FEMA Region 1 has made significant strides engaging its higher education partners over the past year. In September of 2021, the first ever FEMA Region 1 - Higher Education Community Engagement Conference was held at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, an event that brought together emergency management practitioners, faculty, and students to network, learn from one another, and explore future collaborative opportunities. The event consisted of presentations from emergency management practitioners, academics, and subject matter experts, as well as themed breakout discussion sessions and large-group brief backs to develop shared research themes and questions across the region.
Additionally, FEMA Region 1’s Federal Preparedness Coordinator, Dan McElhinney, served as a problem sponsor for the Spring, 2022 iteration of Hacking for Homeland Security at Carnegie Mellon University. The complex problem of post-disaster/post-mass casualty event reunification was researched by a student team under Dan’s guidance and illustrative context. For the Hacking for Homeland Security Fall 2022 semesters courses to be held at Texas A&M and the Rochester Institute of Technology, FEMA Region 1 leadership has put forth three additional ‘problem statements’ it hopes to have selected by student teams.
Finally, FEMA Region 1 staff supported DHS with its two-day event at The University of Maine (UMA) at Augusta. The University’s Bangor campus is introducing the nation’s first and only Trauma-Informed Emergency Management Community Outreach and Training Center. DHS and UMA’s two-day event featured presentations and roundtable discussions on myriad emergency management related topics, and identified resources available help people deal with the mental, psychological, emotional and cognitive trauma they experience during crises.
Looking forward, FEMA Region 1 is in the planning stages of hosting a Climate Resiliency Seminar in December of 2022. As climate change increases disaster risks across the country, emergency managers and government officials are beginning to implement strategies to build community resilience. This event will support state, local, tribal, territorial (SLTT), and private sector partners in mitigating the effects of climate change.
FEMA Region 1 hopes to continue its recent momentum to cultivate mutually beneficial partnerships with Higher Education institutions in New England and beyond.
Greg D’Ercole
Emergency Management Program Specialist
FEMA Region 1
202-809-3733
Gregory.DErcole@fema.dhs.gov