMA events and employees – as well as external resources, trainings, talks, and events that exemplify Compassion, Fairness, Integrity, and Respect. 

Values are muscles that must be exercised to retain their strength. Our team is committed to providing content that flexes those muscles and expands how we view the world outside of ourselves. The Chronicle's purpose is to provide opportunities to widen the aperture of our world view and to increase our knowledge and respect for each other.

The disaster communities we service constantly teach us about resilience, hope and strength. These communities deserve nothing short of our very best as we live out FEMA’s Core Values: Compassion, Fairness, Integrity, and Respect.

On September 21st, I had the opportunity to travel to FEMA's Personnel Mobilization Center (PMC) operations based in Dallas, TX.

The PMC is currently supporting at least 8 different events across the nation and has processed over 600 in-person responders. Most responders go through the PMC before reaching their duty station to ensure they are fully capable to achieve their field mission successfully.

As one of the most important steps in a responder's deployment, PMC staff exemplify FEMA's Core Values as soon as you step into the PMC and ensuring they "provide responders their very best day.” The Dallas PMC has taken COVID-19 safety measures very seriously, and responders go through the process in a safe and socially distanced manner. In addition, every responder going through the PMC receives a readiness package that includes: a FEMA polo, 2 K95 masks, 1 reusable mask, and hand sanitizer. Responders receive their duty station and deployment orders and can work with National Travel in-person to make sure their travel is efficiently reserved. PMC staff are ready and willing to help you stay safe on future deployments!

Before deploying to be one of our agency's frontline workers to our nation's communities, please don't forget FEMA's Core Values of compassion, fairness, integrity, and respect. This means taking care of yourselves and each other, especially in disaster environments. As a FEMA employee, we are there on survivors' worst day. It's our duty to make sure we are bringing our very best. Thanks for all you do!

~ Erin Sehnert, ORR Core Values Team Lead

 If you see FEMA Core Values being exemplified in the field, please share! Email: fema-orr-corevalues-team@fema.dhs.gov.

“Compassion is understanding another’s burdens and trying to help, even if all one can do is listen."

My father was an Air Force pilot, so we were stationed both in the US and abroad. Moving around often, my family learned that by putting ourselves in “other people’s shoes,” we could better understand the burdens of others. When my father was in Vietnam, other military families and our extended family helped my mother and siblings. When my father returned, our family returned the favor to others. My best friend’s father was a Prisoner of War (POW) in Vietnam, so my parents helped their family with daily tasks such as mowing the lawn, repairing vehicles, helping with finances, or even just throwing a baseball. The compassion of other families in our time of need helped my own family realize how compassion has a pay-it-forward effect.

After working over 30 years managing large public construction projects and serving clients such as politicians and judges, I found myself technically stimulated but less satisfied with those missions. After reflecting and realizing that my satisfaction is highest when I am helping people, I applied to FEMA.  My job as a Standard Lane Manager is so gratifying, watching and managing the rebuilding projects progress through the various phases in the Grants Manager platform. Each project’s story and need are both motivating and humbling, as is each one of our dedicated and compassionate staff.”

-Stephanie Dovichi,
CRC West, Standard Lane Manager

We celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15) to recognize the achievements and contributions of Hispanic American champions who have inspired others to achieve success. The observation began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period. National Hispanic Heritage Month was enacted into law on August 17, 1988.

Compassion literally means “to suffer together”. Explore the side-benefits of compassion including improving health, well-being, and relationships. The article concludes with exercises designed to practice and  strengthen compassion.

Video: Ted Talk: Reimagining Compassion as Power: A Ted Talk from Ted Dawes, 18 min

Ted Dawes discusses the power of compassion in the face of conflict to address the deepest needs of others.

Thursday, October 15, 2020 celebrates FEMA's 3rd annual Accessibility Day. FEMA's Accessibility Office in partnership with technology partners Apple, Deque, Paciello Group and Adobe, provide digital accessibility for people with disabilities via the web, mobile and virtual platforms using assistive devices. FEMA's Section 508 Program ensures accessibility of the electronic content for posting on websites to benefit disaster survivors, members of the public and FEMA employees with disabilities.

Agency wide event details and registration information will be provided in the coming weeks. Look for a FEMA Accessibility Day announcement on the FEMA Intranet home page. 

For more information about the FEMA Section 508 Program and 508 Community of Practice (CoP), email the FEMA-Accessibility Help Desk at: fema-accessibility@fema.dhs.gov. or visit the 508 Accessibility Resource Center Intranet site.  

The Equity Coalition of the Willing is a FEMA-wide, informal community and working group providing safe and collaborative spaces for FEMA employees to identify, discuss, and address social inequity within FEMA and its programs.

The Coalition works in partnership with existing diversity offices, programs, and employee resource groups to share equity-related information and best practices. Drawing on FEMA’s Core Values of Fairness, Compassion, Respect, and Integrity, members contribute to a long-term vision for advancing equity within FEMA and are committed driving that vision's implementation.

To learn more or to join one of the team-based discussions, please contact Hope Thompson, Jacob Rodriguez-Noble, Maite Rubio, or Shanika Hettige.

If you are a part of a FEMA Employee Resource Group (FERG) and would like your initiatives highlighted in the Core Values Chronicle, email: fema-orr-corevalues-team@fema.dhs.gov

To join or learn more about employee resource groups, visit the FERG website.

The ORR Core Values team appreciates your participation and feedback. We want our content to be concise, interesting, and useful. Please send your comments, ideas, and content to the ORR Core Values Team Inbox at: FEMA-ORR-CoreValues-Team@fema.dhs.gov